Posted by: IstTimer ®
06/05/2010, 13:50:15
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After reading a bit more, I believe in an article by Jim at another site. He had mentioned that the metal handles on my plastic buckets would more than likely fail after the plastic bucket cooked in the sun for a while. I needed a back up plan. Sure enough after examining the bucket, the holes where the metal handle attached to the bucket seemed to be stressed. To set my mind at ease, and avoid seeing my tomatoes hit the dirt when I was watering one day with the plants heavy with fruit. I came up with this solution. I have included some contruction drawings and tips for anybody that may have simular concerns. My buckets have a rim around them about 3 inches from the top of the bucket. The rim seemed to be pretty substantial so I made the rig shown in the attatched image to hold the bucket. My bucket fit snugly in a 11 1/2 inch hole. If your bucket has such a rim you can cut your hole for the bucket to rest in. You can measure the size your cut-out hole needs to be by measuring the circumference below the rim with a cloth or plastic measuring tape like those used for sewing or do like I did and wrap a non stretching wire or something around the bucket below the rim then measure the lenght of the wire, divide the lenght of the wire or the lenght measured with the tape by 3.14, that will give you the diameter your hole needs to be. (I recall that from school about a century ago.) I painted the bucket holders I made with plywood so the weather would not effect them. I adjusted the cords by spreading them out and using a nail-in romex staple this releived about half the weight of the planter from the metal bucket handles.
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