Are there drawbacks to bucket gardens?

I love my little bucket garden!

Still, I have to admit that sometimes when I visit other people's conventional gardens, they seem prettier to me. I suppose that's because the plants are growing in the ground, as nature intended. Sometimes when I come home and view my little gradual bucket and raised bed garden, it also seems small in comparison. That makes me think, “Are there drawbacks to bucket gardens?”

I do have to fertilize slightly more often. Since the roots are contained in buckets, they don't have the opportunity to seek out ground sources of nutrients. That's OK, though. Because it's just one more dose of fertilizer per gardening season. Not a big deal for the trade off of easier gardening.

And here's a little secret. If the buckets are placed on the ground, some of the roots will creep out of the drainage holes anyway, which means, that they're not entirely restricted. That's true even when there's landscape fabric beneath them.

I do have to water more often. However, when I do water, I use less. That's because the water goes directly to the plants, rather than leeching into the ground where it quickly evaporates or is used by thirsty weeds. So what seems like a bad thing is actually beneficial to the plants.

Sometimes the fruits of the bucket vegetable plants will grow somewhat smaller than in ground veggies. But even that isn't all that bad. Because who on earth likes the flavor of those huge overgrown veggies anyway? The smaller ones are so much better tasting! And I have enough trouble figuring out what to do with tons of normal sized zucchini. I don't need any whoppers to process. LOL

And I will also tell you this. Many times I have observed that conventional gardeners struggle more with weather patterns than I do. I guess that's because they are used to relying on the rain that isn't happening right now.

So, all in all, yes, there are a few issues with bucket gardens. Still, it's nothing I can't find a work-around for. And in the end, having such a low maintenance garden is well worth the almost nonexistent issues.