How to build a container garden

I love vegetable gardens!  I LOVE picking fresh tomatoes and bell peppers or snipping basil for dinner.  It feels so good and is absolutely delicious.  I couldn't wait to create my garden here, but was unsure of how to do it.  Since we're renting, we would have to take our garden down before we moved (can you say pain in the neck?!) and there's also the possibility that we'll have to move next-door due to renevation.  So I was hesitant to put my garden in the ground.  However, I am the WORST at container plants. 

DEATH BY WATER. 

I water too much.  I water too little.  I cannot get it right.  So I read a book on gardening in small spaces and found this fabulous idea!  Using storage tubs, you mimic the root system in the ground in your container.  See below:

Materials:

• 
  
  Storage tub (I used 3 18 gallon)
• 
  
  Colandars (Walmart wanted $5 each!  Shock!  I bought little baskets instead.)
• 
  
  PVC Pipe- about 3 feet for each container
• 
  
  Dirt (I used 2 bags of potting soil per 18 gallon container plus a bag of chicken manure that I split between the three containers.)
• 
  
  Knife and drill

Step 1: Trace a spot in the lid for the colandar or basket.

Step 2: Cut the spot

Step 3: Cut the edges of the lid so that it can fit INSIDE the container and rest on the colandar or basket.

Step 4:Drill holes in the bottom of the PVC pipe. 

Step 5: Cut a hole in the lid for the PVC pipe to fit.  Insert PVC pipe in lid with the holes below.

As you can (kind of) see, there is now about 2 inches of space at the bottom of the container below the lid.  This is for the water.  To water the plants, I insert the hose in the top of the PVC pipe, which takes the water to the bottom of the container.  When it is full it will (theoretically) spill out the top of the pipe.  No more over/under watering!  The hole in the middle of the lid allows the root tap of each plant to reach to the water. 

Step 6: Fill your buckets with dirt and fertilizer and plant your plants!  Water through the pipe and you're done! 

This took us about 2 hours total.  I planted 2 cherry tomato plants, one regular tomato plant, a red and yellow bell pepper, rosemary, and 3 broccoli plants.  I will plant basil by seed when the danger of frost is 99% over in a couple of weeks. 

Happy gardening, friends!