Farming in a Bucket

For the past few years I've thought that I would like to start a garden.  Last year was my first half-hearted attempt at this game and it failed miserably.  

There were a few problems that contributed to my failure, and I hope that I've learned, at least a little since that time.  Two problems last year were that I started the seeds entirely too late in the year.  The plants sprouted in the hottest parts of the summer and didn't stand much of a chance.  Once they had come up I transplanted them into some poor soil on the side of the house where proper light and drainage don't exist.

That was all part of Farming 1.0 (beta)

This year, the girls and I started our seeds in early spring.  We checked them daily and kept them watered.  They sprouted quickly and I felt like they were already out-growing their tiny homes.

Not wanting to fully commit a portion of my yard to gardening yet, we decided to try container gardening.  We set up our plants in a few five gallon buckets.  First we put a few inches of drainage rocks in the bottom of the bucket to try and allow some space for the water to drain away from the roots.  Next we added real planting soil.  Not like the clay and rocks we used last year.

We have three buckets going right now.  One plant in each, to give the roots plenty of space.  We are growing two corn plants and a green bean plant.  Still in the black plastic trays are several carrot plants.  The carrots are extremely tiny plants still and I'm nervous about transferring them to a larger bucket still.  This will come in the next week or two.

If farming in a bucket yields even one ear of corn or one single bean then next spring we will dedicate a small portion of our yard to gardening with multiple crops!  If that happens, you'll be sure to know.  You've probably never seen a gardener get so excited over a single ear of corn.