RSS
Home
Garden gadgets: Big plastic buckets full of benefits for your gardens
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
.jpg)
Photo by Colleen Smith
I don’t want much plastic in my gardens, but I cherish several five-gallon plastic buckets because they benefit my gardens and me in ways untold. I did not buy my two favorite plastic buckets, but acquired one through a gracious gardening friend and salvaged the other after a paint job at my house. One is willow green, the other mustard yellow. Along with their cheery colors, these buckets contribute a lot to my garden.
Use a bucket as tote bag
I carry one of these big buckets with me when I weed. I find it so much easier to have a bucket with a handle and a wide mouth to toss weeds into, rather than fiddling with plastic bags. Besides, any weeds I pull or branches I prune that I don’t want for my compost, I make an effort to bundle instead of bag. Exposed to the elements rather than trapped inside a plastic bag, the weeds will biodegrade. In sun and wind and rain and snow, over time, the plants will break down naturally in the elements, adding organic matter to a landfill. In a plastic bag, the plant material doesn’t have much of a shot at biodegradation any time soon.
Use a bucket as a mixing bowl
I use other bucket to mix and carry soil. I did not buy any soil this year. Instead, I’m reaping the rewards of composting and caring for my worms—red wigglers and nightcrawling earthworms. In a plastic bucket, I mix old potting soil, some rich soil from my shade bed, and a scoop of fresh compost. The size is perfect: I don’t want to tote more weight that a five-gallon bucket of planting medium.
Use buckets as a wastebasket
Near my potting bench, I keep two buckets: One serves as a trash basket for what can’t be composted—labels from plants, plastic wrappers,
In the other one, I toss and organic matter from the garden: gunk from the garage gutters, trimmings from plants or deadheaded blossoms, sticks—anything that can later be added to one of my the compost bins.
If I’m heading out from the close confines of my courtyard, I’ll consider my task and what tools and materials I will need and put them all in one of the big buckets so I only have to make one trip. In my garden and in my life, I enjoy efficiency. Time flies: Don’t waste it! Buckets make me more efficient in my garden, and help keep it tidy, too.
Maybe all this bucket affection goes back to childhood, when I amused myself endlessly on a beach or in my sandbox where I required nothing much more than a bucket to be content. I'd be willing to wager that most gardeners liked sandcastles and sandboxes when they were kids. Right?
If you don’t want to buy a bucket, ask around at a construction site or your paint store. They might have a bumper crop of buckets they’d be happy to give to a good home with an interest in reducing, reusing, and recycling—as well as gardening.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
