Hanging Basket

This article is taken from Five Gallon Ideas, which features over 100 uses for 5 gallon buckets with more being added all the time.

In our Gardening with 5 Gallon Buckets video, we show off these amazing hanging buckets strung between laundry posts. They were invented by a clever renter who wasn’t allowed to dig up her back yard for a garden, so hung one above it instead.

It’s absolutely crazy how much plant matter can explode out of that tiny reservoir of soil.

A well designed hanging basket looks like a cheerleader’s pom pom or a fireworks display, cascading toward the ground with growth and color.

Hanging baskets are a great idea because you can grow food and flowers vertically, using space a lot more efficiently than just growing on the surface of the ground.

If you’re promoting more habitat for birds and bees, hanging baskets or any vertical growing methods for that matter, are very effective.

DIY Hanging Baskets

The best kind of bucket to use to make hanging baskets are galvanized pails with handles. i like the idea of just attaching one chain to the middle of the bucket handle and hanging it from the eaves.

For a great intro on hanging baskets, check out the LSU Ag Center’s PDF publication about them. They cover lining, watering, soil types, pest control and even which cactus species work well in suspended growth.

One-Armed Basket

There’s a commercial hanging bucket too from Master Craft that hangs on using a unique arm design.

Although quite small, these are perfect hosts for tiny herb gardens. You can move them around to follow the sun or bring them inside to protect your basil from freezing to death.

Potential for Small Farm Income

Hanging baskets would make an excellent supplement to a farm stand or farmer’s market booth income. Hanging baskets are purchased by busy suburbanites everywhere who want to add a splash of color to their home exterior. Back in Victoria, one famous hanging basket artist fills the entire downtown with hanging baskets every spring – and gets paid quite handsomely by the city, too.

If you’re successfully selling these, let the rest of us know in the comments your experience and how much you’re able to sell hanging baskets for in your community.

I’m starting my own hanging-baskets-for-money experiment soon, so I’ll have my own experience to share from.

My Hanging Basket Plans

I’m launching my own hanging basket experiment soon. I’ll be tracking my process, expenses and income, and sharing them here for your benefit.

My hanging baskets will be based on the Behrens watertight galvanized buckets.

I plan to stack the bottom with a mixture of sand and gravel to supply drainage without having to drill holes. Then a layer of soil and compost to top it off. I’m hoping to grow herb plants at first and try selling them at the family farm stand.

I’ll be updating this page with the full story when I have some pictures and details on the process.

For many more ways to use 5 gallon buckets for self sufficiency, visit Five Gallon Ideas. When citing this article, please link to