EarthBox80101.01 Garden Kit, Dark Green

This is my first year using the EarthBox system and I am wonderfully impressed. I will be using this item for many years to come. I did container gardening last year and used many types of containers from standard pots to the upside down garden. I had pretty good results but had a difficult time keeping up with the watering. I didn't know that once tomato plants get large, they are very, very, very thirsty! I debated between the EarthBox system and another sold by Gardener's Supply. The EarthBox system offered an optional automatic watering system and that was the deciding factor. Set up of the system is pretty simple. Open the box, add good potting mix, water and seeds/transplants. Fertilizer and dolomite are included in the kit. There is a plastic cover (an extra is included) that goes over the box to prevent rain water etc from entering. Since the plants get all of their needed water from the reservoir in the bottom of the box, additional water from above could result in over watering. I started with two boxes and loved the system so much that now I own seven. My deck garden now has tomatoes, eggplants, cantaloupe, watermelon, varieties of peppers, zucchini and butternut sqash. After 4 weeks my pepper plants are taller and healthier than last year's plants at the 12 week mark. They seem to be able to handle most vegetables as I've planted okra and seen others with 6 to 7 ft tall corn and pole beans. I'm not the best when it comes to dealing with bugs and another great benefit is that since they are on my deck, these are bug free. I also no longer have to worry about uneven watering and taking care of them while I am on vacation. I added the automatic watering system which fills the reservoir whenever it is below the desired level. I was able to leave home for a long weekend and return to plants that were just as healthy as when I left. The current Amazon price of $39 is excellent. The lowest price found locally for me was $69. The system will require an additional investment in years to come as you eventually need new plastic covers. Fertilizer can be bought anywhere so that isn't a problem. Living in Minnesota, I don't have a very long gardening season. So having a system that produces such healthy and fast growing plants is a huge benefit. And so far, I have found this to be the most low maintenance system I have seen. My neighbors think I am an amazing gardener when all I really did was follow the instructions. I added photos and will add more as the season progresses.

The Earth Box is an innovative approach to container gardening. The reservoir system ensures that the plants get exactly the water they need. All you have to do is keep the reservoir from drying out, which requires you to fill it every other day or so. You can't over-water - you just fill the reservoir until water comes out the overflow hole. Plants use different amounts of water at different times of their growth, so when I fill the Earth Box every other day, I sometimes topped it off quickly and sometimes needed to fill nearly the entire reservoir. When plants are using more water, it can take a lot of time to fill the reservoir. I set up a rain barrel with a 1.5" flexible tubing and a spigot, which fills the Earth Boxes very quickly. It took forever using a watering can. The fertilizer strip system works wonderfully too, providing adequate nutrients without risk of burning the plants (you don't use slow release fertilizer in the Earth Box).You can use the Earth Box to grow transplants, or to plant from seeds. One word of caution - make sure the cover doesn't cover your plants, especially your emerging seedlings, or the sun will burn the plants. I cut out a square instead of an X for each plant (if the plants are too small to rise above the cover), which increases the chance of weed seed getting into the potting mix but decreases the chance of sunburn.My plants were a little slow to take off, but they out-grew and out-produced my garden plants. The Earth Box is easy to set up and easy to maintain. However, they are heavy once filled. I use a hand truck to move them in for the winter. They are made of durable plastic, but they can be punctured - one of mine got caught on a protruding nail head and now has a hole in the bottom. Also be aware that the Earth Box requires ongoing purchases - at least of the covers which will need to be changed every year. However, you can use your own potting soil and fertilizer.

I purchased Earth Boxes through Amazon because it was cheaper than through their website, especially with the free shipping.I planted a variety of vegetables in my boxes about 2 weeks ago-so far they are doing well and seem to be growing rapidly. The tomato plants already have blossoms.They were easily assembled (be SURE to get a kit that includes the casters as they will be quite heavy once you get the potting media in them). There are additional directions on the web site ([...]) and I do recommend looking at those in addition to the directions that come with the planter. The website directions are a little different. There are also videos on the website that show how to assemble and plant the box. The videos are good and helpful, but they take an extraordinarily long time to load, so plan to watch them before you plant the box when you have quite a while to spend watching them-and take notes!So, at this point, I am very happy with my purchase-am looking forward to the fresh vegetables later this summer.Although the box kits seem expensive, you can re-use the potting media you put in for 5 seasons-all you have to buy is the fertilizer and dolomite. You can get that from the Earth Box website in pre-measured packages, or just buy it at a garden center. If the boxes hold up beyond 5 years, even though you would then have to replace the potting media as well, it still becomes a great balue, especially considering all the time you save and the money you save not buying other fertilizers and sprays for your plants. EarthBox RB-EB-TRC-PBB Garden Kit, Terra Cotta