Easy vertical garden

Limited on space? Have poor soil conditions? Perhaps you have limited mobility? This easy vertical garden is the perfect solution!

GUYS! I have missed you so much!

You won’t believe how the last 6 weeks have gone over here. ‍♀️. I had a part-time job and was let go because there weren’t enough hours for all of the staff. I immediately (within 3 days) got another job – full-time – but then last week I was told that funding for that had changed, so I was going to be part-time and on-call. In between the job mayhem, the girls and I went on a 10 day cruise to the Southern Caribbean with my parents (their treat). Oh, and I adopted (foster-failed) another dog – so now I have 3 dogs and 2 cats. It’s been CRAZY to say the least!!

But I have really missed my workshop time, and creating projects to share here.

So, with new beginnings and Spring on my mind, I thought I’d share plans for building this easy vertical garden.

Vertical gardening seems to be all-the-rage right now; maybe because of limited property sizes, poor soil, lower maintenance, or for health issues like back and knee problems. In my case, my soil contains a lot of clay and has been completely compacted by my pets. I needed a solution that would keep all pests out (domestic and wild), would be deep enough to host a few root vegetables like potatoes and carrots, and be easy to care for – because I’ll be honest, the bones creak and crack more than they should.

I came across an image on FaceBook of a bucket garden; a tiered, vertical garden, made up of 5 gallon buckets.

PERFECT!!

Easy Vertical Garden

You will need:

pressure treated 2 x 4’s
5 gallon buckets (I’ve been told you can get them for free from Dairy Queen)
drill
mitre saw
3″ wood or deck screws

Cut list from (9) pressure treated 2″ x 4″ x 8′

Board 1: (2) x 27″, (1) x 39″
Board 2: (2) x 39″, (1) x 15″
Board 3: (3) x 10 ¼”, (1) x 13 ¼”, (1) x 48 ½”
Board 4: (1) x 48 ½”, (1) x 15″, (2) x 13 ¼”
Boards 5, 6, 7: (1) x 48 ½”, (2) x 10 ¼”
Board 8: (1) x 48 ½”, (2) x 13 ¼”
Board 9: (1) x 48 ½”, (1) x 39″

Totals:

(4) x 39″ back posts
(2) x 27″ middle posts
(2) x 15″ front posts
(6) x 48 ½” front/back widths
(9) 10 ¼” interior cross sections
(6) x 13 ¼” sides

The cut list above has been optimized to use up your wood with as little waste/leftover as possible.

Once you have your pieces cut, it’s time to start assembling your easy vertical garden / bucket garden.

Start by drilling drainage holes in the bottom of each 5 gallon bucket.

I built the outer frame of the tiers first; screw a 13 ¼” side piece to either end of two 48 ½” lengths. This will give you the outer rectangle that the buckets will fit within. The buckets will be very snug inside this frame, but I decided to add cross braces between each bucket to give it extra strength in case the buckets become heavy with water after a rain. Better safe than sorry.

These 10 ¼” cross braces were tucked between the buckets while they were I place so I had accurate placement, then screwed in with 3″ screws. If you find it a bit too snug, you can add one less cross-brace, or rip your cross brace pieces in half.

Repeat this for two more tiers to your vertical garden.

Once you have your three rows complete, it’s time to attach the legs. Start by screwing your 15″ legs into the front corners of your first tier. I cut a 45° angle at the tops of each leg just to be decorative.

Mark your 27″ legs/posts at 15″, then attach the back of your first tier at that line. (see below)

Mark two of your 39″ legs/posts at 27″. Attach these with 3″ screws to the back of your second tier.

This gets a bit awkward, so tipping your vertical garden on it’s side is necessary.

If you aren’t building this in place in your yard, then you’ll need to stop here and move everything outside. The finished vertical garden will likely be wider than your garden gate.

Attach the final tier of buckets to the vertical garden so that the top is flush with the 39″ boards.

Finally, attach the back, and last, 39″ posts/legs.

You are essentially done! Your bucket garden / easy vertical garden is ready for planting!

You can add 13 ¼” spacers between the legs at the bottom if you wish, but this is pretty sturdy, so it is only if you choose to.

My backyard is on a bit of a slope, so I opted to dig in the legs of my bucket planter,

then clad the sides and front with some old deck boards that my parents were throwing out. I planed them down to ½” then attached with 1 ¼” screws.

I just preferred the look; a little more professional and a lot less orange glaring out.

Using leftover Arborcoat from when I painted my fence black, so I sealed the boards and made it look more cohesive.

Each 5 gallon bucket will hold just less than a bag (1 cubic foot) of soil, so all I need to do now is hit my local home improvement store and pick up some quality soil to mix with my LOMI compost.

The great thing about this easy vertical garden is that it is so much deeper than most raised gardens available for sale, so you aren’t limited by soil depth with your plantings. This year I’m going to add carrots, onions and potatoes to my tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and strawberries that I plant each year. I’m so excited!

I’ll update this blog post as things get growing.

We’ve had unusually warm weather all across North America this year, so planting your garden will come sooner than you think – time to head out to the yard and DIY yourself a summer of fresh produce!