I experimented with an indoor garden for about a year and had some really good results. We moved recently and most of it has since died, but I plan on restarting it soon. The indoor garden was made from a metal shelf that we mounted two 100w CFL lightbulbs in. We lined the shelf with solar curtains that we mounted on cardboard to make them less likely to tear.

With this setup we successfully grew all of the following: Green Onions, tomatoes, radishes, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, peas, green beans, spinach, carrots, and strawberries.

The biggest thing that I learned from this experience is how important it is to give plants enough space! I was growing everything in about 5 square feet, but the containers for each plant were not the size they needed to be. As a result the peppers were not as large as they could have been, and the peas and tomatoes kept snaking their way around the other plants, causing problems. When I restart this garden I plan on making full square foot boxes for the larger plants, and I will build a shelf for the milk jug pots to sit around the side so we still have 5 square feet of growing space.

Bucket Garden- 18 months

I started an indoor bucket garden 18 months ago, and I thought I would share my findings.
Overall I believe the bucket garden idea works, but it does take some patience and knowledge. I successfully grew several tomato plants in containers indoors, and have been harvesting the same green onions for over a year. Tomatoes and green onions can be grown in perpetuity. Here is a brief summary:

Bucket Garden

Indoor gardening is tough, especially in winter. I lost many of my plants on the shady side of the bucket, I think a narrow planter on a window sill would be more effective than trying to add pockets around the back side of the bucket. A taller bucket positioned with better sunlight would also probably have done better. I found overwatering to be a problem with containers six inches deep. My one foot deep container (left)was less prone to over watering and I was able to plant my green onions around the perimeter to help control water usage. So, long story short, taller bucket and don't add pockets to the shady side of the bucket unless you plan on rotating your bucket a quarter turn every few days.

Bucket Garden Update

I planted some radishes on the back half of the top of the bucket (I'm told they grow really fast). So far I have Lettuce, Swiss Chard, and one Radish that have sprouted. I added a plastic grocery sack over the bucket and the seed pods, I think this helped to maintain temperature over night (since the bucket is next to a window). As a result the seeds are doing better. I spray the pods and the top of the bucket each day with a water bottle to keep them moist but not soaked.

I recently purchased "All New Square Foot Gardening" by Mel Bartholomew and have started reading it. I found out I planted the seeds too close together on the top of the bucket, so I will have to transfer some of the plants to the side pockets of the bucket as they get larger.

I highly recommend this book. Mel was an engineer by trade and failed miserably with his first garden, so he decided to use his engineering skills to simplify gardening and make it more efficient. Chapter 1 goes over all the wasted materials and space that most "single row" gardens have and how he figured out how to cut them out of squarefoot gardening to make it simple and streamlined.

I will probably build two of these squarefoot garden boxes in my back yard this year after the snow melts. I am also considering a green house for growing lettuce and spinach next winter.

Bucket Garden

Here is an experiment I am trying. I found several videos on-line about these bucket/barrel gardens. The concept is to maximize your growing area by going vertical.  A 5 Gallon bucket is the equivalent of 25 "row feet" of garden space (or 25 plants). A 55 gallon drum is the equivalent of 100 "row feet" of garden space. Because it is vertical it takes up less space, but your yields are the same.

This one gallon bucket let me add one row of pockets around the side using a hairdryer and some wood shims. I planted carrots on the front half of the top, and I am estimating I can get three more plants on the top with another 7 in the pockets around the site. So roughly 10 "row feet" of space. I started some tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, lettuce, and Swiss chard in the pods. I will transfer them to the bucket after they sprout.