Has anyone planted Begonias or any other flowers in EBs

I have 18 homemade HEBs now, and 7 homemade 5 gallon buckets, the buckets I want for my tomatoes, and I also have 6 garden patches and 5 earthboxes, not to mention 7 of the grow bags and all the rest. I really don't need them all planted with veggies??? So; I was thinking maybe some flowers would be nice? Like I have some Begonias on the way, some coneflower seeds, double peaches and dreams hollyhocks, gay butterfly mix ascleplas and sume mixed ranunculus. Would it be okay to plant some of those in there, and if so how many in each one?
joy

Joy,
Go to the Earthbox.com website. I believe It lists a chart for plants other than veggies. I would think Begonias would simply thrive in your HEBs!

Gymgirl: I hope so as Breck's is sending me some this next month and I don't have any shaded areas for them and have used all my pots and planters. I did go over there and ask but no one has answered my post yet. I do have my Crape Myrtle and Royal Empress on the way but those two trees will have to grow a bit before they offer any shade, no Jack in the Beanstalk here. LOL
joy

I think Tplant has put flowers in one, and if I remember from the picture they were just gorgeous. I would love a white one to put seasonal flowers out in the front of the house but..ahem right now I'm not giving up one of mine for veggies...

I have 150 daylily seedlings growing in mine, as we speak. Flowers do great in them, i wish I had extra to put alot more in. Im about to plant all the seeedlings out. Need the boxes for veggies.

So far, the only thing I wont grow again in one is squash, or I will make a system of support. I had trouble with the stems that were hanging over, snapping off when they got heavy.
I suggest planting in front of your EB to if you can. The drain hole watering them everyday, makes for some very happy little bonuses.

Garden Glory, that is a great idea, I will do that.
joy

I'm sure you will be very happy with the flowers but will you please learn to post pictures? After all the money and improvements you are making I'm sure that we would all like to see your work? It really isn't difficult to do and we will be able to help you a lot more if we can see what you are talking about? I think it only to be fair to us. Please!! Does everyone agree??

gardenglory -- that is a great idea, to make use of overflow water! I like it! For the boxes I don't have on concrete I'll think about doing that.

As for growing flowers, I can't bring myself to give up even one vegetable box, so no experience with that at all, but I am sure flowers would thrive in an earthbox - why not?

TPlant: I'm up at 6 AM every morning to turn on the grow lights for my babies, I'm up til midnight and catch naps in between hanging grow lights, making the stuff for them to sit on, transferring them to solo cups, my grandangel is in town, I wish I had time to post pics, let alone take them lately. Now I'm trying to find out what varmint is in my yard and how I'm gonna take care of that one.
joy112854

Joy I swear if you don't go get that cheap timer now that you are back in town and turning lights off and on everyday yourself I am going to mail you one for MY birthday! LOL! Girl, use one for the daily on and off grind, you are killing me just thinking about it, I wouldn't do without my timer, I loves it so! I know, I know, you enjoy checking the planties while you are doing it, BUT if you have a timer you won't have to do it at 6:00 in the morning on a cold winter day, or when you want to sleep later, or don't feel like it, etc. I take great comfort in the fact that mine are right on the button, off and on at perfect times. One timer is set for the greenhouse in general, 12 hours a day, the other strictly for the grow lights, a perfect 16 hours per day.

You have a grand girl or boy? How lovely, I can't wait to have a couple myself ♥

Darkmoondreamer: I have one of each, it's the grandangel from GA that was in visiting this week. Little man is in NY and I will fly out and see him this summer. If I use a timer I will get lazy and I need to get in the habit of getting up and taking care of my veggie babies anyways. I'm tempted to pump concert music into the bedroom I've turned into a inhouse greenhouse. LOL I hear they like it.
joy

Joy -- When your plants start growing how can we help you if we can not see the problem. Verbal explanation does no good in gardening situations? Just check any thread and see what I mean. How do you describe a disease or a virus or an insect that are destroying your plants as they are all similiar but may require different treatments and the wrong advice can ruin your plants. It takes minutes to take and post a picture. Let your daughter show you? I asked you to do this before but it slipped by. We'd love to see your HEBs and all your flowers as they grow especially the canna etc.

I will admit, my daughter has to do everything for me right up until I press browse. I didnt even know how to copy and paste when I joined Daves. Altho learning at..'as needed' pace.

Here are some daylily seedlings after just planting in the EB last spring. I just moved them to the ground, as I want the boxes back for veggies, and they had gotten mucho larger. Im leaving I box with them, just to see if I can bloom them out in the EB. Since daylilies dont bloom true from seed, you just breed for what you think would be a winner, and wait and see what you get.

This is one of my seedlings from last year. I have gotten a different camera since then, color is hard to get true

This is my...Im a Dragon...seedling.

OK, so Ive got a couple hundred seedlings going...good thing their is a daylily forum, or you guys would be in for a long look lolol

Im working on breeding poly's ( extra petal) This is Bobby Baxters "Redefining Genetics" that Im hopping will give me some good pollen and pods this year. Im trying to make spiders with teeth.

See what we mean Joy? Big difference!

Pretty flowers, very pretty. Yes Ted, I'm working on it.
joy

Hey Karen...problem for me...I got the cheap timer, Brinks and followed the directions but it never turns on. Maybe defective? Maybe defective operator?

Devota: I found out the problem and ID to that picture of the web thing in my yard, it has what's been bringing voles and moles to my yards. They are sod worms. Help is on the way. Terminix referred me to Tru green and they and I will have a contract soon, really reasonable too. They come out treat my lawn and my beds and rid me of the cursed sod worms and the voles and moles leave. Not only that they fertilize up my beds and stuff for me. They come out 10 times a year to get my lawn up to par, I should have done that before the beds, trees and garden; but you know me, Miss backwards right? LOL

Next Spring, as this spring, I'm using manifold systems and hoses; but next Spring, I'll be using a sprinkler system on a timer for everything. Smiles. Just a little hard road to travel for a short time for my Garden of Eden and Paradise right? LOL
joy

Hey Devota, congrats on your purchase of a timer, yeehaw!! LOL, you gals please know I am teasing in the most lovely way....That is accepted in Texas where I am, but I know regional humor is different. If I didn't love you I wouldn't tease you, ain't that right?

Okay, Devota, I had a little trouble with that at first too. It is very important to set those little tabs up right for your on and off times, after turning the dial to the current time of day. They can be a little hard to see, I had to put on my Specs...If even one little tab is not pressed fully down and needs to be, it won't work right. It's not hard, you just have to see well to set it up correctly. Secondly, make sure the slide switch on the side is slid to auto, not MANUAL. Manual means exactly that, lights won't work unless you turn them on or off manually.

That's about all there is too it and it should work fine. Let me know if I can help again if it's needed.

You know Karen I wish I had the kind you're talking about. I figured that one out. This is a digital smigital, too much for my brain but I will keep trying. LOL

PS Karen...it's nice to be loved. Tease all you like. I do it too. Life is too short to take everything seriously, but I, too, only tease people I like and feel comfortable with.

It sure makes it easier with a timer and a digital should not be difficult to adjust? ??? Wait till you guys see the stacker I bought from BocaBob. It is for my grandson's strawberries. He loves em!

TPlant: Keep us posted on how that does.
joy

Joy, I am awaiting delivery of one of Bob's stackers, I am estatic with excitement. If I know you it will be next on your list! hehe! We are all such enablers here, aren't we? I am growing a cow pea crop in one set ( 5 cowpeas or green beans per planting section works out to 75 cowpea/bean plants per stackables set of 5!) I'm also buying a second to do strictly salad greens, 3 types of lettuce, radishes and the such. Here is the one I'm buying. Ted, are you getting the same one? Linda (Pugzley) also bought one from Bob earlier this week.....This model is huge, 15" trays.

Original photo and comment by Bob:

darkmoondreamer: You can sure read my mind, yes, I'm wanting to pick up a few myself, gotta try them ya know. LOL I'm thinking lettuce and spinach, radishes, things like that. Now that true green is coming in to take care of my lawn I'm feeling great. You know me, Miss backwards. Take care of planting flowers and veggies and forget the lawn, and the lawn is important if you want flowers and veggies. True Green also will fertilize my flower beds and trees and shrubs also for me when I get them in. I have a royal empress tree coming, a crape myrtle and now 3 peony trees. Have no idea where I'm going to put the peony trees; but had to have them. Need to put them catalogues down for a while I suppose; but, can't. LOL
joy

I got the light green stacker yesterday for strawberries. I know this is the wrong time of year to plant strawberries. In my zone it should be in November but it is for my grandson. I'll refresh them come next season as they will probably die with the summer coming and the roots will not have enough time to develop but who knows? It may still bear berries this season and that will make him happy.
Meant to add that they work on the same principle of the EB. You must pack the corner with the coir as it also serves as a wick. You water from the top and as you do the overflow drains into the lower and so down the lawn until the excess water is trapped in the bottom holding tray. Unique idea!

This message was edited Feb 20, 2009 9:39 AM

Bob: So when do the rest of us Floridians get a chance to buy them? sniffles?
joy