Redneck Raised Bed Garden

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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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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What a great idea!

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Paula

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

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.

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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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 lots of thoughts goin through my head.

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So who ever said "redneck 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!

don't you know the stereo type portrayed is far form the truth, redneck'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.

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

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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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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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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Did you use potting soil to start those?

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

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

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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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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