How To: Build a supported grow bucket

After losing several nice pepper plants to broken stems, I borrowed the "tomato cage" concept from traditional soil gardening to design a bucket lid which is easy to move from bucket to bucket for reservoir changes and also provides plenty of built-in support for the plant. Here I'll demonstrate how I build mine with parts and tools from Home Depot.

Parts list:

• 1 five-gallon 'Homer' bucket from Home Depot
• 1 'Homer' bucket lid
• 1 roll PVC-coated wire fencing (like this)
• 1 bag 8-inch plastic cable ties (I use these for everything)

Tools list:

• Power drill
• 3-inch hole-saw
• 7/32" drill bit
  
• Bolt cutters or wire snippers

Step 1: Cut the main hole

First we cut the hole that our plant's net pot will rest in.

Attach the hole saw to your drill and flip the bucket lid upside down (it's easier to cut the hole from the underside than from the top, since the lid is slightly recessed). Secure the lid with one hand or a clamp and then cut the hole. The plastic cuts easily so feel free to make the cut slowly and carefully if you have a multi-speed drill.

Step 2: Drill holes for the cable ties

Next we drill the holes that we'll use to tie the cage to the bucket lid. Change the hole saw out for the 7/32" drill bit. Leaving the lid upside down, drill two holes side by side in the inside rim, ensuring that both holes are between (NOT STRADDLING) the little plastic walls that serve as structural supports. Drill three more pairs of holes in the lid so that you end up with one pair of holes each at the north, south, east and west points of the lid.

Step 3: Thread the cable ties

Flip the bucket lid right-side up and pick a pair of holes to start with. Thread the narrow end of a cable-tie into the hole on the right side of the pair. Push the cable tie about halfway through, then flip the lid over. Bend the narrow end of the tie and pass it through the remaining hole in the pair, like so:

Flip the lid back over and pull the narrow end of the tie and adjust it so that the tie is centered through the pair of holes, as such:

Step 5: Cut out the cage

Sorry, I don't have a photo for this step. What you need to do is figure out how much wire fencing you need to cut off of the roll in order to create a cylinder that fits the top of your bucket lid. Unroll a length of fencing and bend it to the shape of your bucket lid until you have figured out how much fencing it takes to make a cylinder. Keep in mind- your cylinder is being secured to the inside rim of the bucket, not the outside. Using your wire cutters, clip this amount of fencing off of the roll. This will be your support cage.

 

Step 6: Secure the cage

Wear eye protection for this step in case you lose your grip on the wire fencing. Bring the two ends of your fencing segment together, causing the cage to take its cylindrical form, and fit it to the topside of your lid. Use one of the threaded cable ties to draw the two loose ends of the cage together and bind them to the bucket lid. You may find this easier if you reach in through the hole we cut in step one.

Work your way around the other three cable ties, tightly securing the base of the cage to the top of the lid. When you are finished, use your clippers to cut off the long portions of the cable ties leaving only the lugs that are holding the cage to the lid:

At this point the cage is secured nicely to the lid and the whole assembly becomes a lot more manageable.

Step 7: Stich the cage shut

 Working your way from the bottom up, use cable ties to stitch the cage closed. Clip off the long ends of all the cable ties, and you are done!

In the next update I'll explain how I use this special bucket to grow plants.