DIY PLANS FOR CONTAINER GARDENING

As promised I have included plans of making gardening grow containers.  This post is specifically for making patio grow containers from plastic buckets.  Food grade buckets are available from many sources including bakeries, restaurants and second hand stores.  White buckets are best since they do not absorb heat like darker ones.  Food grade buckets are heavier grade so last better.  I can buy  them for $.50 - $1.00 each.  Firehouse subs sell their red buckets for $2.00 each.
I have outlined how I make my buckets in the page on the right column of this blog. 
 The plans are to cut the bottom off one bucket and insert it into the second.  You could just as easily drop the 1st bucket inside the second after the necessary holes are drilled in both.  Fill the bucket with a combination of good grade potting soil and compost.  Soybean meal and cottonseed meal are good natural fertilizer.

Many crops can be grown in these buckets including tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, squash that can be grown vertically.  In other words place the buckets against a fence or build trellises for them to grow on.  Use plant twine to tie them to the fence or trellis.  I use cattle panels to grow on.  They will last for years.
You can also grow any other vegetable you would want, including onions, carrots, radishes, even blueberries.

Water the crops when they need it.  There is a 4 inch reservoir in the bottom that will wick upward to help water when they need extra or you are gone for a day or two.  You will know when the bucket has enough water in it when water runs out the holes in the side of the bucket.