I just discovered the sturdiest plant protector for the veggie garden that I’ve ever seen. It is called the Greenhouse Bucket (not the name I would have chosen, but hey, I didn’t invent it.) But it looks incredibly well engineered. It’s so strong you can literally stand on top of it! (I tried it.) They were invented by a home gardener in Hamilton, Montana.

Greenhouse Buckets are heavy-duty portable mini greenhouses that help protect your plants from frost, insects, pests, wind and weather.  These portable mini greenhouses are approximately the size of a standard 5-gallon bucket and are made from a tough UV stabilized long-life translucent material.  Greenhouse buckets incorporate a large adjustable vent ring to help control humidity and temperature inside the portable mini greenhouses.

Using Greenhouse Buckets allows you to plant earlier in the spring because as a greenhouse they provide frost protection for your plants.  In addition your plants will grow faster due to the warmer, wind free, environment. They should be removed when outside temperatures are consistently warm and all danger of frost is past. Just store them in the garage, out of the sun. They stack for convenient storage and because of their interior rib construction resist sticking together.

The Table below shows the range of typical afternoon temperature increases under Greenhouse Buckets given the sky conditions listed and with the adjustable vent ring closed.  Temperature increases can be decreased by fully or partially opening the adjustable vent ring.

Sky Condition    Temperature Increase
Cloudy                5 – 10°F
Mostly Cludy      10 – 20°F
Partly Cloudy     20 – 30°F
Sunny                30- 40°F

Priced at $14.99 each (3 or more are just $12.99), they are more expensive than Wall o’ Water plant protectors, and probably won’t protect to the low 20’s like a Wall o’ Water will, but they are much easier to set up, won’t fall over, won’t spring a leak, and should last almost forever. Definitely worth a try. In fact I’m going to take some home and try them in my garden tonight- before the predicted snow storm blows in.