Yesterday after work, as promised, I planted my EarthBoxes. What is the EarthBox, you say?
According to www.earthbox.com: "The patented EarthBox was developed by commercial farmers and proven in the lab and on the farm. Our maintenance-free, award-winning, high-tech growing system controls soil conditions, eliminates guesswork and more than doubles the yield of a conventional garden-with less fertilizer, less water and virtually no effort."
Well, they were right about the effort. It didn't take much at all to plant. We first saw the EarthBox on QVC two years ago, and, of course, I had to have it. But it was priced at a hefty $49.95 per box, a little more than I was willing to pay. Fortunately, at the end of last summer, we found two EarthBoxes at the QVC Outlet store while on vacation in Rehoboth Beach, Del. I don't remember specifically, but they were about half the original price. And they've been patiently waiting in my basement every since.

I decided to try tomatoes and peppers. But according to the instructions, you can plant anything you want from flowers to veggies. Just select a sunny spot, keep the cover on and the reservoir full, and you'll have the best yield ever. (We'll see.)

The EarthBox is a resin planter box. Inside you'll find a plastic screen and a small bagof accessories. Remove the fill tube from the accessory bag and press it thru the support. A plant selection chart and planting patterns is also included. After packing the two rear corner cutouts in the screen with moist potting mix, you must pour water thru the fill tube until it runs out the overflow hole.This is the way you'll water your plants after planting.
The next thing you'll find is that it takes A LOT of potting mix to fill the EarthBox -- 75 quarts per box is recommended. While mine didn't take quite that much (who knows, maybe I should've packed it harder), I did have to buy 4 bags of 32-qt. Miracle Grow Moisture Control Potting Soil at about $8 per bag. The good news is, that as long as I take the boxes indoors (the garage should be fine) after this season, I should be able to reuse the same potting mix next year. I'll just need to add more fertilizer and a little "fresh" soil.

For tomatoes, they recommend mixing 2 cups of dolomite or hydrated lime into the top 4 inches of soil (which is included in the packaging). Fertilizer is also provided to put on top of the soil. After putting the cover on top, I followed the planting patterns for the number of plants I chose, and voila! -- the EarthBoxes are ready to bear me the biggest yield of vegetables I have ever seen!
Let's hope, because last year's crop of tomatoes and peppers (cherry tomatoes excluded) was just pitiful. I had great luck with cucumbers, though, and I've planted six vines this year. There really is nothing that compares to home grown veggies. It must be part personal pride and part freshness that makes them so palatable! And with the rising cost of produce (along with everything else), now is a perfect time to start your own "victory" garden.

By the way, the EarthBox is perfect for apartment dwellers or homes with limited garden space.You can find out more by visiting www.earthbox.com. I'll let you know how my EarthBoxes are progressing throughout the growing season.



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