The idea is to use 5 gallon buckets during the entire life of any plant: this indoor garden is composed of one main bucket with soil and ventilation (two or more PC fans), and multiple stacked bucket tops for added height, if needed. Inside walls are covered with reflective material, outside walls with black masking tape, and the lid (or top) has four CFL bulbs (≥23w).

Space Buckets are a plug and play indoor garden, as they need only one power outlet to work and start growing.

Click here to see images of the finished product(s). The style of the buckets may vary depending on the materials, but their function is the same.

Space Buckets are easy to make, and require readily available items. Total investment? About $100.

You won’t need to find anything special, just the following:

• At least four 5gal (20L) buckets, and one lid.
• At least three 23-27w CFL bulbs, with their E27 sockets.
• Optional: 42w CFL bulbs may also be used.
• Two PC Fans and also a 12v power supply.
• Any kind of reflective material (like Mylar).
• Optional but recommended: black masking tape.
• A nice power strip with surge protection.
• A standard 24h timer.
• Some wire, glue and other minor tools.

Thats about it! You’re now closer to your Space Bucket.

These grow buckets can be made in a few hours, and only basic knowledge of the dangers of electricity is needed. A few steps in the following guide were simplified for the sake of legibility and common sense. This guide with electrical safety tips should be read thoroughly.

Step 1. Pick your best looking bucket and make some holes in the bottom with a hot screwdriver. This will enable water drainage once the soil and plant is put in. Its recommended to put some rocks on the bottom of the bucket, they will keep the bucket from getting clogged. The more drainage, the better.

Next, put reflective material on the inside walls, it sticks neatly with any kind of glue (and a little patience). If you happen to have white buckets, this covering is optional, as the walls will be very reflective. Aluminium foil is usually not recommended for safety reasons.

Also, don’t forget to cover the outside walls with layers of black tape or paint, this will make the Space Bucket mostly lightproof and will let you control light leaks.

Step 2. Cut holes on the sides (a hot knife can be used to melt the plastic) of the main bucket to hold the PC fans (8×8 or 12×12). Its best to have a tight fit and apply some pressure, as bucket walls bend.

Once the fans are in place, connect the 12v power supply to them. Make sure the power supply has the right amperage (a standard one with 1A can run at least three or two fans). One will act as the intake, the other as exhaust.

Step 3. Pick a bucket lid and make holes for the bulb sockets. Wire them in parallel with cable and a plug. Use wire nuts! You can use a light fixture to simplify this step, but its not ideal. Once the wiring is done, glue a container on the lid for safety. Never use aluminium foil or any other conductive material.

You can also make a light-top to fit more CFL wattage inside the bucket. This allows for sideways bulbs, and should be more effective than light-lids. Check the [Other Stuff] section for more information about this superior design!

Step 4. It is now time to glue a power strip to one side of the bucket. Here you will connect the plug from the lights (and timer) and the 12v power supply for the fans, among other things.

Step 5. Cut the top of every bucket but the main one, leaving some inches of the plastic wall; the tops will be stacked to the main bucket to alter the height of the lights. Put reflective material inside and tape outside.

Step 6. You can now connect and assemble your indoor garden. Use black tape (or paint) and glue to cover holes and make the bucket as lightproof as possible, this step is for details and finishing touches. Connect the timer, lights and 12v supply to the power strip, and then the strip to a socket.

That is it, you’re done! You now have a fully functional Space Bucket. Plant directly in the main bucket, turn on the lights and timer, and watch life thrive and grow. You can always add more bucket tops if you need more height for the lights, and CFL bulbs can be upgraded to 42w (watch out for the heat). You should keep in mind that this is the basic Space Bucket design: please check the following [Other Stuff] and [Tips] sections for advanced techniques.

Space Buckets can be upgraded with a LED spotlight, which is also easy to make and relatively cheap. There are many types of LED lights; the one used in this quick guide is a 3x3w High-Power LED module, warm white. The resulting LED thing can be used to focus light on a specific part of the plant. Modules and instructions may vary.

The image below explains the procedure: take the module and attach a passive cooler (with thermal paste). Connect cables to a 12v power supply with the proper amperage. Add some legs to plant the spotlight. Finished!

You can also update you Space Bucket with a safer and simple watering system that uses gravity to push water out of a hose. This album shows one of the possible designs: the basic idea is to make a hole on the side of the bucket and put some kind of hose through it, making sure that the angle will allow the water to flow. A cointaner and a valve is added to control the amount of water used.

Another recommended update is the light-top, a new way of installing the CFL bulbs on the Space Buckets. This design uses sockets added to bucket-tops to fit about 4 sideways bulbs. This album shows one of the possible configurations with stacked light-tops, in this case reaching 192w. This is another kind of (unstacked) light-top with 138w. With this much wattage, a more powerful fan will be needed to extract the heat from the bulbs. A 220v fan can be mounted on the light-top for this purpose.

There are a few techniques that can be used to optimize the Space Buckets. It is essential to keep the plants relatively short, and bushy as possible. Training, topping and pruning is recommended.

LST (low-stress training) is a basic tool for keeping the height of the plant under control. Simply tie the branches to the sides of the buckets, or directly onto the soil. Combined with topping, this method keeps the plants low and bushy.

If the plant has many bucket tops, the canopy will surely be under more heat, as the ventilation is generally at ground level. In this case, a third PC fan can be added to a bucket top for more mobile ventilation. A standard 1A 12v power supply should be able to run three fans, depending on their amperage usage; if it doesn’t work, the active intake at ground level can be disabled.

Odor control is still work in progress, as PC fans are weak to work as carbon scrubbers. This DIY seems interesting and should work for some.

Be extra careful with watering. Always disconnect the power (most strips have a switch), and keep an eye on splashes. Watch out for water runoff.

]]> http://www.spacebuckets.com/2012/10/16/396/feed/ 0 http://www.spacebuckets.com/2012/10/16/377/ http://www.spacebuckets.com/2012/10/16/377/#comments Tue, 16 Oct 2012 06:01:14 +0000 admin http://www.spacebuckets.com/?p=377

Here are a few useful online resources to supplement your bucketing experience.

• /r/microgrowery, forum for indoor (micro) growers, with some bucket users. Join in!
• Introduction to Selective Light Training by SuperAngryGuy, the theory behind the LED spotlight.
• Also, the lighting guide by the same author, specially the Safety and lighting types section.

Also, pressbuckets

• Huffington Post (via The 420 Times)
• iSmoke Mag: Make Your Own Indoor Grow Garden in Just a Few Hours
• Jorge Cervantes also likes the Space Buckets: “cool garden! It is small but effective and inexpensive“.

Good luck! Suggestions and questions are always welcome.

So you want an indoor garden, but don’t have enough room?

You need Space Buckets: the cheapest and easiest DIY growbox!

Scroll along, this website will guide you through the process of making one.

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