We bought "Homer" buckets, and Lowe's buckets by accident, and then found that if we put one inside the other, it'd wedge in and then we could carry both around by the top handle! A happy accident.
We drilled holes in the top bucket, 1/4", and cut old socks into strips, then tied a knot in one end and pushed them through each hole, so they dangled into the bottom bucket. Then we'd put soil in the top bucket, and plant whatever we were growing in it (generally last year, we grew from starters; some things we grew from seed, like lettuce which we started much later).
Then when we watered, we didn't need to worry about over-watering, as any excess would drain into the bottom bucket -- and then, would be "wicked up" by the sock when the soil started getting dry.
Worked really well. Also I set buckets out to collect the water falling off the porch's roof, and I was able to water with rainwater basically the entire summer. Now we need much more water, as there's a lot more soil. So we're using city water, but I'm really interested in a rain collection system for next year.
We bought "Homer" buckets, and Lowe's buckets by accident, and then found that if we put one inside the other, it'd wedge in and then we could carry both around by the top handle! A happy accident.
We drilled holes in the top bucket, 1/4", and cut old socks into strips, then tied a knot in one end and pushed them through each hole, so they dangled into the bottom bucket. Then we'd put soil in the top bucket, and plant whatever we were growing in it (generally last year, we grew from starters; some things we grew from seed, like lettuce which we started much later).
Then when we watered, we didn't need to worry about over-watering, as any excess would drain into the bottom bucket -- and then, would be "wicked up" by the sock when the soil started getting dry.
Worked really well. Also I set buckets out to collect the water falling off the porch's roof, and I was able to water with rainwater basically the entire summer. Now we need much more water, as there's a lot more soil. So we're using city water, but I'm really interested in a rain collection system for next year.