Is there a forum for this ?
Is there a thread on this subject ?
I just started gardening in EB this season. I plan to add two more.
So handy for elderly gardeners.
Mine are on my deck, to keep safe from deer. Didn't work,deer came up on deck and nipped the tomato branches. We netted and they have gone elsewhere.
It was the woodchuck that caused most of the damage. Now that the beans are gone and there is more netting around the toms, he hasn't been around.
Both kritters left the eggplants alone.

@ge1836 -What exactly is an earthbox?

sallysmom.
http://earthbox.com/earthbox-s...

It's a growing system. Comes with everything except potting soil.
I have two. Planted with tomatos and the second is planted with two eggplants each a different variety.
This was May


The system comes with fertilizer. My plants have overpowered.I had to net toms and set the lower stems on a chair. Daily watering is key.

I have not used them but where I work we sell ones called City Pickers . They sell very well and the customers say they have had good results.

Hi Jo Ann -- as far as I can tell, there is no dedicated forum or thread to Earthboxes, so here or on the container growing forum would probably be the best place to start one. (Oh, wait -- you HAVE started one! )

If I recall correctly, @DrDawg grows garlic in Earthboxes, maybe he has some input for you (and maybe knows of some other growers that would be interested in sharing their experiences).

And -- you have some pretty bold deer, to come right onto your deck!!

The garlic didn't do well, even though the EB literature says it will do so. I think the potting soil stays too wet.............too much of a good thing. Broccoli did well but right now, I don't know what I will do with my three large EBs.

Ken, thanks for your input. This was my first year with EB's and the biggest problem was underestimating how large the plants would grow. The fert mix sure makes huge plants.
The second preoccupation was keeping kritters off. The plants were so huge by the time I noticed deer damage It was diffacult to protect them. I have bird netting that is working so far. It needs to go to the deck to keep the woodchuck from walking in and picking toms from a lower advantage point.

I could have been perhaps more informative IF I had planted any vegetables this spring/summer. The broccoli were self-seeded from plants last fall, so they just popped up in the spring. I just never got around to starting my vegetables from seed this year.

We have no place for seed starting. I just bite the bullet and buy plants.

Easier to just go out and purchase the seedlings, Jo Ann. I like to try different varieties, and often, seeds are the only way to do this.

I agree,

I've seen these at the grocery store and thought they were just overpriced self-watering containers. What feature(s) do they have that makes them unique and/or better? I do very little container gardening so perhaps I am missing something.

Perhaps they are more practical because of their shear size. That's why I purchased my three. They were large enough to grow anything. I just have to figure out what I can grow this fall so that I can put them to good use. Rather than utilize their self-watering aspect, I will more than likely simply use them as a super-raised bed, allowing that self-watering compartment to catch whatever drains.

I inherited 3 of these from my mom. I just tried them this year. It's nice that they can go a few days with no extra water needed. Mine are full of nasturtiums and caladiums. The plants have grown quite well, but mice were eating my plants. We've caught a few. If I had tomatoes or anything edible I'd have to net them too. We also have deer that have come up the steps to a second story deck.

Aggressive deer to say the least.

We live in a tract of homes with "no fences allowed " so we cant have a vedg garden. Deer are ruining my perennial gardens and I am out of repellants .The deer are used to all repellants on the market now.
My daughter gave me two for Xmas. so I could grow vedgs on the big deck we have.


I wouldn't call them self watering, I need to water every day. Maybe it's because the Toms and eggplants are so big and roots are huge and suck up all the previous days water. I just don't know.
I thought I might grow potatoes next year. Has anyone tried them ?

The netting system I devised is a royal pain when it comes to harvesting anything. I have also found the heat and humidity or some reason , makes the salad tomatoes drop off the vines added to the harvesting from the woodchuck.

I can't bear not to win at this project and vowed next summer will be different, so have hunted the net for some sort of semi permanent barrier that goes to the deck floor so the woodchuck cant sneak under the net and eat the toms. He doesnt seem to like the eggplant.
.
I found this solution on Garden Supply.

http://www.gardeners.com/buy/c...

At this time my two earth boxes crop would completely fill the cage but it is a better solution than anything I saw as far as size goes.
This is the earthbox area in late July.

EB's are a learning curve for me. Next season I will not plant more than one tom per box,I think I can plant a tom and an eggplant in one box. There are two tom plants in one box now. I plan to buy another three boxes and give one to my third daughter for Xmas.
With the Crop Cover I can place EB's in the garden. Mine have wheels and are easy to move before the plants get too big.

Just goes to show there's something for everyone in the gardening world, isn't there? I didn't realize the earth boxes were so large, just glanced at them (and the price) and thought, wow. Jo Ann, what an interesting covenant of 'no fences' - seems fencing is the first priority for most developments. My brother was in a development which had a very nice wooded greenbelt directly behind his tiny back yard, and he immediately put up a 6' solid fence for reasons that totally eluded me... But to each their own. BTW, your containers all look lovely.

Deb. Thanks. The covenant also stipulates no stacked wood or cars on blocks plus a few other items.

The EB'S enable me to have salad vedgs a few steps from the kitchen door. The gardens are a short walk but with age they seem to get further away , besides no digging and hoeing with EB.

A solid fence seems extreme but as you said "something for everyone "

When I only grew around a half dozen tomato plants, I built "cages" made of stiff, heavy, plastic netting to go around my tomato plants. Deer were not the problem but birds were. I made a "door" on each cage so that it could easily be opened, allowing access to the tomatoes. Some of those cages were 4'x4'x7' (tall). The five pieces were simply cut out and then tied together with the plastic coated wire twists. The cages were inexpensive, easy to make, and quite effective.

When I expanded my number of plants to a dozen or so, I purchased a cage. That cage was around 6'x8'x7' and had metal, tubular framing and nylon mesh walls, ceiling, and a zippered door. It worked well and was not expensive.