DIY: Container Vegetable Garden

Last month, I started several varieties of seeds in my DIY: Newspaper Seed Pots . They were doing quite well and were outgrowing their temporary pots. I have been stuck inside with a terrible ear infection for close to two-weeks, so despite it being a tad early, I decided to take my chances and get my container garden going.

For my vegetable plants, I plant in 5-gallon buckets. They're not the prettiest option, but the price can't be beat. These lovely orange numbers were $2.60 at Home Depot. A comparable sized pot would have been significantly more.

If you go the bucket route, the first step is to add drainage holes. No fancy tools required here - just a couple screwdrivers. I started with a small screwdriver and pushed it through the bottom. You could use a hammer to tap it in, but the plastic isn't that strong so it isn't necessary.

Once the small hole is made, switch to a larger screwdriver and push that through to enlarge the hole.

Do this about 5 times around the bottom of the bucket, and it's ready to go.

Fill up the buckets with potting mix. A large bag (2.5 cubic feet) of potting mix filled two 5-gallon buckets with plenty left over for smaller herb pots.

Now, it's time to plant!

Grab your newspaper pots, remove the tape, and open up the bottom...

...and plant the entire thing!

 Repeat until you have a lovely patio container garden.

Clockwise from left I have: Cucumbers, Peppers, Cherry Tomatoes, Tomatoes, Dill, Cilantro, Italian Parsley, Basil and Mint.

If you made plant markers, now is the time to deploy them.

Are you gardening this year?