# ******* Raised Bed Garden



## NewGround

Okay yall...

My garden at my land burned up and withered away with only a stout crop of weeds remaining. All my corn fried, melons just gave up and the tomatoes and peppers will never recover. I even started some Comfrey roots, well at least I started them but they're finished...

So at my house, 2 hours away from my land but close to where I work I finally got a little something going here at least...

Couldn't get the permit for blasting so I had to go to the raised bed idea... So using a little ******* ingenuity I built me a garden. May be able to get at least a BLT this year...

Heck, if this works out well I'll have me 10 of these next year.


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## RJMAcres

I like it.


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## 4nTN

great idea if you ask me.NO WEEDING,NO BENDING!
And remember all those duct tape ideas are attributed to ********.So stand proud while your not bending.



Sharon


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## Fair Light

Fantastic !!! I LOVE IT !!! This is my first year at this locations and not too surprising....It is just way too rocky to till.....Unfortunately, all I've had time for is a few pots....I love your ingenuity...


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## Danaus29

Now that garden I would be able to weed! Beautiful!!!!!!! And the blasted groundhogs wouldn't be able to eat anything either!


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## Wisconsin Ann

Excellent idea  Nice and tidy, moveable (with some work) and no stooping down! 

I've thought about the kiddie swimming pool idea, but that takes so much soil all at once and you're still stooping over. 

wonderful  Thanks for the pictures and the idea!


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## BlackWillowFarm

Looks great!


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## lonelyfarmgirl

What's ******* about that? Thats genius.


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## Guest

A true ******* garden would be the same frame work supporting tiolet bowls. LOL Maybe next year.


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## Pearl B

That just works!
Thank you, I now know what my garden will look like. 

You might be able to make a kit & sell them. I would buy a set up like that, I bet others would to


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## nehimama

That is just fabulous!


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## stargazer

Wow, what a great idea. Thanks for sharing that with us!


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## 10ecn

Looks great. You don't water the weeds.


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## stamphappy

DH and I think that is a lovely idea! Right now I use 5 gallon buckets for several items but they are scattered willy nillly. I just love your holder. Thanks for sharing.


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## Ravenlost

I love it!


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## wanda1950

What a super idea!!


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## seedspreader

Keep us updated. 

Do the buckets have drainage in the bottom?


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## AR Transplant

I am so going to steal your idea.


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## AR Transplant

by the way, did you make drainage holes?


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## ajaxlucy

Fantastic!


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## NewGround

AR Transplant said:


> by the way, did you make drainage holes?


I drilled 8 drainage holes in each bucket. One "cube" of peat moss and then potting soil fills up the rest. Before planting I soaked everything really good until I had positive drainage...

The buckets can be lifted out and the whole rig moved around if need be...

Come cold weather I'll probably add some sort of cover to extend growing time. Just screw up some battens and drape plastic over it...


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## kan-green

I had the same problem. Planted a huge garden at my land 30 miles away and it was doing great until I spent a week in the hospital and couldn't make it out there for three weeks. All weeds now. I was just thinking today about making a few raised beds here at the house so I may just adapt your idea.. great job.


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## alpacamom

What a great idea!


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## motdaugrnds

OMG I cannot invision our tomato plants in your raised beds!

Number one, they are too close together. Our plants have at least a 3 ft spread.

Number two, they are going to get so large that they will need staking. How you gonna stake them in those buckets?

Maybe others' tomatoe plants don't grow like ours do; but I wouldn't stake my life on it .. pun intended!


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## FarmboyBill

Looks like something Red Green woulda built, tho outa duct tape, with used broken buckets.


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## sunflower-n-ks

That is so great for so many reasons. If you need to make support for tomatoes, use 4X4 or 6 X 6 mesh field fencing to make a cage above the buckets. The tomatoes will climb up the sides and go across the top. You can easily reach through the holes in the fencing to pick the tomatoes. Would work for climbing beans and other climbers.


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## TwosCompany

I'm going to rain on everyone's parade and say that that thing is just dreadful. Horrible idea that's going to be nothing but trouble. You should just dismantle it and ship it to me for...err....disposal.


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## TNHermit

sunflower-n-ks said:


> That is so great for so many reasons. If you need to make support for tomatoes, use 4X4 or 6 X 6 mesh field fencing to make a cage above the buckets. The tomatoes will climb up the sides and go across the top. You can easily reach through the holes in the fencing to pick the tomatoes. Would work for climbing beans and other climbers.


along with that If you left the legs long you could put fence between for pole beans,cukes, etc in the outside and middle buckets. Its an outstanding idea :goodjob::goodjob: lots of thoughts goin through my head.  :bouncy:


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## calliemoonbeam

So who ever said "******* ingenuity" was an oxymoron?? lol Those are great! Minimal materials, minimal effort, maximum output! Although I have to agree with Mot, they may all grow together into one huge bush and will definitely need stakes. 

My tomatoes right now are about 4-1/2 feet all and have a spread of at least 3 feet, maybe more, and I'm just now starting to get a ripe tomato or two, they have a long way to go yet. I figure I'm not even halfway through the season. 

I do like Sunflower's idea though, and I may just have to steal hers and yours, lol!


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## ||Downhome||

lonelyfarmgirl said:


> What's ******* about that? Thats genius.


don't you know the stereo type portrayed is far form the truth, *******'s are genius or at the least have common sense and are a industrious breed, little rebellious and proud folks too. 

I hate that stereo type with a vengeance. but I know my heritage and some times that's enough. :hijacked:

back to the OP great idea! lot less lumber then a table. looks like a quick build too. :rock:


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## CaliannG

Wowza! I had a bucket set up for my aeroponics stuff...but I think I am going to steal your design for aeroponics also! That supports the buckets far better than a table, keeps weight from tipping them over, and there is still room underneath for a nutrient reservoir or shallow fish tank!

That's about 11 2x4x8's that I see in there? Me likey!


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## DamnearaFarm

I could also see this working for someone who is wheelchair bound. Drop the height of the table just a bit and it could easily be maneuvered around and accessed.


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## pheasantplucker

I was going to ask you as well about staking them, and then I noticed the gap between the two 2x4's on the inside. I suppose you could run some tall stakes up through that gap (kinda like a mast on a ship) and tie your plants to them. I like your idea...(Maybe woulda used treated lumber throughout)


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## hmsteader71

Did you use potting soil to start those?


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## freegal

Great idea! There are plenty of veggie varieties and herbs that would happily grow in containers.


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## Wisconsin Ann

re: size of pots and staking, etc....

think "patio tomatoes". Even the larger plants can be kept small by pinching off the tops. I had a tomato plant in the garden one year that got it's top weedwhacked. It started flowering and set fruit like all the rest of the plants...just shorter. 

This set up would be positively perfect for pepper plants. I have a terrible..TERRIBLE problem with my pepper plants getting dug up by critters. As another said, herbs would be great..particularly Mints... a way to keep the monsters controlled  (I have chocolate mint creeping all through the south end of the garden now  )

*re: treated lumber*...my personal view on using treated is that it's usually not worth the expense. I've got a couple of raised beds at the town house that I put in 14 years ago. regular 2x4s. right on the ground. The beds are still there, doing just fine. 

For something like this, you could easily slap a coat of whitewash on it if you felt the need. 

OMG...just had a visual of this set up filled with trailing petunias and other vine things, and various upright flowers. The trailing flowers would cover the sides/buckets from view quickly. wow...what a great planter....you could change out the buckets if you wanted to for a different look...oh wow...wheels on one end would be easy

We have fairly easy soil to dig in, so I don't have to worry about getting a blasting license to dig my garden  but this makes so much sense for some of the ODD areas of my yard where it's either build a "raised bed or don't plant"


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## ckncrazy

Great idea! Next time you use this system, you could always roll some fencing to fit inside your buckets(all the way to the bottom), fill with prefered growing media, then plant. That way you have sturdy cages that won't tip.


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## salmonslayer91

great idea i think ill patent it and market it like the topsy turvy ! jk


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## Runestone

What a great garden...I have friends who would love to garden but don't have a lot of room...this would work for them! Thanks for posting the pictures.


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## KIT.S

May I show ours? My son wanted to try growing upside-down tomatoes, and this is the result. This was a cloudy day, but they get all sunshine from noon to sundown. He set up automatic watering, so I just turn on the faucet. They're hung on a conex storage unit with s-hooks. I hope our weather improves so they actually grow!
Kit


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## Toulle

I had to post here - I had planned on building something very similar. Problem I had was I could not scrounge enough cheap/free buckets that were uniform size enough to work, and buying buckets just didn't seem cost effective.
But my thoughts:
I was looking at square buckets, like cat litter comes in. It would sit better on the frame and have less wasted space. Even bigger problem with scrounging or buying them, tho.
Very workmanlike job on your table. All you need, nothing you don't. I would have used treated, even if it was more expensive. However, I just bought some 2x4 this past weekend, and treated at our local home box was cheaper than whitewood - $1.88 for PT 2x4x8 vs 2.74 for untreated. My pantry shelves are now made out of treated....
I saw somewhere, I think it was Mother Earth News, plans to make self watering containers out of a pair of 5 gallon buckets. There was one bucket as you have, with holes in the bottom sitting inside an un-holed bucket that served as a reservoir. I am sure you could look it up and find it online, free of course. That would work great in this case.
To take the self-watering a step further, I considered a PVC pipe manifold of sorts with a filling funnel on one end. It would run into the bottom of each reservoir bucket so I only have to run the hose or dump the water bucket at one spot.
Seeing yours, I am inspired to re-consider


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## Toulle

I see KIT.S has the type of square buckets just like I was talking about. How do you get those for cheap/free, without having to wait for your cat to go through 20-40 of them?


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## trbizwiz

FOr square cat littler type boxes, check out recycle centers. We usually recycle on saturdays. There is always a cat litter bucket to two in there. I can seldom resist snagging any 3 gallon or larger buckets in the recycle bin. The wife is not a big fan of my little hobby, Ill have to show her this . She will have a new appreciation. SHe hates weeding.


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## sunflower-n-ks

I am afraid that "freecycle" things will be getting harder to get. A local place that did offer the 5 gal buckets for a buck, now recycle them so they are not available there anymore. A bottled drink plant gets their "flavoring" in cardboard boxes. No plastic to recycle. Pickles now come in boxes, not buckets at some of the restaurants. 

Check places that make sweet rolls. The frosting comes in buckets that some places will sell cheap.


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## freeb

I ask for buckets at sams in the bakery. My sams has round and square!


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## edcopp

Some might call it container gardening, but it is still pretty cool. It would only take a little more activity to move the whole operation into the living room for the winter. More buckets might be needed to catch the drips. Then that water could be used to water the plants again.

If you built several sets of these things you might be able to raise a small flock of chickens underneath. You might want to do that part somewhere else (beside the living room).


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## Curtis B

||Downhome|| said:


> don't you know the stereo type portrayed is far form the truth, *******'s are genius or at the least have common sense and are a industrious breed, little rebellious and proud folks too.
> 
> I hate that stereo type with a vengeance. but I know my heritage and some times that's enough. :hijacked:
> 
> back to the OP great idea! lot less lumber then a table. looks like a quick build too. :rock:


I agree, this whole time I was trying to figure out what was wrong with being a *******.


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## seedspreader

KIT.S said:


> May I show ours? My son wanted to try growing upside-down tomatoes, and this is the result. This was a cloudy day, but they get all sunshine from noon to sundown. He set up automatic watering, so I just turn on the faucet. They're hung on a conex storage unit with s-hooks. I hope our weather improves so they actually grow!
> Kit


Also, please keep us posted because I'd like to see how these turn out too!


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## NewGround

Well I'm scrounging the wire mesh I'll use for the staking and "train" them into the mesh. Like mentioned above I'll pinch off the plants when they get too big...

I intend to weave tomatoes into the mesh all around the perimeter with the peppers in the middle of one side... Still tweaking and thanks for all the great ideas... Next year I can see a whole new look to my garden ;-)


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## CesumPec

sunflower-n-ks said:


> A local place that did offer the 5 gal buckets for a buck, now recycle them so they are not available there anymore.


Check with your local recycling company. They get tons of 5 gal buckets and they don't get squat for them when they try to sell them for melt down. Some recyclers don't want to be bothered with scavengers, but others make a biz out of selling reusable items like lumber, buckets, crushed concrete, dirt, mulch, etc.


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## cast iron

Excellent idea, way to challenge the status quo. So many pre-conceived notions that a garden has to be at ground level, making it an ergonomic struggle.

This is the kind of design I'd look to as a starting point for making gardening do-able when one is in a wheelchair. Maybe lower the height a bit, maybe use 2 gallon buckets instead of five so that they are liftable by someone in a wheelchair or scooter. So much potential.


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## catzkids

Love it!


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## Freya

Awesome idea! I bet if you put some wheels/casters on the bottom it would be super easy to push it around so you would not have to lift the buckets out!


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## ronbre

sure looks good if you don't mind daily watering..which I couldn't possibly do here..so it wouldn't work for me


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## DW

Great idea...think of folks that can't bend over or folks in wheel chairs. I'll bet you can get lots of tomatoes, too.


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## sunflower-n-ks

ronbre said:


> sure looks good if you don't mind daily watering..which I couldn't possibly do here..so it wouldn't work for me


The only difference between daily watering of plants in the ground and plants in buckets is the buckets take less water. Some of those water absorbing crystals help that also. I have to water every day here or things start to droop.


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## KIT.S

People asked about getting buckets: The ones we bought were 25 cents apiece including the lids. They had had mayonaisse in them, and had not been washed out, so they were cheaper than the usual 50 cent ones with no handles. There is a gentleman locally who gets once-used food-safe items and resells them. The garbage company won't allow us to scrounge and won't resell anything, although they have an entire trailer full of white square buckets. Shame, that. I remember "sea-gulling" with my dad, and we still use a cast iron frypan he picked up that way.
So anyone in Oregon can pick them up in Adair, north of Corvallis on Hwy 99W. 
And yes, hopefully our upside down tomatoes will thrive and I'll post before-and-after pictures. My DD says there are small green tomatoes there now....
Kit


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## Tabitha

Great idea. I have to show that to my son who can not garden where he lives. I would not worry about staking, they will drape down and my guess is, do just fine. I think I would put the lid under each bucket though, to keep the water running out of the bottom too fast.


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## NewGround

The bottom half of the buckets is peat moss so I'm hoping that will be a water bank for the plants. Will keep up with progress or lack thereof...


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## salmonslayer91

you could always make self watering buckets so that the water could be better maintained  especially during the summer


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## farmer_nurse

We have a 5 gallon pail garden down the road from us... I thought it was a wonderful idea when I saw theirs... they have regular tomato cages right in their pails and it seems to be working just fine.


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## Maura

Genius. Last summer my DD hurt her back so asked her old frail mother with a bad back to plant her stuff. For the three tomatoes, I put a cardboard box on the grass, filled it with potting soil, put the tomatoes in. Like, I'm gonna dig into sod?


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## charles w harris

NewGround said:


> Okay yall...
> 
> My garden at my land burned up and withered away with only a stout crop of weeds remaining. All my corn fried, melons just gave up and the tomatoes and peppers will never recover. I even started some Comfrey roots, well at least I started them but they're finished...
> 
> So at my house, 2 hours away from my land but close to where I work I finally got a little something going here at least...
> 
> Couldn't get the permit for blasting so I had to go to the raised bed idea... So using a little ******* ingenuity I built me a garden. May be able to get at least a BLT this year...
> 
> Heck, if this works out well I'll have me 10 of these next year.





ajaxlucy said:


> Fantastic!


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## charles w harris

how about drawing up some plans with measurement


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## mnn2501

The key to gardening like that is to line the buckets with bubble wrap, else the sun beating down all day will burn up your roots. The bubble wrap works as an insulator which normal plastic wrap would not do.

And yes you should have drainage holes, I had a couple and put one layer of newspaper over the bottom.

Been there done that, though mine just sat on the ground.


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## emdeengee

Excellent. And no bending. We could easily put these all around the border of our property.


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## farmmaid

emdeengee said:


> Excellent. And no bending. We could easily put these all around the border of our property.


Did not read all of the post but you could put an area between the pails to plant nasturtiums and marigolds....Garden helpers to keep bad bugs away!


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## anniew

I normally have veggies growing in 12 inch pots that are plastic but the color of clay pots. There are two rows on a long table, with the table pushed up against the garden fence. The row next to the fence has climbing type plants, like pole beans, cucumbers, and squashes that wander. In the other row are the tomatoes and peppers, both supported by the usual tomato cages made of wire. I do this in addition to my raised beds...Yes, they do need daily watering when there is no rain and the sun is hot, but I've always been told that a daily watering is good...because you get to look at each plant and can notice if something doesn't look right, whether it is an insect infestation starting, a disease, or a wild critter taking a snack. I need to water my raised beds anyway, so also doing the pots with the hose is fast.
The pots come with holes in the bottom for drainage. I use Pro-Mix for the soil media. At the end of the season, I usually put the Pro-Mix into the raised beds, and start over with new stuff.


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## lmrose

NewGround said:


> Okay yall...
> 
> My garden at my land burned up and withered away with only a stout crop of weeds remaining. All my corn fried, melons just gave up and the tomatoes and peppers will never recover. I even started some Comfrey roots, well at least I started them but they're finished...
> 
> So at my house, 2 hours away from my land but close to where I work I finally got a little something going here at least...
> 
> Couldn't get the permit for blasting so I had to go to the raised bed idea... So using a little ******* ingenuity I built me a garden. May be able to get at least a BLT this year...
> 
> Heck, if this works out well I'll have me 10 of these next year.
> 
> 
> What a great idea and easier to care for! I admire your tenacity in the face of adversity! You didn't give up but solved the problem another way!


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## whiterock

I use pickup tires for tomatoes, a couple of old tractor tires with sidewall cut out for various things, half barrels and tubs as well as 2 and 3 gal nursery pots and 5 gal buckets for peppers. When I set peppers and tomatoes out in the ground, a place a 1 gal nursery pot with the bottom cut out around the plant and pull soil up around it. This protects it from the wind and bunnies and keeps the water mostly in the root zone.
Just saw pics of my SIL's container garden, she has tubs as well as plastic barrels cut in half long ways and supported on sawbucks. Her reasoning is gophers and a bad back, so she doesn't have to bend over. Field wire is positioned to support vining crops. 
During high heat, I move the smaller pots to a more shaded location, Picking time, I pick the pot up and set it on tail gate or on a table to make it easier. Tubs, I set a chair next to the tub. The chair goes to the peppers in the ground as well. Can't squat or stoop very well, so don't plant beans. Okra gets tall enough that I can cut fairly easily, squash it the hard thing, and cucumbers. Usually need to keep a hoe in one hand and pick with the other so I don't fall over. a couple aren't a problem, a lot can be.


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## brownegg

Good set-up for a lot of reasons....however the sunshine is going to make the buckets very brittle and they won't last more than a few years. If one has a bucket source, I'd be stocking up replacement buckets.

be


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## Danaus29

Lowes used to sell silver colored buckets. Unless you smacked them hard against frozen ground in below 0*F weather they lasted forever. Now Lowes sells blue buckets. They might last a couple years if you're lucky. The ones I bought and planted peppers in last year are already breaking. Even one that is in the house has a split down the side.
I'll be looking at the green Walmart or orange Home Depot buckets before I buy another from Lowes.


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## MsDawnHeadStartTeacher

NewGround said:


> I drilled 8 drainage holes in each bucket. One "cube" of peat moss and then potting soil fills up the rest. Before planting I soaked everything really good until I had positive drainage...
> 
> The buckets can be lifted out and the whole rig moved around if need be...
> 
> Come cold weather I'll probably add some sort of cover to extend growing time. Just screw up some battens and drape plastic over it...


I would like to make one of these for my Head Start Classroom to learn about plants, veggies, and nutrition in general. Could you please add a list of items needed so I know what to buy at the lumber yard? Hopefully one of my dad's will volunteer to make it. If not, I got this. I know I need 12-5 gallon buckets, peat moss, potting soil, screws, and lumber, just don't know how much of each. Thank you


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## MsDawnHeadStartTeacher

I would like to make one of these for my Head Start Classroom to learn about plants, veggies, and nutrition in general. Could you please add a list of items needed so I know what to buy at the lumber yard? Hopefully one of my dad's will volunteer to make it. If not, I got this. I know I need 12-5 gallon buckets, peat moss, potting soil, screws, and lumber, just don't know how much of each. Thank you


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## Danaus29

MsDawnHeadStartTeacher said:


> I would like to make one of these for my Head Start Classroom to learn about plants, veggies, and nutrition in general. Could you please add a list of items needed so I know what to buy at the lumber yard? Hopefully one of my dad's will volunteer to make it. If not, I got this. I know I need 12-5 gallon buckets, peat moss, potting soil, screws, and lumber, just don't know how much of each. Thank you


Unfortunately the thread creator hasn't logged on in over 9 years.

I don't know how wide a 5 gallon bucket is but it wouldn't be hard to figure out. Just be sure to include the outermost edge in your measurements, times 6. The width would be 2 buckets plus your lumber. Looks like they used 2x4 inch lumber. Pine would rot pretty quick unless you apply some sort of preservative. I would put something on the wood no matter what kind you use. You'll need at least 6 boards to run underneath if you put only one under each bucket and a brace running the whole length underneath. I would put 6 legs on the structure, one at each corner and 2 in the middle.

If you want to do a simple version for little kids I would suggest a cattle bunk feeder. I haven't run the numbers but it probably won't cost a whole lot more and it's much easier to assemble.









Tarter 5' One-Piece Poly Bunk Feeder, Red - 1PB5


This product may be tax exempt for certain individuals – please click here for more details.




www.ruralking.com





I would fill it with potting soil instead of the peat blocks. You will have to fertilize peat. Potting soil contains fertilizer.


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## Jordansacres

NewGround said:


> Okay yall...
> 
> My garden at my land burned up and withered away with only a stout crop of weeds remaining. All my corn fried, melons just gave up and the tomatoes and peppers will never recover. I even started some Comfrey roots, well at least I started them but they're finished...
> 
> So at my house, 2 hours away from my land but close to where I work I finally got a little something going here at least...
> 
> Couldn't get the permit for blasting so I had to go to the raised bed idea... So using a little ***** ingenuity I built me a garden. May be able to get at least a BLT this year...
> 
> Heck, if this works out well I'll have me 10 of these next year.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Do you have printable plans (dimensions) for building your stand?


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