Bucket Planters

Last year I created a flower bed in my backyard for my first time garden. This year, I have decided to get more of a variety of vegetables from my garden and decided to create some easy DIY planters from 5 gallon buckets.

For this project, I used things that I had laying around the house so the cost was pretty much $0.

Drill

Drill Bit

5 Gallon bucket(s) - for this, I used 2 different ones

Rocks (for drainage layer)

Soil

For this step, it is pretty simple. Get a bucket!

Being in the aquarium hobby, I had a couple spare buckets that I was able to repurpose for this. Ensure to clean the buckets out from any debris and give it a good rinse with the hose.

Flip the bucket upside down.

Using a drill and drill bit, begin to drill holes along the bottom of the bucket. This will allow the water to drain out. This is super important for healthy growth of plants, as plants sitting in water will kill them.

It is also important to know to make sure to space the holes out. If you drill too close together, the bottom will crack.

Unfortunately I did not take a picture of the holes drilled, however I drilled about 15 holes around the bottom, which will provide sufficient drainage.

Now that the holes are drilled, you will need to add rocks. The rocks will allow the water to drain out, while saving the soil in the planter.

For this, I happened to have a bunch of spare rocks that I could use. Filled up the bottom with ~2 inches and then filled with planter soil.

Now you are ready to plant whatever you want. I will be planting tomatoes in these.