Strawberry Buckets

Last week I shared how I made a strawberry tower out of flower pots. View that post here. This week, I'm sharing how I made strawberry buckets! They were easy to make and I'm really happy with how they're working out in our garden. I'm sorry I didn't get more pictures of the process, but it's fairly simple.

For this project you will need:

• Food grade bucket
• PVC Pipe (1 to 1-1/2" diameter and 2-3" taller than your bucket)
• Hole saw (1")
• Drill with 1/8" bit
• Landscape fabric
• Duct tape
• Potting soil
• Strawberry plants

Use the hole saw to drill 1" holes in your bucket, leaving 4-6" between each hole and staggering the holes. I have 8 holes in the bucket pictured. Use the drill bit to drill 1/8" holes around the bottom of the bucket (drainage holes.) Set bucket aside.

Use the drill bit to drill 1/8" holes in the center section of PVC pipe (do not drill the top or bottom 4" of the pipe.) These are watering holes so drill several. Cut a piece of landscape cloth and wrap the pipe in it. Use duct tape to hold in place. The fabric keeps roots and dirt from clogging the water holes.

Stand the pipe up in the center of your bucket. Fill around the pipe with enough dirt to reach the first level of 1" holes. Insert strawberry plants through the holes and fill bucket with more potting soil to hold them in place. Continue this process to fill in all the holes. You can also add plants to the top of the bucket. Water your plants by filling the PVC pipe.

My cost:

• Food grade bucket-- FREE from local restaurant
• PVC Pipe--FREE from my brother's job (scrap piece)
• Hole saw--about $15 (bought set from Lowe's)
• Drill with 1/8" bit--FREE from my husband's tool kit
• Landscape fabric--$3 from dollar store
• Duct tape--FREE from stash
• Potting soil--$12 from dollar store
• Strawberry plants--about $10 from local greenhouse

My out-of-pocket cost was $40 to make 2 buckets, but that included the hole saw kit (can be used for lots of projects around the house!) and I have enough landscape fabric for a few other projects, too. What a great bargain!

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I hope the directions are clear. If you have questions, feel free to ask in the comments. I might make another one or two buckets this week and will take pictures of the process for you, if anyone is interested.

Are you planting strawberries this spring? Will you eat them straight from the garden or put them into recipes?