Global Buckets

Two Buckets on a Mission

Is it possible two cheap plastic buckets can help reduce global malnutrition?

Sounds crazy, but there's some amazing technology that can be created by combining two cheap 5-gallon buckets along with some other low cost or free materials. The result is a low cost foolproof system of growing food.

Benefits of the 2-bucket system:
1) 50% to 80% reduction in water usage.
2) 100% reduction in weeds...never pull a weed or use herbicides.
3) Once planted, very little attention is required.
4) Foolproof: People with very little training (like us!) can reap bountiful harvests.
5) All you need are a few square meters of space...even rooftops, industrial wastelands, etc

Two Brothers on a Mission
Our vision: Turning the rooftops and abandoned industrial wastelands of developing countries into mini-farms filled with green growing vegetables. The goal of this website is to share with the world the simple steps required to build the 2-bucket system. If you're connected with an organization or school in a developing country please contact us. Our sole mission is to assist you in implementing a 2-bucket growing program.

To the right of your screen are a series of "How To" videos we created to get you started.

Above Photo from Green Roof Growers

Diagram of 2 Bucket System

Click to Enlarge

Download PDF of Diagram

"Soil" Recipes

You can NOT use ordinary dirt in your global buckets.

Why? Wicking! Key to the success of Global Buckets is the water wicking up from the reservoir up into the upper bucket where the plant's root soak up the water. Ordinary dirt or soil will not wick. You need a growing medium that wicks. Sphagnum peat and coir are excellent wicking materials.

Here in the USA you can buy bags of pre-mixed material which work well. It's often sold as "potting mix". The main ingredients should be listed as sphagnum peat and/or coir with the remainder as some combination of vermiculite and/or perlite. The following materials do NOT wick: screened topsoil, forest biproducts, bark, forest humus, sawdust or partially composted something. If the bag lists any of the preceding materials as the dominate material then do not buy it.

We prefer to make our own growing medium. Here are our recipes:

Recipe #1: Sphagnum Peat
70% Sphagnum Peat
20% Vermiculite
10% Perlite

Recipe #2: Sphagnum Peat and Coir
35% Sphagnum Peat
35% Coir
20% Vermiculite
10% Perlite

Recipe #3: Coir
70% Coir
30% Perlite
Note: We're still testing the 70% Coir recipe.....

Pictured below is Recipe #2.
Perlite: very white material
Vermiculite: light grey
Sphagnum Peat & Coir: dark

Coir
We're very interested in Recipe # 3 which uses Coir and eliminates Sphagnum Peat. Why?

Coir, or coir pith, is a byproduct of the coconut industry. Until recently, coir was viewed as waste. It was burned or shoveled into massive piles which sat for decades. Recently, it was discovered that coir pith is an excellent substitute for Sphagnum Peat.

Why do we care? It takes 10,000 years for Sphagnum Peat to be created in wetlands and it's rapidly being depleted. Also, coir pith is widely available in many developing countries and regions, like India and central America...an area where Global Buckets could be utilized.

Dolomite

Probably the most confusing material is Dolomite. Often it's not labeled as Dolomite, but don't give up, you can find it if you look a little. Dolomite is commonly sold in garden or farm stores.

Dolomite is added to the potting mix to:
1) adjust the pH : it lowers the acidity ("sweeten")
2) add magnesium (important!)
3) add calcium (important!)

Key Points When Shopping for Dolomite:
-Often the bag will NOT say "dolomite"

-It might be labeled as "Agricultural Lime", "Agricultural Limestone" or "Garden Lime". Check the ingredients label. It must have CALCIUM & MAGNESIUM.

-"Agricultural Lime" and "Garden Lime" are broad terms. Just remember, if it doesn't say calcium, magnesium or calcium/magnesium carbonate or some variation of this, then it's not dolomite.

-"Hydrated Lime" is not dolomite. Hydrated Lime is highly concentrated, highly caustic and dangerous to handle or breath. Also, it contains no magnesium.

-Any bag of "lime" labeled "DOLOMITE" containing calcium and magnesium is suitable.

-Dolomite can be sold in finely powdered, pulverized or pelleted form. Buy the powdered or pulverized and avoid the pelleted form. The finer the dolomite is ground, the faster it becomes available to the plants. Talcum powder fine is best.

-Price: For a 50lb bag the cost should be US $4.00 to US $6.00

-Acid loving plants, like strawberries or blueberries, only need 1/2 cup or less.

What are you selling?

A lot of people ask "Who are you and what are you selling?"

It started when our dad (we're in high school) bought an EarthBox® planter. We read in the sales materials that the United Nations was using Earthbox® planters to teach people in developing nations an excellent way to grow food. This sounded like a great project, but we thought it would make more sense using locally sourced free or low cost recycled materials. That's what got us started.
Also, watering Global Buckets by hand become a BIG pain everyday so we explored ideas on how to automate the watering job using atmospheric pressure. Our system works great! This entire summer we only spent about 20 minutes dealing with water. Previously, we spent about 10 minutes a day. Using some engineering and physics to create wonderful efficiencies was the most rewarding part of the project.

What's next? Our eyes were opened when Curt Lindley, a Peace Corp worker in Mandeville, Jamaica, wrote to us and pondered if an alternative design could be created which didn't use 5-gallon buckets. Why? Curt wrote that 5- gallon buckets are so valued by the people of Mandereville that they would be very hesitant to put holes in the buckets. So, now our energy is directed at creating an alternative system using totally valueless materials. Whoops! Now we'll have to change the name to "Global Worthless Materials". Stay tuned.

Grant & Max

Where to find Buckets?

Please let us know where you've had success in getting free, recycled or really cheap buckets.

1) Bakeries. Frosting is shipped in buckets. These buckets are often smaller than 5 gallons, resulting in smaller water reservoirs. If you use the automatic watering system, you should be AOK. Wayne Burks from Anderson, Mo. writes, "I've been finding them at some Walmart stores that have bakeries. I get at least 5 at a time. Tonight I was able to get 9!"

2) Pickles. Deli pickles are often shipped in 5 gallon buckets.

3) Drywall Mud. According to Friedrich from Munich Germany, buckets that are used to ship drywall ("SheetRock") mud are safe. We express no opinion on the safety of using drywall mud buckets for a garden. Do not use them unless you have verified that they're safe.

4) Soap Makers. Make friends with a person who makes handcrafted soap. Vegetable oil, which is shipped in 6.5 gallon buckets, is used in the soap making process.

5) Mexican restaurants. I live near a Mexican restaurant which puts out their used buckets and lids weekly so this is a really good source. If you don't mind the fact that they are imprinted with the words Lard and Pork Bellies and of course you have to clean out the residual! I use the lard scrapings to make little eateries for the wild bird population in the winter. Sylvia from Norristown, Pennsylvania.

6) Fast Food restaurants. I find buckets at the Burger King on an Army base nearby. The pickles are shipped and as they empty the buckets they normally throw them out. Simply ask the manager to set them of to the side and you can pick them up at your leisure. David Lonowski US Army Irlbach, Germany

7) Electric motor rewinding shops get their wire in 5 gal. buckets. These are spotlessly clean and ready for use. They just junk them. Mike Connolly from Central Illinois.

8) Wine Store. "I found free buckets at a wine making retail store." Marcelle from Timmins Ontario Canada

9) Kitty Litter. I use empty cat litter buckets from myself and my friends. They have the right plastic rating and they work GREAT! Teresa

Experimental Design

Colander Design using One Bucket

4 Easy Steps to Build
1. Drill four holes 3 1/2" to 4" from the base of the bucket. Drill bit size: 1/4" to 1/2". You want to get water and air in, and excess water out.

2. Go to a discount store and buy the "Sterilite 12" (actually 11 3/4") plastic colanders for about $1.50 each.

3. Cut the 3/4" protruding handle off the colander.

Optional: If you want to use a watering pipe to get water into the reservoir, as opposed to using our automatic watering system design, then with a utility knife, cut off 3 of the plastic strips in the second row from the top of the colander. The watering pipe will go into this hole.

4. Firmly push the colander into the 5 gallon bucket until it reaches the bottom.

You're done! Just fill with your potting mix and plant.

Advantages: Cheap, Quick & Easy! $4.00 to $5.00 US each. Only one bucket is used and your time spent drilling holes is reduced by 90%. It takes less than 5 minutes to build a bucket.

The colander provides a huge wicking area. Because it is 4 3/8" tall it provides an approximate 1" "air gap" for the roots.

Automatic Watering: Run the 1/4" tube into one of the overflow/air holes.

Lessons Learned, Advice and Comments from Readers

Avoid Mosquitoes
The water refill pipe should be covered or capped. In tropical climates, the opening will invite female mosquitoes to breed and consequently diseases such as malaria or dengue could spread rapidly. (from YouTube viewer "asanov" writing from Malaysia)
Editor's Note: Shouldn't be a problem if you're using our automated watering system as seen in the videos.

Use Level Ground
If you're using our automated watering system (see the videos) make sure the buckets are on the same level ground as the reservoir. We had our buckets and reservoir on a sunken patio which had an "invisible to the naked eye" 1/4" per foot drop. The main reservoir was eight feet south of the buckets. This resulted in the bucket's water level two inches too low. Ooops!

Float Valves
This is where we buy float valves: US Plastic Corp
Make sure you get the adjustable valve. We upgraded from the 1/4" to the 1/2" because during the summer the plants were drawing a lot of water from the yellow reservoir and it appeared that the 1/4" valve couldn't keep up with the demand.

Renewable Peat?
"Just so you know, the 'traditional' thinking has been that peat bogs take 10,000s years to form. I have seen college text books that teach this. However recent research has found that Sphagnum moss grows up to 30 inches tall each year. I own 150 acres of forestland which includes peat bog. I can harvest peat, and it does grow back. Allowing re-harvest every 8 years. If I remove a 3 foot thick layer of peat, and come back 8 years later I can do it again. Peat is a renewable resource. Northern Scotland, Ireland, and Finland have been performing renewable harvests of their peat bogs for about 30 years." Galen Young of Argyle, Maine.

Earthbox®, Container Gardening, Sub-Irrigated Planter

Earthbox®, Container Gardening, Sub-Irrigated Planter...what's the difference?

Container Gardening
"Container gardening is the practice of growing plants exclusively in containers or "pots", instead of planting them in the ground" (Wikipedia). Global buckets is a form of container gardening.

Sub-Irrigated Planter
Sub-Irrigated Planter (SIP) is a generic name for a special type of planting box used in container gardening. The key feature is found in the watering system. The water is introduced from the bottom, allowing the water to soak upwards to the plant through capillary action (Wikipedia). Global Buckets is a form of sub-irrigated planter.

Earthbox®
Earthbox® is a patented sub-irrigated planter system. Earthbox's® research shows that an Earthbox® planter can double fruit and vegetable yields, using less water. Earthbox® brought the concept of sub-irrigated planters to the broad public.

The technology behind EarthBox® planters and Global Buckets is very similar. The main difference is that an EarthBox® planter cost $30 to $54 and are trucked across the country. Global Buckets are made using locally sourced, recycled and very low cost or free materials.

If a do-it-yourself project does not appeal to you, click here to buy an EarthBox® planter. Please note that we don't have any relationship to EarthBox®.