New project. The garden bucket.

I used:
-5 gallon bucket
-measuring tape
-marker
-razor blade
-heat gun
-drill w/bit
-tree stake
It took me about three to figure it out but I can probablu make the next one in about an hour. This bucket has 16 pockets on the side and of course the large opening at the top.  I drilled 4 holes at the bottom for drainage.

The top has a Cabbage and a Broccoli.

The sides have a Cauliflower, spinach, arugula, nevada lettuce, swiss chard, parris island romaine lettuce, buttercrunch lettuce.



Bucket garden completed 12/12/2010



It is an experiment to see how these things grow in these little pockets.  I am very curious to see what the cauliflower does.  I'll keep you posted.

What is going on with the peas!?!

I don't know if I should be excited or disappointed.  The package said that they would grow 4 to 6 feet tall so I built a 7 foot trellis cage just in case.  One of them just grew 4 inches in two days to 7 feet tall and I don't see any sign of pods.  They keep branching and even the branches have made branches.  They are the crop that I'm most excited about and they may not produce... I will try again in the spring either way.  Here are some progressive photos.

9/12/10

9/20/10

9/28/10

10/5/10

10/5/10

10/16/10

10/24/10

12/6/10

12/6/10 7 feet tall. Will it stop?

Transplanted Nevada Lettuce to the cart.

I moved some of my overcrowded lettuce into the cart.  Their roots were pretty shallow and very fragile. Here is a pic from the day I moved them.

Nevada Lettuce transplanted 12/2/10

Here is a pic from tonight.  Looks like they will be fine.

Nevada Lettuce 12/6/10 four days after transplant.

They are standing back up and look like they have grown some.
The beets are looking better too.

Early Wonder Beets transplanted 12/1/10

Early Wonder Beets 12/6/10 five days after transplant.

Transplanting Beets to the Salad Cart

I was wanting to eat my existing beet leaves in salad but was afraid that it might delay the root development.  About a month ago, I threw a bunch of beet seeds into a bucket knowing that I would be able to transfer them into my salard cart.  Last night, I made the transfer.  I was told by the nursery that you should always grow beets from seed because they don't transplant well due to their long tap root.  I think I got to them before the roots got too long, although some were about 5" on those little sprouts.

I took 35 beet seedlings from this pot!

I made about 7 holes and put approximately 5 seeds in each hole when I first planted the bucket. I was told the each beet seed is actually a cluster of seeds.  I stuck a metal ruler deep into the soil to pop up each cluster of seedlings and had to pull them apart.  I heard the occasional snap of roots breaking during this.

Tallest seedling was about 3".  Longest roots 6".

35 beets transfered, we'll see how many survive.

They are planted with just enough room for the roots to develop, but I will be stealing leaves continuously.  We'll see how they do...