Don’t throw away that old bucket that’s been sitting in the garage! It seems like we all have a bucket or two lying around the house that doesn’t get much use.
If you’re trying to figure out what to do with old garden supplies, like give that old pail a new life, there are tons of uses for buckets in the garden that can save you money and space. The only limit is your imagination.
From making compost to creating a “Mosquito Bucket of Doom,” a cheap or free 5-gallon bucket could be your most versatile garden tool. Here are some of my favorite ways to use buckets in the garden.
Clever Ways to Use Buckets in the Garden
There’s one essential gardening tool that’s often overlooked as something to recycle or toss in the donate pile: the humble bucket. But a 5-gallon bucket is a tool everyone should have because it’s inexpensive, versatile, and helps reduce plastic waste in the garden.
If you don’t have any extra buckets to use in the garden, you can find them cheap from a few different sources. Buy a bucket for just a few bucks at your local home improvement store or garden center. A classic orange Home Depot bucket costs less than $4. You can also check with local restaurants and grocery stores, too. They often have buckets they throw out after use.
Once you’ve gathered your buckets, try one of these clever ways to use them to grow a more sustainable garden.
1. Build a Space-Saving Bucket Garden
Plants and buckets go hand in hand. Instead of throwing out old buckets, drill some drainage holes in the bottom and use them as planters. Grow all your vegetables in a 5-gallon bucket for a space-saving design that produces a huge harvest. You can even buy a tiered cedar frame from Home Depot to create a self-contained bucket garden that will fit on almost any porch or patio.
2. Grow Tomatoes Upside Down
You can also create an upside down garden using old buckets. Tomatoes are the ideal plant for this method. Drill a hole in the bottom of a bucket, then plant your tomatoes upside down through the hole, and hang the bucket by its handle in a sunny location.
3. Keep Mosquitoes Under Control
Turn a bucket into a mosquito’s worst nightmare by creating a "Mosquito Bucket of Doom." This sinister-sounding DIY project helps reduce mosquito populations in your yard or garden. You use the bucket to build an inviting environment for mosquitoes to breed, but once they do you drop in a mosquito dunk, which you buy at Home Depot, to kill the flying insects and their eggs.
4. Contain Aggressive Plants
You may want to put certain plants in a bed but fear they’ll spread and take over the space. Mint is an especially aggressive herb that you should only ever grow in containers. Plant your desired plants in buckets and sink the buckets into the ground to keep them contained.
Or use small galvanized pails, like these ones from Amazon, for a decorative countertop herb garden. Just be sure to make holes in the bottom of your buckets, if they don't have them.
5. Make Mulching Easy
You can also use a bucket to make mulching easier and neater with a clever mulching hack. Simply place a bucket over each plant before you mulch an area of the garden then remove the bucket and your plant leaves will be mulch-free.
You can also use a bucket to make transporting and spreading mulch easier. Instead of filling a whole wheelbarrow with heavy mulch, take it in batches with a bucket. This makes moving mulch less tiring and easier to control than dumping a large load all at once.
6. Turn Kitchen Scraps Into Compost
In the kitchen, a bucket is an easy way to collect scraps to use in your compost pile. You can also use a 5-gallon bucket to make compost from plant scraps and fall leaves. Turn finished compost into compost tea, which is a liquid fertilizer, you can use to feed plants.
7. Collect Rainwater
There are many benefits of using a rain barrel. But if you’re looking for a cheap and easy way to get started before committing to a bigger barrel, then a bucket is the perfect beginner method.
Place your bucket outside in a location where it will fill with rain, then put the lid on once it’s full, and save the water for a dry day to water your garden.
8. Tote Around Tools, Flowers & Veggies
Use a bucket with a handle to carry small loads of tools, plants, or waste around the garden. Or use a bucket to easily carry your harvest, whether it's fresh veggies or cut flowers, back indoors.
Shop a variety of different garden buckets from Gardener’s Supply to find the perfect one for your specific needs. If you opt for a regular 5-gallon bucket, though, you can also turn it upside down to make a simple stool to prevent back pain while working in your garden.
