When I opened this gift five years ago, I never dreamed I would still be using it. After all, it looked like a cut-rate window box. Who knew this Earthbox would prove so versatile … expanding my garden in ways I never expected.


Description

The Earthbox is a rectangular container (similar in shape to a window box). It measures 29” long x 13” wide x 10 1/2” high. The Earthbox is designed so that the bottom is a water reservoir with a vertical plastic pipe along one side where the water is added. Above the water reservoir is a horizontal platform that holds garden soil, and a band of dry fertilizer is placed in a swath down the long top center of the box. The kit comes with two flexible black plastic covers that are edged with elastic, stretching to fit over the top of the Earthbox. These covers prevent the moisture from evaporating, keep the rain from washing away soil and fertilizer, and also prevent weed growth.


Setup

Read the instructions. Even if you feel you don’t need to read instructions (gardening is gardening, right?) – read the instructions. The instructions not only inform how to put the Earthbox together, but the instructions also display plant layout diagrams. It’s especially important to know how the fertilizer is positioned in the Earthbox.

Assembly was easy. It took me about 20 minutes to position the pieces in the Earthbox and to add the soil and fertilizer. You have to provide your own soil (about 75 quarts) and fertilizer (2 cups of chemical fertilizer per plant is recommended or 3 cups of organic fertilizer). Note that this Earthbox is extremely heavy once it is filled with water and soil. Make sure it is positioned where you want it before filling it. Even though the manufacturer says this box can be moved around the yard (ex: outside during the day, inside at night), the box is unwieldy to transport unless the box is on wheels.

Don’t worry about the Earthbox becoming waterlogged. At the back of the rectangular box is a hole where the water overflow pours out. Make sure the side of the Earthbox with this hole is positioned where you want overflowing water to exit. (I position my Earthbox so that nearby plants benefit from water gushing from the overflow hole.)

Once the Earthbox is setup, it is time to plant. A great feature of this planter is that the fertilizer is added at the start of the growing season and never has to be added during the season. Just make sure the Earthbox is filled with water on a regular basis.

When I was given my Earthbox as a gift, I don’t think there was a Staking Kit available. Also, now offered is an optional caster kit so that the Earthbox can be rolled around.


Plants -- What the Manufacturer Suggests

According to the manufacturer, this Earthbox can be used to grow flowers, herbs, fruit and vegetables. Here is a list of recommended plants, and in parenthesis are how many will fit in the Earthbox:

artichokes (2), beans (16), broccoli (8), Brussels sprouts (8), cabbage (8), cauliflower (8), celery (8), chard (8), corn (16), cucumbers (4), eggplants (2), flowers (8), greens (6), herbs (8), peppers (8), kohlrabi (8), leeks (8), lettuce (8), melons (4), okra (16), onions (8), peas (16), salad greens (8), spinach (8), squash (6), strawberries (8), tomatoes (2)


My Experiences

I have had successful experiences using this Earthbox … and some great failures. Despite the sometimes less than spectacular results, I have enjoyed each gardening adventure.

The first year, I planted two tomato plants in it. Since the Earthbox can be placed anywhere, I positioned it away from the other tomatoes in the garden. My tomato plants usually grow about five feet tall, so I knew I would have to stake them. The instructions mentioned how to attach stakes to either short side of the Earthbox. I looked at the tall plastic stakes towering out of the Earthbox and wondered if the eventual weight of the tomato plants would topple the box over. Well, the Earthbox did not tip over. But only because the tomato plants did not grow that well. They were scrawny compared to the tomato plants in the main garden. The fruit the Earthbox tomatoes produced was small and hardly worth picking.

The second year, I used the Earthbox for pepper plants. It was awkward fitting the plants through the flexible black plastic that covers the top of the box, but I looked forward to not having to weed since the plastic would block weed growth. This was a better experience. The plants grew well and produced a few peppers. The green peppers the plants grew were smaller than the peppers planted in the vegetable garden. The black plastic did prevent weeds from sprouting.

My sister-in-law also has an Earthbox. She planted eggplant in hers, and it did very well. I was impressed with the size of the plants as well as the glossy purple-black eggplants it produced. It’s a shame I don’t cook with eggplant, or I would have tried growing it, too.

The third year, my sister-in-law gave me several jalapeno pepper plants. I had never grown them before and wanted to keep them segregated from the regular veggies in my garden. So into the Earthbox they went. The plants did beautifully. Not only were the pepper plants lush, but they produced a lot of jalapeno peppers. Finally a successful venture!

In the fourth year, I planted regular pepper plants again. I figured that since the jalapeno peppers had done so well that perhaps my first experience with the regular pepper plants was a fluke. Surely this time they would grow better. I also planted some leftover marigold plants in the box. (I have an Upside-down Tomato Garden where I planted peppers and marigolds … and was curious to see how that combination did in the Earthbox.) Unfortunately, the Upside-down Tomato Garden did much better than the Earthbox. A few small yellow marigold flowers bloomed, but the plants did not look lush. Only two pepper plants survived, and they looked stunted.

This year I decided to plant something completely different. Carrots. I had sand leftover from another project and mixed it with compost and some dirt in the Earthbox. I liberally added the carrot seed and did not place the black plastic over the box. I also did not add the fertilizer strip since the carrot seed was spread all over. Soon I had lots of green sprouts. I thinned the carrots several times during their growth cycle … but I know I could have thinned them more than I did. These carrots are of the Nantes family and grow about 6-inch carrots. I harvested the carrots from the Earthbox and was delighted to find that I had enough for a meal (feeding three people) with the extra going into homemade soup. Only a few of the carrots grew to their full 6-inches. I would say the average length was about 3-inches. Despite not having the flexible black plastic over the box, I had very few weeds.


Durability & Care

Even though this Earthbox can be used either inside or outside, I always place it outdoors. The plastic box has held up well during five years of use. If the color has faded, I have not noticed. The plastic is not brittle, and certainly withstands my ungraceful efforts to move it around the yard. The flexible plastic covers, however, are definitely showing signs of wear.

During the winter, I store the Earthbox in the garage. I remove all growth from the box and tip it so that any water inside it drains out. The manufacturer recommends digging out the fertilizer strip, but I don’t do that. You can leave the soil in the Earthbox and just add more soil to it next growing season. Each year I use a wheelbarrow to haul the Earthbox to and from the garage. It takes two of us to maneuver the heavy box in and out of the wheelbarrow.


Purchasing

I received this as a gift five years ago. Today the Earthbox sells for about $40.00 - $50.00. I have seen the Staking Kit for sale at around $30.00.


Summary

As you can tell from my experiences, I have had mixed success with the Earthbox. However, I would do it all over again just for the novelty of experimenting with something new. I grew the best carrots ever this year in the Earthbox and plan to grow more carrots next year. And I’ll try to do a better job at thinning them!

I hope you found this review useful.

Enjoy the day,
Dawn
http://dlstewart.com


Please read my other reviews:

Upside-Down Tomato Garden

The Garden Claw

Garden Weasel Cultivator/Weeder

Craftsman Long-Handled Weed Digger

Craftsman Long-Handled Round-Point Shovel

Fiskars Power-Lever Bypass Loppers

Craftsman Bypass Pruners

Rubbermaid Tool Tower

Swan Tuff and Flexible Garden Hose

Gilmour Advanced Variable Oscillating Sprinkler

Black & Decker Cordless Battery Mulching Lawnmower

Rubbermaid Big Max Storage Shed


Copyright 2006 Dawn L. Stewart


Recommended: Yes