How well did your homemade EB's work ?

I'm really interested in hearing if the homemade earthboxe's have worked well, comparred to the Original brand name Earthboxes.

If you have done both, and have made a comparison, I'd love to hear your results, what you grew, and what you think the pros and cons are.

I have ordered one Original EB, but would like more. If the homemade ones give as good a result, I'll spend a little to make a couple. But if they don't, I'll save up and buy the real thing , one at a time. One EB (not the kit)
with shipping and handling was $ 44.90, which is pretty steep for my budget because I want more than one. That's pretty hard for me to afford as many as I would like to have, but I 'really' can't afford to spend the money to make several, and them not work or me not be happy with them.

Anyone have an opinion on this ? Thanks, PeggieK

Hi PeggyK,

I had very good luck with mine after I (we) figured out that my plants were getting too much water. I had the drain hole too close to the screen and the boxes were a little out of level. Once corrected, they did great! I plan on making several more this spring just for my tomato plants. Here's a picture of mine taken the first of July. They did much better than those planted in the ground or in straw bales.

Good luck!

Red

BTW, these are Amish Paste tomatoes, one of my favorites, planted up against a six foot fence. ☺

Edited to add: These cost me about $17 each to make, much less than the originals.



This message was edited Feb 15, 2007 10:11 AM

Here's a picture of an empty box, made with materials that can be purchased at Walmart.

And another, which shows the box planted and covered.

I have a question about the eb's and the homemade ones. Is the black plastic covering the soil important and what is its purpose ?

n2birds,

Yes, it's very important, it covers the dry strip of fertilizer and keeps it from washing into the planting medium and also keeps the medium from drying out. The plants take their water from the bottom reservoir. I use the large, dark green contractor's bags from Lowe's to cover mine.

Here's a link to their site that explains it much better than I.

http://www.earthbox.com/

Big_Red - is that a pegboard you're using for the bottom?

Thanks,

Bobby

Bobby - No, they are those composition cutting boards, about 3/8" thick. I wanted something sturdier and these, with holes drilled in them, filled the bill. They are a little pricey but I couldn't find anything else that I liked.

Red

Thanks Big Red. The first year I used mine was the best my plants ever did. Maybe it did have something to do with me not putting the plastic over the soil.

Thanks for the feedback. I noticed on of the HEB websites that the designer used the original tote lid for his base. Did you try that and find it to be too flimsy?

I used those large, dark green contractor's bags that we use for our garbage. Simply stretch them over the box(s) and tie them down with bungy cords. Cut an "X" for the watering tube and for setting out your plants.

Sorry Johnsonjrjm,

Reading through this thread again, I misunderstood your last question. Yes I believe the original covers are too flimsy. The only thing on mine that hold up the planting medium is the basket for water wicking. If you use the covers, you would need more support under them to hold the medium.

Thanks for the info, Big Red.