Earth Boxes

I'm sorry carminator1, you misunderstood me. Bug-Be-Gone's active ingredient used to be Diazinon which I believe was banned from commercial sale a couple of years ago. It was extremely powerful and could easily be misused. Ortho reformulated Bug-Be-Gone using another pesticide. There are many pesticides and herbicides that can be used by farmers that are not available to the home gardener. You in fact need a license to purchase and use them.

Rich

That's right Ritch, I misread your comment, I am sorry. You did say that it is not in stores anymore. Thanks for all your help though.

My EB's arrived this week...my problem now is deciding to plant them up this next week and leave them for my neighbor to water or wait until the first week of May when I am home to do it myself. Our nights are still cold, so I don't think the tomatoes would mind if I waited. The neighbor is very reliable, but I guess I am just looking forward to caring for them myself! What do you all think? Actually after writing this I have almost completely decided to wait. An extra 2 weeks can't hurt them & I could start seeds for them during the 2 weeks instead.
Margie

Hi picturelady...hope you enjoy the EarthBoxes. First off I don't know what temperature cold refers to but I have found here in New Jersey that until nights consistently stay above 50° tomato plants are very unhappy and don't do much but turn yellow. What I do is prepare the EB a week or two ahead of planting and put on the cover black side out. You'd be amazed how warm the soil gets even after only a few days. Also since the EB has a two gallon water reservoir, new plantings don't need to be watered every day...more like every 3-5 days depending on the weather.

Rich

3 -5 days ? I must water mine daily as they do dry up from the sun's rays. I can skip a day once in a while but I don't take advantage of it.

I have the same problem where I live, my EB needs water practically every day, sometimes I skip one day. I guess this is the luxury of living in a warmer weather. Depending on how many days you leave town I would definetely consider having your nice neighbor watering your EB or just wait. I am going to have to leave town by the end of next month and I am going to have to ask my nice neighbor to take care of mine also, hopefully I'll have enough produce that I can treat her with some fresh home grown tomatoes for offering her help. So far all my plants are doing O.K. My Juliet plant is starting to produce, I counted 6 green small tomatoes so far, my better boy has flowers but no tomatoes yet and also does not have as many flowers as the Juliet plant does.
I will post a picture as soon as the tomatoes get red.

I'm only talking 3-5 days for newly planted EB's (maybe the first 3-4 weeks). I too have to water mine each day when the plants grow and the weather gets warm. The 3 EB's I planted with lettuce last weekend lasted all week without adding water until today but the plants are very small and the weather has only been in the 50's all week.

Rich

Rich...it sounds like your idea about getting the EB's ready and covered with the black side out, would work well for me. That way the soil can be heating up and I can plant as soon as I get back.
By cold nights I mean in the 40's! I know tomatoes like it over 50 or 55 at night...so I don't think they will mind at all waiting a bit.

Thank you, Margie

I am waiting for the temp's to get above 55 at night to get my EB's going. You have to water the EB's everyday in the heat, I thought the way they were built, they could hold water longer. If that is the case, I need to add a drip system or something to keep the water in them.

I know I said that I was going to wait to take a picture until my tomatoes were red but I could not resist. This is my peppers and my cucumber.

Here is my tomato plants, getting big.

Here is my Juliet tomato plant starting to produce little tomatoes.

Don't forget guys --- If your climate gets hot in summer, the black side will bake your roots. Once you put the cover on their is no way you change it so why not wait for your proper planting time ?

They look great carminator1. Is Juliet that miniature plum tomato...sort of like a large grape tomato? I grew grape tomatoes last year and they were sweet as sugar. My wife ate them as fast as I picked them. I'm jealous of you southern folks as I wouldn't think of planting my tomatoes here for another 3 or 4 weeks unless we have a real big heat wave.

Tplant...I always plant with the black side out here in New Jersey. We do have 90°+ days in the summer but reading the EB instructions it was always my understanding that they recommended the white side out in the deep south and southwest.

Rich

That's right Ritch:

Juliet tomato is similar to grape tomatoes but they are oblong, very sweet and resists cracking. They look like a miniature plum tomato. I have never tried this kind, I've always had the normal grape tomato but wanted to try something else.

According to the EB instructions it sais to keep the black side cover side up except for desert climates or florida Summer where the white side should face up. I guess that is all it sais, my question though is that it gets chilly here in Pensacola during winter and I was thinking about planting carrots, radishes and sugar snap peas, should I still place the cover on the black side or the white side?

I'd plant with the black side out assuming that your fall weather is at least reasonably cool. It will keep the soil much warmer and growth will therefore be much faster. I'm really only familiar with South Florida weather as my wife's parents had a home in Miami Beach for years before they passed away. I once spent the month of August there and can clearly remember spending about 45 minutes in their backyard without a shirt and getting the sunburn of my life.

Rich

My home made planter rarely needs water...wonder what the difference is? My tomato plant looks great and has blooms (we are in zone 5). I'll try to get a picture tomorrow.

Well, I just decided to purchase 2 more Earthboxes, that makes a total of 4. It is expensive and I should be saving money expecially with the new baby comming and my husband starting his new business, but I could not help it. My plants seem to be doing good and I really need more tomato plants. I do not want to have to go to the store to buy tomatoes just because I did not plant enough. This year I am thinking of just buying the plants from the store but next year I'll start from seed. I think that I'll be O.K with 4 earthboxes for right now since I do not have a big yard. Yesterday I counted 8 small Juliett tomatoes. Well I hope the extra EB are well worth the money I spent on them.

I just had to buy 2 tomatoe cages, my tomatoes have gone wild and the training wire was not enough, a couple of branches broke because of the wind, what works best with tomatoe plants?, I am not sure if mine are tall enough, I guess time will tell. I saw Tomato Tower with Nylon Trellising on Parks garden, I wonder if it works as they say. Any imput would be appreciated.

I just use the six foot vinyl coated rods at Lowes. I set them outside the EB and lean the plant over to it...

Hey everyone!

This is my first post on the forums, although I've been lurking for a month or so. I can't thank you all enough for being so helpful on these forums; this is simply the best place to get gardening information from the people who are actually doing it.

I've been gardening lightly for three years now. I've been doing only container gardens on our deck here, which gets great sun and little wind. My girlfriend grows a fair amount of herbs; Parsleys, Chives, Mints, and more that I can't pronounce or spell correctly. My selection has been Basil; standard genovese and big leaf, 3 different purples, 2 varieties of lemon and a lime. I also started growing hot peppers last year, and had a bumper crop for a first time grower; Virginia summers seem to agree with the pepper plants.

A friend growing organic peppers told me about the earthbox at the end of last season and I've been reading up since then. I was really attracted to the self watering aspect. Work keeps me busy (they tell me I love my job), and I noticed over the last two summers that the bigger plants were wilted by the time I got home late at night. The Squirrels here beleive I am operating a basil co-op for thier benefit, so the covers also seemed like a great idea.

In keeping with a long personal history of overkill I ordered ten, offering the miniscule discount as rationale to my girlfriend. I also bought a few APS systems from www.gardeners.com, and a large peat pellet tray. I have had good success with seeding San Marzano/Roma tomatoes, two varieties of hot pepper, zuchini, squash and eggplant, and a sea of genovese basil. I plan to pick up my remaining plants at the Maymont Herb and Garden festival this weekend. As you can see I really expanded my garden selection, so any advice regarding these guys would be great!

Today I replanted several seedlings into three of my E-boxes. I am attempting organic growing this year, and I used the following amendment mix in the earthboxes (3 cups per):

4 pounds:
Cottonseed
Bloodmeal
Bonemeal
Kelpmeal
Peruvian Pellet Guano 10-10-0
Chicken manure based compost
1 pound:
Gypsum

This is modified from another persons recipe on the forum, I added in the Guano, Chicken Manure and gypsum and couldnt find the greensand they recommended. I added this to a fertilizer-free potting soil.

So far so good, it's too early to tell if everything will take, or if the wicking action of the E-box is working. I did come up with some questions in the process though, was wondering if anyone had any thoughts:

1. I forgot the Dolomite Lime in the mix - is this critical (meaning replant) or can I get by without it? Could I open it up and mix some into the top inch of soil? I have seven left, which will get the dolomite lime.

2. How big/tall are your plants when you move them into the earthboxes?

3. The instructions say white side up, but I've seen some people recommend Black side up for spring; what are you folks using?

4. Is there anyplace in or near VA that sells organic amendments and guano? I found chicken manure compost (Cock a doodle Doo) locally, but I ordered the guano from www.Dirtworks.net... which happens to be in Maine (ouch). I also lost 55pounds of worm castings in transit, so I'd really like to find someone a little closer; I am not sure my local post office appreciates my dung shipments.

5. I read somewhere that using Vermiculite or Perlite in the 'wick' holes was good to minimize rot and mold; have any of you tried this? Have any of you had problems with using your regular potting mix in the wick holes?

6. For any other organic container gardeners, do you find the need to top-dress mid summer, due to the lower potency of organics vs. manmade fertilizers?

Well, thats about it for now, thanks for any input you can provide. I will keep you all posted regarding the earthbox adventure, and put up some pictures once the other seven are loaded.

Dreaming of Pesto already,
Chris
Richmond VA


This message was edited Apr 23, 2005 8:41 PM

Wow...hi there VirginiaPesto. You must have tired fingers after that post! I have been growing in EB's for 5 years and do it with organic fertilizer. I am assuming that you mixed the fertilizer into the soil and did not place it as a stripe on top. Organic MUST be mixed into the soil. I use 2 cups of Espoma 100% Organic 5-3-3 and ½ cup each of bone meal and kelp meal. It has worked great for me. To answer your specific questions:

1. Dolomite is very important to add for tomatoes only as it supplies calcium to prevent blossom end rot and raise pH. I do find it helps with bell peppers also but don't use it on anything else including the many varities of hot peppers I grow. The gypsum you have added will supply calcium but will not raise soil pH.

2. I use nursery bought transplants for tomatoes, peppers and lettuce and direct seed for cucumbers, squash, and most anything else that doesn't like to have its roots disturbed. I sow my own basil in 6-packs and transplant them at about 2 inches.

3. Here in New Jersey I plant everything black side up and I think that should apply for you also.

4. Have no idea. I buy mine at my local garden center. Espoma sells a full line of organics and my garden center stocks them all.

5. As long as you follow instructions and pack the potting mix tightly into the two corners that form the wicking action you should have no problem. I wouldn't think vermiculite or perlite would be near as efficient as the potting mix in forming the wick and I have never had a problem with mold or rot.

6. If I notice any signs of yellowing or deficiency mid to late season I add a couple of tablespoons of fish emulsion to the water reservoir when I fill it maybe once or twice. Other than that most plants make it through the entire season without adding a thing except water.

Hope you enjoy your EB's. Basil by the way grows like a weed in them and I've posted a pic of one of my basil EB's so you can see. I've posted this pic before but in case you haven't seen it I'm doing it again.

Rich

Rich and Tplant:

Well I did it. After reading this thread and many others in the tomato forum I decided to give the EB's a try. I ordered 3. I have alot of tomato and pepper plants that I started from seed and not enough ground space for it all so I thought these might help. I also started some cucumbers (Muncher) and (Dillicious) and really needed somewhere to plant them. I saw the picture of Rich's cucumbers and the plants look great! How many to a box? What do you use for them to climb on?

I would appreciate any advice you could give me.

Toni

That's how I started Toni...bought 3 and after 5 years I now have 14. Plant counts are 2 for tomatoes and 4 for cucumbers. Mine climb on a home made trellis of 2"x4" opening vinyl covered fencing on 6' hammer in fence posts all available and quite inexpensive at Home Depot. They need some training at the start but once they start growing they climb quite happily all by themselves. I always plant Sweet Success and Cool Breeze, they're both parthenocarpic (set fruit without pollination), and I'm still deciding what else. I direct seed them into the EB about mid May although this year that may be a challenge if this ping pong 85 one day 55 the next keeps up. If you are using transplants take great care not to disturb the roots.

Rich

Thanks Rich....I have all kinds of ideas churning through my mind now! I was thinking of going organic in the boxes like you do. I used Espoma Plant-tone Organic Fertilizer last year on EVERYTHING in my garden and it worked great. What would be your ideal mix of organic ingredients to get my boxes started? I have access to most everything at my local nursery.

One more thing....do you stake or cage your tomatoes? I do both actually when they're in the ground. I'm not sure about how to go about it when they're in the box.

Thanks
Toni

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

Rich:

Thank you soo much for taking the time to explain everything to me. I've got my list of "ingredients" and I'm going shopping! The cage idea is great. I'm going that way too! Now if only it would stay warm already. Early in the week it was in the 80's (weird for Chicago) and last night it was freezing. Go figure!

Again...many thanks.

Toni

Thank you so much Rich for showing you self made tomatoe cage, it looks great, now I have a better idea of what to do with my next 3 tomatoe plants when I transplant tehm in the new earthboxes that I bought.

Rich, I can't thank you enough. I will follow the instructions you provided, and keep you posted with the results. By the way, you probably are going to have to get some sort of permit for that Basil, it is a MONSTER!

Chris
P.S. This flipflop weather is driving me nuts, too. I am spending more time bringing plants in and out than I am gardening.

You're more than welcome everyone. I've been gardening for almost 30 years and am more than happy to help, and don't worry...I've had more than my share of disasters. Been having problems with my lettuce EB's because of the cool damp weather that just doesn't seem to want to quit here causing the plants stems to rot at the soil level. Last year I had no problems at all planting the same types. The basil in the photo is Nufar Hybrid which I have found to be the best Genovese type to grow plus it has the added benefit of being resistant to Fusarium Wilt which plaqued me for a number of years. My wife is Italian and freezes bags full every year for use in her sauce during the winter. It loses it's texture but not it's flavor when frozen so you couldn't use it fresh but it is great in any cooked dish.

Rich

Finally, after the Maymont Herb Festival, and a weekend of my brothers life - I have planted 9 of my Earthboxes and Erin has planted Basil in every available container. I will put up some pictures after I find the digital camera again. I've tallied it up (because I'm a huge nerd) and heres our garden this year:

Regular Containers: 16 Genovese Basil, 2 Cinnamon Basil, 3 mints, 2 oreganos (one decorative), Garlic Chives, Cilantro, F.L. Parsley, Curly Parlsey

Earthboxes:
6 Italian Large Leaf Basil
4 Lemon Basil (couldnt find Mrs. Burns variety), 2 Spicy Globe
4 Dark Opal, 2 Red Rubin Purple Basil
2 La Roma 'plum' tomatoes
2 Viva Italia 'plum' tomatoes
2 zuchini, 4 summer squash
2 Habanero, 1 Serrano, 2 Ruffled Purple Basil
2 Pasila Bajio, 1 Corno Di Toro, 1 Pimento, 1 Jalapeno
6 Sweet Pepper ("Dr. Joe Parker")

I'm so glad to have everything planted. The fertilizer mix seems to be working great, and I finally found Dolomite Lime. Everything is standing up tall in the containers, no wilting or burning (knock on wood). We topped our established plants with a higher ratio of the organic mixture (post is above) to soil, and they seem to be picking up too.

Newbie question time! How much sun do your Earthboxes get? Last year I only planted basil and peppers in big containers, which soaked up the sun. Are there any on the list above that should get the least/most sun? Also, Erin is asking me if/when the deck will stop smelling like Guano. Any thoughts? :)

Chris

This message was edited May 3, 2005 5:18 PM

Hey Chris...you're making me a bit jealous. It was 42° here this morning and going down to about the same tonight. Just an awful spring! All I have planted so far are 3 EB's with lettuce (2 Romaine and 1 Buttercrunch) plus 9 pots of Italian flat leafed parsley and one pot each of Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano and Summer Savory. It's supposed to start to warm up over the weekend so I may take the plunge and plant my Celery and some Thai Dragon peppers but I think I'll still wait a week or so for the Basil and Tomatoes plus the balance of my peppers and then if it stays warm I will direct seed my Cucumbers and Summer Squash in some EB's. Of what you have listed, the only thing that could get by with less than optimal sun is the Basil. I grow much of mine in locations that only get maybe 6 hours of direct sun and they do fine. Most of my EB's are in locations that get sun from about 8-9AM till at least late afternoon. I've never had the pleasure of smelling Guano but I can empathize. A friend has a sister that lives way out in the country and has 3 horses. One fall we went out there with a pickup truck and 14 garbage cans and filled them up from a pile behind her barn that must have been 10 ft. high just crawling with worms. We each took 7 cans and dug it into our gardens. My wife didn't stop about the smell for about a month. It was the first and last time we did that.

Rich

Chris ---- about your purple basil ? I had three of them out in full sun and they didn't like it so I moved them into partial shade and they took off. Hope this helps with your question.

Hi TPlant, I'm new to this forum and really appreciate the information everyone is sharing. I've used EB's for 3 years and I love them. My biggest challenge has been with growing tomatoes. I'm giving it a shot again this year. The question I have is this:

Now that I'm using the boxes for the fourth time, I figured it was time to change the soil. I went to Lowe's and couldn't find any soil in bags that didn't have fertilizer added to it. So, I bought "Miracle Gro Enriched Garden Soil for Flowers and Vegetables" 10-5-10. I noticed that you said not to use "potting soil", but use "potting mix" I haven't changed the soil yet and the bags are unopened. Should I take them back and get something else? If so, what should I get, since they don't seem to carry anything that has no fertilizer added to it. Maybe I just didn't see it! My husband set these up originaly, so I don't recall what soil, or mix, we bought.

Would it be O.K. to use this soil, but add whatever fertilizing ingredient it is missing, according to the EB info sheet?

I did buy dolomite lime to add to the tomatoes.

Thanks to anyone who can give me some tips.......

Jennifer :)

Hi Jennifer -- I use Jungle Growth and purchase it at Lowes. I noticed a couple of weeks ago at Lowes a new organic mix by Miracle-Gro that was perfect for EB's as it contained no fertilizer. To late for me but perhaps your store has it. I believe it was in a two cu. ft. bag but not certain.
Jungle Growth has several different mixes and the one in the 2 cu.ft. blue bag has the least amount of fertilizer and with my added 10-10-10 it works quite well for me.

Thanks Tplant! Seems that my Lowe's doesn't carry th Organic Choice Miracle-Gro that you are referring to. I know what it is because I tried to find distributors. No luck in my area. Same with Jungle Growth. They are clueless! So, the one they do have that I'll get is the Sta-Green for vegetables and flowers. I'll pick up a 10-10-10 fertilizer and add that. I'll be good to go now. Thanks for your help!!


Love your pics by the way!

Jennifer

Sta-Green is a good choice that I forgot to mention. Too bad about the organic Miracle-Gro. It's perfect for our needs...but hard to find.

I found the Organic Choice Miracle Grow Garden Soil at my Lowes. I didn't buy it because it says it's for in-ground plants/veggies only. On the back of the bag it says not to use in containers. They make a special mix for containers called Organic Choice Miracle Grow for Containers. Did they have it? Nope!

I'm having the worst time trying to find a decent potting mix without any fertilizer in it because I want to use my organic mix. Nothing at Wal-Mart or Depot or Lowes. This weekend I'm going to the fancy nursery not far away and I'll probably have to pay a premium price but they're the only ones who carry a variety of soils. Good thing you can keep the EB soil for a few years.

I bought Walmart brand potting soil for my Earthboxes, which is not fertilized. I think they call it Gardener's choice or something like that. It comes in 40 lb. bags. (It takes less than 2 1/4 bags to fill an earthbox. I had to go to a Walmart across town because it was sold out at the store near my home. Be sure to ask your local Walmart if you do not see it. It was very cheap, $1.50 a bag so it may just be out of stock.

In the tomato forum I posted some info on a PVC cage for growing tomatoes in an Earthbox or a Gardners Supply self watering container. if you have any comments or questions, please put them in that Tomato Forum thread that I am watching.

Michael