Specialty Gardening: Earth Boxes, 1 by ritchh

ritchh wrote:
I use the Espoma Plant-Tone 2 cups per EB plus 1/2 cup each of bone meal and kelp meal to raise the P & K. I think that calculates to something like a 6-5-5. Thoroughly mix it into the potting mix when filling the EB. For tomatoes I also add 2 cups of dolomite (try not to use hyrdated lime unless you have to) and 1/2 cup of gypsum to prevent blossom end rot. Sounds like a lot going into 1 box but it works just fine. I have made home-made cages for all my EB tomatoes from the same 2"x4" fencing material along with 2 of the 6' posts. I took the total measurement of the 4 sides of the EB and added 6-8 inches, then cut that length of fencing off the roll leaving the 4" horizontal wires on the cut end, made small hooks with a pair of needle nosed pliers on each loose horizontals and then brought the ends together and crimped the hooks on the other end's vertical. The resulting cage can be formed to shape and slipped over the EB. I use a post on each end to tie to but if you are growing on pavement or deck the cage is stable enough to stand on it's own even without the posts. I grew grape tomatoes in an EB on my patio last year and with 5-6' tall plants the cage was perfectly stable without the posts. You will have to cut some larger access holes on the cage sides for access and be careful not to leave any sharp edges. There are a number of small scars on my forearms to testify to that. A pic is attached of 2 Roma plum tomato plants in one of my cages from last year.

Rich