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Planting something, watching it grow, and enjoying the fruits of your labor is one of life’s greatest joys. There’s something incredibly rewarding about planting, nurturing, and finally enjoying the results of your own garden.
Bucket container gardening can be as fulfilling as large-scale farming when it comes to growing and harvesting your own food. It can be especially great for urban homesteaders or those who live in apartments or areas with very small backyards and don’t have enough space to grow fruits and vegetables.
You don’t need much—just a few buckets and some care to watch your plants thrive. Bucket gardening is a practical solution for small spaces, allowing you to grow fresh produce right on your balcony, patio, or tiny backyard. It’s a manageable way to grow your favorite fruits, vegetables, and herbs, no matter where you live.
Whether planting in your backyard, on a balcony, patio, or urban homestead, here are some of the best plants that are simply perfect to grow in buckets.
What You Need for Backyard Bucket Gardening
Plants need certain things to grow. Gardening, no matter the scale or type, needs the same basic things. To have a successful bucket garden, there are five key things you will need to make sure you have:
- Space for the plants to grow
- Large enough buckets
- Easy access to water
- Enough hours of sunlight
- Time to care for your plants
1. Tomatoes
This is one of the easiest crops to grow in a home garden; tomatoes are also perfect for buckets as the root systems are not overly extensive and thrive with minimal care.
Related post: How to Support Tomatoes
2. Lettuce
Many varieties of lettuce can be grown in a homestead bucket garden. It’s an excellent way to keep fresh lettuce on hand for your salads.
Related post: How to Wash & Store Lettuce
3. Strawberries
With a more compact growing habit and a good ratio of plant space to crop yield, strawberries work quite well in buckets and are a good way to get fruit into your garden space.
4. Peppers
Pretty much any variety of pepper, from jalapenos to bells to chillis, can be grown in buckets, making a wonderful staple crop.
5. Onions
Onions can easily be grown in buckets with minimal care as long as the bucket is deep enough to allow the bulb to grow properly.
6. Beans and Peas
You have plenty of options with beans and peas, such as green beans, black-eyed peas, and other crops that grow well in buckets with a trellis or growing posts in place.
7. Eggplant
Eggplants can thrive in large buckets that support the root system and provide enough room for the plant to grow freely.
8. Broccoli
Depending on the size of your bucket, you can grow several broccoli plants in a single bucket on a balcony, patio, or any other outdoor space with ample room.
9. Cabbage
A little harder than some other crops, cabbage is still a good choice for a homestead garden limited to bucket gardening due to space constraints and limitations.
10. Potatoes
While you will need large and deep buckets for them, potatoes are another edible plant that works well in a bucket setup and doesn’t require a lot of space overall.
11. Dill
Small in size but packed with plenty of flavor, dill is a common herb in homestead gardens. It thrives in buckets and does well outdoors in a variety of environments.
12. Basil
A staple of kitchens everywhere, when you want to have fresh basil for your cooking adventures, there is no better place to get it than from your container garden spot.
13. Parsley
While it is often grown in the garden among other plants, parsley can also thrive in buckets, making it a great addition to your gardening layout.
14. Oregano
One of the big appeals of oregano is that it can easily be grown in a bucket, and it also offers a wonderful aroma that makes any outdoor space all the more inviting.
15. Garlic
With big flavor and small packaging, garlic plants do not take up a lot of space and offer a good crop yield for the space they take up, which is why they are so popular in bucket gardens. Having garlic readily available, you can turn it into garlic powder, roast it, or use it as an ingredient in your mashed potatoes.
16. Rosemary
Grown as a flowering plant and a cooking herb, rosemary is another herb well-suited for growing in buckets and can be placed in small buckets among your other crops.
Related post: How to Dry Rosemary
17. Chamomile
Anyone who wants fresh sleepy-time tea will love having a pot of chamomile on hand for those sleepless nights or when it is time to sit back and relax with some fresh tea.
18. Lemongrass
Full of flavor and tantalizing aroma, lemongrass can easily be potted up and grown in any outdoor space, making it another popular herb for homestead container gardening.
19. Cilantro
A common addition to many recipes, cilantro can be kept in your garden space all season long by keeping a bucket of the flavorful herb.
20. Catnip
If you have a furry feline friend at home, consider making them their own little potted plant and keep some fresh catnip on hand for them to enjoy.
Much of the joy of gardening comes from seeing and enjoying the fruits of your labor. Container gardening is a great way to practice more sustainably while ensuring you and your family have fresh food on hand when needed!
21. Blueberries
Blueberries grow very well in buckets, which is a great way to get fresh blueberries. You can use them to make your favorite homemade blueberry preserves or as a topping on your pancakes.
22. Arugula
Arugula, a fast-growing annual leafy vegetable in the Brassica family, thrives in buckets. Its quick growth, aided by fertile soil and consistent moisture, allows for multiple harvests in one season. This super green continues producing until the ground freezes, yielding a significant amount from each plant.
23. Swiss Chard
Swiss chard thrives in raised beds due to the soil’s consistent fertility, which promotes robust growth. The bed’s height also makes harvesting the leaves easier.
24. Beets
Beets, loved for their nutritious roots and greens, grow quickly and taste best when harvested young. The entire plant is edible and can be enjoyed in salads or roasted. They flourish in buckets.
25. Carrots
Carrots, a cool-season crop, can be planted in spring and late summer. They are crunchy, sweet, and nutritious, thriving in buckets where the loose, deep soil promotes unobstructed root growth. This results in straighter, larger carrots without the stunting or deformities common in compacted soil.
26. Radishes
Radishes are among the fastest-growing vegetables. They can be ready to harvest in just three weeks and add a peppery flavor to salads and dishes. Due to their quick growth and minimal space requirements, radishes are well-suited for buckets.
