container garden stand
Last year, I had great success growing vegetables in 5 gallon buckets. At the time, I lived in a rental house and was unable to do any gardening in the ground. Instead of having buckets sprawled across the backyard, I settled on building a stand to keep them neatly stacked and in order. This is a low commitment garden. No tilling up your yard and no large wood planter beds. You can move it around as you please and easily get rid of it if you decide gardening just isn't your thing.
This stand will hold 8 standard 5 gallon buckets (Buckets can be found at Home Depot or Lowe's)I built mine using standard 2x4's. If you intend to keep this for more than a couple of years, I would recommend using pressure treated lumber.
Materials Needed:
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8 ft 2x4's - Qty 9
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2.5 inch screws - I used deck screws
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Exterior paint
Cut List:
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12" - Qty 2
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31" - Qty 4
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25.5" - Qty 4
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19" - Qty 2
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55" - Qty 7
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52" - Qty 1
Visual Cut List Guide to Minimize Scrap:
The first step is to build both outer structures. Be sure to build them mirrored to one another as shown in the photo. Remember to take your measurements and keep everything square!
Next add the two 55 inch boards that the buckets will rest on.
The top board can be "eyeball" centered in the top window of the outer frames.
Now add your remaining 55 inch boards and the final 52 inch board.
The 52 inch board provides the back rest for the lower row of buckets. It is shown by the green arrow in the photo below.
I also used a leftover board to add an angled cross brace to the back of the unit.
A good thick coat of exterior paint is especially important if you are not using pressure treated lumber.
I went with Behr exterior satin enamel paint in Asphalt Gray.
Another good way to preserve your stand is to create a base for it using concrete patio stones or gravel. You could also store this on a wooden deck if you have room. This will keep the wood from soaking up constant moisture from the ground.
Now you're ready to add your buckets and start growing!
