Container Gardening

My Mother’s Day gift this year from the husband and kids was an EarthBox.  The EarthBox is one of several gardening systems that hypes its unique design, many of which seem to be pretty close to identical.  I planted it that day, and after around a month have some early reviews.

What is the EarthBox?  The EarthBox is a planting system where all fertilization and soil preparation is done at the time of planting.  The soil is covered by a plastic cover to prevent weed growth and evaporation, and all watering is done from the bottom up: you pour water through a fill tube into a reservoir at the bottom of the container, and the potting mix wicks the water up into the soil where the plant can easily draw it.

First off, the EarthBox is on the pricey side for these solutions.  The basic kit is $55.  This does include potting mix, but I can get my own potting mix without much difficulty.  Their replant kit, which has just the fertilizer, nutrients, and covers, is $9.95 for 1, $7.95 if you buy 10 or more.

In contrast, the Garden Patch Grow Box, which I have never tried but which seems to be built on the same model, is $29.95 for the first kit (which does not include potting soil), and fertilizer strips range from $8.95 for 1 down to $4.95 each for 10 or more.

There are also dozens of people online who have made their own plans for building an EarthBox-style planter out of the kinds of $5-10 bins you can easily find at your local Walmart or similar store.

My experience in actually planting the Earthbox was a bit mixed.  I dont think the instructions were as clear as they could have been, and it got me in trouble a few times when I started doing something wrong and had to go back and correct my mistakes.

The black cover they provide is really very flimsy, especially near the places where holes are cut to allow the watering pipe or little plants to come up.  My first cover ripped while I struggled to get it into place over the box.  I managed to get the second one on mostly intact, but the holes were still stretched and distorted.

The system also does not seem designed to stand up to the elements well.  The wheels on mine are already rusted, and while the plastic box doesn’t degrade, it isn’t as attractive as many of the other options out there.  There’s no real reason to opt for an EarthBox for aesthetic reasons over the other self-contained planting systems.

Thus far, I am using the EarthBox for cherry tomatoes, and it is doing an incredible job with them.  Off of a single month’s growth, they are already rangy, full plants with good foliage.  They are beginning to flower, and I’ve spotted the first fruits on them as of a week ago.  I expect to get a fantastic yield from them.

My overall verdict is that the system works, but is a bit awkward and difficult to use, and high-priced.  If you want to pay for the convenience, you might consider a different kind of container system.  If you just want to try the idea, consider building your own.  I suspect I will, next year.

One of the biggest advantages to container gardening is the level of absolute control you have over your soil conditions.

If you are planting in the ground, you are working on a grand scale that leaves you only a few options: accept the starting conditions you have been given and amend them through soil additives, or remove huge amounts of dirt and soil and haul in lots 0f new dirt and soil.

If you are growing vegetables in containers, on the other hand, you have complete control over what you put into the pot.  As opposed to planting vegetables that work in your garden conditions, you can create soil that is ideal for your container vegetables.

The first step is to decide what you want to plant and find the ideal conditions for growing it.  The main category you need to consider when growing vegetables in containers is the pH level of the soil.

Most vegetables like a slightly acidic soil: fortunately, most good soilless potting mixes are already slightly acidic because the peat moss which serves as a base to most of them is acidic.  If you are making your own potting mix, make sure to test the pH before planting in it.  If you balance your ingredients well, you should be fine.

Here is a basic summary of pH levels required for different vegetables.

After the soil is set up with a basic pH level, you will need to add fertilizer.  In-ground gardens can get some nutrients from the soil as-is: when growing vegetables in containers you need to be sure you are providing everything the plant needs to eat.

The easiest way to do this is to buy a complete commercial fertilizer with the correct proportions for the plants you want (10-15-10 will work fairly well for most vegetables, though you can fine-tune for flowering or leafy vegetables if you like).

If you prefer, you can use organic fertilizers, or otherwise fine-tune by adding nutrients in individual portions.

Here are a few tips to remember when working with your container vegetable garden:

1. Too much fertilizer can burn the plants.  You want to be certain to fertilize on a regular, steady schedule, following the directions on the fertilizer container.
2. If you get too much water, it can wash nutrients out of the soil.
3. Your plants are completely dependent on you for their nutrition.  If you don’t feed them, they can’t feed you.

So, you know the basics about vegetable garden fertilizer.  Now that you understand what your plants need, how can you get it to them?

If you’ve made the decision to use solely organic fertilizers, you will need to do a little mixing and matching to give your plants all the nutrients they will need.  As a caution, most organic fertilizers are not pH-neutral.  You will need to test your soil to make sure you are not making it too acidic or alkaline for your plants.  Here is a quick guide to organic fertilizers.

1. Blood Meal – Blood meal is a byproduct of the meat industry, and a good source of nitrogen for plants.  It is what it sounds like, the dried, powdered blood of animals.  It’s around 12-14% nitrogen, and can be used as a fertilizer by sprinkling it on the soil.  It will have an acidic effect on the soil.  Note: blood meal is a very fast-acting organic fertilizer, and the effects won’t last very long.  If you apply too much at once, the nitrogen can burn the plants.  Don’t overuse.

2. Bone Meal - Bone meal, like blood meal, is produced by the meat industry.  Bones are sterilized and ground up.  Bone meal has some nitrogen, but it is mainly a source for phosphorus and calcium.   Bone meal is slow-release, and should be worked into soil before planting.  You can add more once your vegetables start to set fruit for an extra boost.

3. Fish Emulsion - Fish emulsion is made from waste fish products.  It is a source of nitrogen, though it contains all three major nutrients in varied balances.  It can be very smelly, but is not as hard on plants as blood meal.  If you have tender plants, fish emulsion may be safer than blood meal.  It is fast-acting.

4. Liquid Seaweed – Liquid seaweed is a source of nitrogen and potassium, but more importantly, it contains many of the micronutrients plants need to thrive.  Regular applications will help your plants thrive.  With such low N-P-K levels, you can add it to almost every watering and not need to worry about micronutrient levels.

5. Rock Phosphate – Perhaps predictably, rock phosphate is a rock that is high in phosphorus.  Its phosphorus is not as accessible to plants as some, but this makes it useful for container gardening: it is very slow release, and can be mixed into the soil at the beginning of the season.

6. Greensand – Greensand is a kind of sand which is not green, but is a good source of potassium and micronutrients.  It also helps keep soil loose, which is useful for containers where you won’t have as many insects in the soil to aerate it.