Cheap 5-gallon bucket source?

[ender]

I had a lot of success last year with 5-gallon buckets for peppers. But they are ~$3-5 each if I buy the lid/bucket at the local hardware stores.

Are there frugal sources for these somewhere?

[SailingOnASmallSailboat]

You might check with house painters or contractors (a lot of their materials come in 5 gallon buckets)

[zolotiyeruki]

We have lots of ice cream buckets that we could use.  Is there a reason you're getting both the bucket and the lid?  Home Depot sells them separately, so getting just the bucket can be cheaper.  Are there any smaller (and presumably cheaper) buckets in the 2-3gal range?

[Michael in ABQ]

I know that some food products come in 5-gallon buckets. I've seen a bunch of them at the Costco bakery for making muffins, bagels, bread, etc. I'm not sure if they toss them in the trash, recycle them, or if there's a reverse logistics chain to take them back to the supplier to be cleaned and refilled. If it's one of the first two you might be able to get a bunch for free,

[Physicsteacher]

My mother was always able to bring home a pickle bucket from the restaurant where she worked since they would otherwise get thrown into the recycling. You might check with a local restaurant as well as Costco.

[nereo]

Not a 5gal bucket per se, but we've had very good luck growing tomatoes and peppers (which both like deep roots) with the plastic containers from cat litter.  They are as deep as 5gal buckets, but square, which actually allows more efficient spacing.  Like 5gal buckets htey are stackable so they store very easily.

Befriend someone who owns a cat and collect their used bins?  We probably go through 6-8 every year.

[Sibley]

Tip on the tidy cats: ask animal shelters if they don't want the empty containers. Volunteer to help them organize their store room monthly or something so you're on site. Or find a friend with cats who have kidney disease. My litter usage has dropped 75% since I don't have cats with kidney problems.

Nereo - thanks for the idea. I want cherry tomatoes, but don't have a good place to plant them.

[maisymouser]

Over the course of a year we once collected >50 5-gallon buckets from Pita Pit, Jimmy John's, Panera, Subway... Just go on in and ask if they have any extras or will hold them for you.

[Dee_the_third]

I got a good haul of buckets a few years ago from the bakery department of our local big box. Getting the residual icing out of them was no joke (pretty sure my hair was still sticky after 2 showers) but they've paid dividends. Pickle buckets from sandwich places are probably much easier to clean out!

[MishMash]

word on the tidy cats for keeping food safe.  They are considered to NOT be food grade by Purina due to the chemicals used in the litter that leaches into the plastic.  If I recall they are recycle number 5, (you can use 2,4,5 for food grade).  I asked them a number of years ago.  Rubbermaid storage bins I used for years as self watering planters.

5 gallon buckets....any place that makes cakes.  That's what the frosting usually comes in, used them for years.  Hit up the grocery store, local bakeries etc.

[Dee_the_third]

@MishMash I had the same thought about food-grade, but now I'm wondering. What chemicals go into kitty litter that would be dangerous at leachate levels? I think the one I use is mostly bentonite clay. Unless some exotic stuff goes in there for odor control I'm stumped.

[Alternatepriorities]

Restaurant size Mayo comes in a square 4-5 gallon bucket. That would solve the food grade issue. My father scored a large stack of them from the local restaurant for storing honey in. He doesn't use pickle buckets because no amount of washing will prevent the honey from smelling of pickles, but that shouldn't be an issue for plants.

My dad also uses buckets for his tomatoes, but he cut the bottom out and then uses them upside down with the lid in place until he moves them out to the green house, then he takes the lid off so the roots can grow down into the bed. As i understand it the idea is to get the benefits of another transplant without disturbing the roots. Living in one of the coldest towns in North America he's come up with some really complicated strategies for his greenhouse but he produces more food per square foot than most other green houses I've been in.

[Trudie]

Jimmy John’s gets its pickles in 5 gallon buckets with lids.  These end up in the dumpster.  Think about how ubiquitous Jimmy John’s is times the number of buckets they go through in a day.  I think I’ve got about ten of them.  I’m growing tomatoes in them (after I drilled holes in the bottom.)