Bucket Garden Questions!

[WillowWaffle]

I'm a renter of a home. I don't want to dig up the yard and recently discovered this brilliant thing called bucket farming!
Its where you take plants and plant them inside a bucket instead of the ground. problem: i'm not experienced in growing vegetables. I would love tips, advice, and everything you can throw at me!
I was planning to use the seed starters before moving outside to 5 pound buckets. Then lots of watering and what not and sunshine and that's about as far as my newbie garden knowledge ends. I have some questions like for example:

• Can I grow wheat? Would a 5 gallon bucket of wheat grow at the least a cup of flour?
• What could I grow in say a smaller container. Like a butter container? Is that too small?
• I have a lot of cats in my area, would I have to worry about them attacking my garden?
• Is rainwater better for plants then tap water from a well?
• Can I move some of the buckets inside in the winter and just use a lamp to grow them?
• Can I grow pumpkins or watermelons in a bucket?
• Can I grow beans in a bucket?
• Can I grow corn in a bucket?!
• What kind of dirt do I have to use?
• We have a large verity of spiders and I plan on using this for educational purposes as well as fun, my students won't go NEAR a spider. Is there any way to prevent garden spiders or is it something I don't have to worry about with bucket farming?

Probably more questions. I'm new here and I THINK this is where this post goes but if i'm wrong i'm sorry!
If you have any other tips or experience doing the same thing please do share with me.

 

[Corzhens]

If you mean butter container is the small butter in the fridge, that would be fine for herbs particularly mint. We have tested planting mint in a small plastic post, as small as the butter container, and it had grown well (although we have replanted it on the ground again since the branches are getting long for comfort). With beans, I think it is all right to plant it in buckets or containers but like pumpkins and watermelons, the vines depends on the trellis or the poles to climb.

Water is water whether it is from the tap or from the rain. In fact, water that was used to rinse meat and fish is one of the best fertilizers that we use. Organic and free.

 

[Beth_B]

Lots of things you can grow in a five-gallon container...not sure about wheat or corn.
Pumpkins and melons sprawl and take up a LOT of room. So you would have to take that into account.

Things I grow/have grown in containers: bush and runner beans. Carrots, radish, onions, leeks. All types of greens. Tomatoes. Okra. Eggplants.
Herbs are easy to grow in smaller containers; people grow them on sunny windows.

Tap or well water is fine. So is rain but you cannot control the amount. Too much (or little) water will harm or even kill vegetable plants no matter what the source. Plants in containers dry out a bit faster than those in the ground. Goes without saying I assume, that 5-gal (I assume that's what you meant to say rather than 5-pound) buckets will need holes punched in the bottom for drainage.

Possible to grow inside, but you will need a LOT of light for most vegetables.

Cats won't "attack" plants but they may try to use exposed soil as a toilet. Straw or bark mulch will prevent this as they can't easily cover up their offerings with most mulch material.

I use a mix of soil from the ground, potting soil and some compost in containers. Whatever works. Soil for containers should be light and fairly well-draining.

Most spiders are beneficial and should not be killed (outside, at any rate.) I see more spiders inside my house than in the garden. I suggest you educate your students not to be hysterical about spiders. And, I suppose, to learn the difference between harmful spiders (quite rare in most parts of the country) and benign spiders, which is most of them.

Another excellent and easy option for your situation - google "straw bale gardening." I have plenty of space and can grow what I want, but have found straw bales an excellent, inexpensive and easy option and great for many veggies.

 

[mgmine]

Indoor gardens are not always successful. Some plants need pollination so keep that in mind when choosing what to grow. A five gallon bucket takes a lot of dirt to fill and should have drain holes so that the water doesn't get trapped. Another option besides straw bales are old tires. Lay them on the ground and fill them with dirt. They are particularly good for potatoes because it makes them easy to harvest and you can grow enough in one tire to make it worthwhile.

 

[MartySue]

You also might try vertical gardening --I love this idea, and plan to try it myself next spring. My daughter found a free source of wood pallets--we have an ATV store near us that uses them and throws them away by the dumpster.)
http://www.countryliving.com/gardening/garden-ideas/how-to/g1274/how-to-plant-a-vertical-garden/


Also, I have had a lot of success with the upside down gardening method (using the topsy turvy for tomatoes especially!) I hung it from the clothesline pole, which was sturdy enough in case my tomatoes got too heavy. Tons of blossoms and oodles of cherry tomatoes!

I definitely recommend alternate ways of growing gardens in small spaces--we have a very small space with a limited amount of sun--and so alternate gardening is about the only way we can achieve our own home grown veggies!

 

[MaryMary]

You might want to check with your local bakeries and delis to see if they would save their empty buckets for you. Flour and cake frosting come in 5 gallon buckets. Most deli salads (macaroni, potato, tuna...) come in 2.5 gallon buckets.

Saves you the expense of buying the bucket, and keeps them from just throwing them in the trash!!

I have a lot of cats, and as @Beth_B stated, the main problem is going to be that the nice, loose dirt is very tempting litter box material. What I have learned is to not give them room to squat. I buy those "yard stakes," or "garden stakes" (usually a bird, flower, or butterfly on a metal stick...) and put them in the empty spaces to discourage them from going there.

Lots of herbs could be grown in a butter tub. Chives, basil, and mint come to mind. I think parsley, dill, and cilantro would grow in a little pot, but I'm not too sure about those.

 

[headfullofbees]

I wouldn't grow wheat, too much pain for too little gain.
If you want flour of some sort, grow chickpeas and make gram flour, (that's the type used for bhajis).
Peas and beans will thrive in buckets, as they don't need too much in the way of nutrients, but the one real drawback of growing in pots/buckets, is the extra watering required.