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Using 5 gallon buckets

jessxcr

jessxcr

I am growing in 5 gallon buckets this year and was wondering how many holes to drill in the bottom and what size? Any in the sides perhaps? Also, to get proper drainage, do they need to be propped up on a couple bricks or something?

Here's what I got.

IMAG0146.jpg
 
3/8" holes drilled on two inch centers around the side along the very bottom of the bucket. If you drill holes through the bottom you will need to provide a way out for the excess water, whether it is setting the bucket on a porous surface (gravel) or setting on blocks.
 
My ground is very sandy and doesn't support standing water. I didn't need to block them up, they drained fine. I used 100 (5 – gal) pots last season with 4 (3/8") holes through the bottoms. You could easily go with more if you wanted to, it wouldn't hurt. If you're using the right mix for your region it should retain enough moisture suitable for your climate and not over/under saturate your peppers.

You may want to check out this post:

http://www.thehotpepper.com/topic/10245-all-about-soil-a-great-resource-i-thought-i-would-share/
 
Does anybody put any mulch or anything on top of the soil to prevent drying out in the mid-summer months when it is hot?
 
Making sure you seen this post.

http://www.thehotpepper.com/topic/22413-article-increased-pepper-yields-using-mulch/
 
Yeah I did read that one today. Thanks again. I never thought of using aluminum foil in my buckets. I did think of putting some wood chips on top as I've seen some others with that I believe.
 
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