Comments regarding EarthBox

use 6 earthboxes for 5 yrs. now, use miraclegro organic soil, use mater magic fertilizer for everything, grow tomatoes, eggplant, bell peppers, melons, cucumbers, zuchinni, okra new for this year, I know the covers are part of the science, ive done better w/ out them, everything grows great w/ out the covers, awesome to rinse out, stack up & be ready for next season, these things are great !!!

I ordered Earth boxes this year as my only way of gardening. I normally garden in the ground, but an injury last December has me in a wheelchair for now. I've planted five EBs in tomatoes, two on peppers. Assembly was super easy. Inserting the wheels, the aeration tray and the tube-- 45 seconds later and it was done. I had to have someone unload the bags of potting mix, but I was able to otherwise pack the soil, mix the lime, and add the fertilizer strip all in my garage, from the wheelchair. After mounding the soil and covering planting was very straightforward.

Everything is growing well, lots of blooms four weeks after transplanting.

It took 10 days for my containers to make it out to me on the west coast via Fedex Ground. Ordering form them directly was the cheapest option I found. Twice the price of the ones you can make yourself, but they are prettier and more compact than the "earth-tainer" designs.

Wish they made bigger ones as I won't be growing beefsteaks in these.

I've acquired quite a few Earthboxes over the years and absolutely love them.
Our summers in OK tend to get very hot and both raised beds and normal containers dry out quickly.

Growing tomatoes in earthboxes allows them to draw as much water as they need and not be stressed. If we have a rainy spell, the excess water will run out the bottom and not waterlog the plants.
Once it gets hot, I generally fill the reservoir (sp) daily, just to make sure the plants aren't stressed.

I no longer use their covers or fertilizer. I do add lime prior to planting and mix a granular fertilizer into the soil. Diluted liquid fertilizer can be added to the reservoir to be gradually drawn up by the plants.
I pull tiny weeds as they develop until the plants are large enough to prevent weed growth.

I've had problems of rabbits hopping into them and eating the plants, especially young bean, chard or lettuce, but inexpensive plastic fencing can be cut and inserted around the edge to deter the rascals.

I have a few raised beds that I need to reclaim. The bermuda and weeds have taken them over and rendered them useless. Earthboxes make it possible for almost anyone to grow a few veggies with limited time and effort. I love them!

On a side note, I did make my own one year. They cost far less than the real ones and worked fine for all of 2 years. Most tote type containers cannot withstand the sun and weather like the earthboxes can. Some of my earthboxes are at least 15 years old and still doing great, even though they are outside year round.

I've been a customer since 2005, owning several of their products including Earthboxes, staking systems, AWS etc and am very pleased with the results.

We've grown large beefsteaks, cherry's as well as climate suited vegetables all with great success. The only secret to an EB is you must follow directions. Both regular and organic methods are listed and available.

I'm picky about what products I like and continue using so the fact I am currently up to 24 Earthboxs and a watering system for 18 should be review enough.

I originally bought a couple Earthboxes to experiment with a few years back and liked them enough to bring my EB count up to six, where it is now. I've tried growing different veggies in them to see how each performed, and this is what I found.

In general the tomatoes have done pretty well, although like some others have mentioned, the size of the fruit leaves something to be desired. I've found that small salad toms and cherry-types do well, but leave the main season tomatoes for the in-ground garden.

The same is true of bell peppers. Last year's crop of California Wonder peppers was pretty poor. Their size was kind of comical. My theory is that there's just not enough room for the roots to develop and the size of the fruit suffers as a result.

The veggies that have really performed well for me have been cukes, zukes, crookneck & straightneck squash, and chili peppers. Herbs have performed well for me, also. But considering how much one of these boxes costs it seems unreasonable to grow herbs in them anyway as the same room could be used for more zukes!

Overall I think it's a pretty good system but they're a bit pricey. I haven't had any dealings with customer support so can't comment on that.

Recently, I had a very positive experience with Earthbox. I could write this note about how a rookie gardener like me can prodigiously grow all sorts of vegetable with the Earthbox (it’s been nothing short of amazing- I’ve successfully grown beans, parsley, thyme, and more things than I can now count. I’ve got nine earthboxes and plan to get three more. They are ridiculously easy to use, and yield an exceptional amount of plants for the amount of space used. This invention has changed my lifestyle because my diet is far healthier with the amount of vegetables now in my diet. But I digress…)
What I would like to express is the unusual and exceptional customer service experience I had with Earthbox. Originally, I had ordered an automatic watering system and the staking system with rush delivery, because I was leaving my garden for two months. Something went awry at Earthbox, a mistake was made, and it became clear that the materials wouldn’t arrive in time even I had paid extra for the rush delivery. I called up Earthbox to complain and the apologetic woman at the end of the line told me it was completely her fault (seriously- how often do you hear this in customer service these days?). She graciously owned up to the mistake, which I thought was very honorable. I had to cancel the order, but she offered expedited shipping at no cost the next time I ordered from Earthbox. They credited back to my card immediately. Even this experience made me think I’d order from them again.
As it turns out, I left for two months, and they shipped the $300 worth of gardening supplies anyway (they arrived after I left, unbeknownst to me). When I returned, I found the supplies which I hadn’t paid for. I called Earthbox to tell them about my situation. The customer service manager told me that I could keep them for the minor troubles that I went through. Needless to say, I was floored. What a company!
In sum, not only is it a terrific product, but the customer service was some of the best I’d ever experienced. I will be a loyal customer of theirs for years to come because of how I was treated and their amazing product. Thank you Earthbox!

Posted on August 14, 2010, updated August 14, 2010
Earthbox works reasonably well, but make your own!!! It's much cheaper and works every bit as well. I found 42-quart square plastic planters on sale for $7.50. I used cheap plastic needlepoint canvas for the soil to rest on. Plenty of aeration. Find them at a craft or fabric store, if not at a discount store. I used cheap plastic drinking glasses with holes drilled or melted into the sides for support for the plastic canvas. I used 6 or 7 because the canvas is very flexible and needed lots of support. I filled one of the glasses with soil for wicking and cut a 1 1/2" hole in the canvas strategically over that column of soil. I used cheap 1 1/4" pvc pipe for the water pipe and cut a proper sized circle out of the corner of the canvas for the pipe to sit through. Cut a big notch or some holes in the bottom end of the pipe for water flow. Put it together, fill it with potting mix (mounded up), pour your slow-release fertilizer all around the edge, and plant your seedlings. Use white plastic trash bags for a cover. Add water through the pipe. My beefmaster has done the best at nine feet tall and at least 20 tomatoes between 1/2 lb. and 2 lb. at one time. But the beefsteak and early girl and cherries are also doing great. If you want loads more great ideas, go to http://www.globalbucket.org. These two teenagers are amazing - very scientific in their testing and experimenting, and share all their information on this site. I'm going to try the grow bags and ollas next year. One thing I'm having a problem with this year is FAILURE TO RIPEN. My early girl has had about 20 tomatoes on her for about two months now. They are getting some size, although not hugh, but just WON'T RIPEN. Beefsteak the same way, as well as big boy and better boy. Beefmaster's are finally ripening. I'm going to be frying a lot of green tomatoes if this keeps up. Several of my friends are having the same problem with ripening. We live in the midwest (Kansas City area) and don't know if location/climate has anything to do with it. Anybody else having this problem?

I've ordered at two different times from EarthBox. Both times I received all my orders and they were delivered in just a few days. I had a question about something, so I called EarthBox. The representative answered my question thoroughly and never once seemed in a hurry to get me off the line. My experiences with EarthBox have been great.
I plan on ordering 10 more EarthBoxes for next year.
kh63

I had an interesting experience with Earthbox. I own several EBs that I have bought from my local nursery. I am happy with the results. Last month before going on vacation I decided to add the automatic watering system to a dozen of the EBs that were already planted.

So I ordered the product on-line with plenty of time for it to arrive. For a long set of reason that I won’t bore you with, my order fell through the cracks and after several e-mails and two weeks of waiting a partial order arrived.

I was very unhappy with the company. However having run a big organization in my past life, I know mistakes happen. What matters is how the company responds to a customer. So I wrote an e-mail complaining. Now, how often is it that you hear back from a company based on a complaint?

To my surprised a friendly gentleman called. He had gone back and read everyone of my e-mails, He was well versed on the problem. He took full responsibility for the problem, and apologized for the poor customer service I received.

He then overnighted the missing parts and when I opened the package, to my surprise he had included two additional units so that, no matter what, I could complete the installation before going on vacation.

We all know to make a mistake is human, what you do with that mistake is what people remember. In this case, EB performed far beyond my most optimistic expectations and my hat is off to their new customer service manager.

I hate to take a chance on something new, especially in this time of people trying to steal your money with trash products. But my tomato garden has a disease in the soil so I needed a container system if I wanted tomatoes.

Good stuff:
Brochure and internet site was very informative, gave me confidence I was buying a good product. Order arrived fairly quickly but I did order early (Feb). Fairly easy to set up if you take your time and your in shape.

Bad stuff:
Buying all the potting soil for your EBs can be very expensive. I mixed good potting soil with cheap potting soil 50-50 to save some money. Can't find the dolomite anywhere else but I did find it in the replanting kit on EB internet site which isn't too expensive. If your not in shape setting up your EB might be a big chore but just take your time and do it in small steps.

Results: I was suspect of growing 2 big tomatos or 6 pepper in one EB but so far my plants are thriving. I followed the EB instructions to the letter. They are all putting blossoms on right now (I'm in the deep south so planted April 1). So far it looks like EB does what it claims, you can grow great vegetables that will self-fertilize, no weeds to pull, and all you have to do is fill the resevior daily and harvest the vegetables when ready.

Earthbox is a fantastic product, I now have 20 of them. The yields I got on my tomatoes and my cucumbers that I planted in them was fantastic. Would recommend these to anyone.

EarthBox works great. Will be trying the red covers this summer. Of course, just looked to order them and the website wasn't calculating the discounted bulk rate. May need to polish a few things. This review is product only, it's solid.

I received the EarthBox as a gift. I "nearly" followed the directions. I did not add the strip of dry fertilizer since the bag of potting mix advertised that it already had "some"
fertilizer added in. The "Patio" tomatoes did fairly well. I would fill a jug with tap water and let it sit for a day to blow off the chorline. I was fairly faithful with re-filling the water reservoir of the EarthBox. Later I added the strip of dry fertilizer from a discarded bag of Scott's Turf Builder (perhaps one cup). Then the tomatoes really took off!!

I have used seven earthboxes (two plantings each year for the past 6-1/2 years. I have grown many varieties of tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. All with great success. I provide tomatoes and cucumbers to several friends almost year round. It is early January, and my four beefmaster and better boy plants have over a hundred tomatoes right now. I'll replant the boxes in late February or early March. There just seems no way for a person not to be able to grow fantastic tomatoes, etc. in an earth box. Common sense dictates that you not try to stuff several types of vegetables into one box. Place them in full sun. keep them watered. Stake as necessary. Harvest away!!!! I deal directly with the Earth Box Store in Ellenton, Fl. They are wonderful people. I live nearby in Bradenton. Fl.

I have 15. The first group was purchased from HSN which gave me a 50% discount on the shipping fees after the first box. The rest were purchased from EarthBox company at a steep discount because the caster holes are irregular and I do not need casters so it worked GREAT for me. I got 5 for $125 and paid $25 for shipping (August 2007). The people who answer their telephones during the 9-5 business hours are not very cordial or friendly but the product is GREAT!!! The people at the research center in Florida are reported to be WONDERFUL -- perhaps they should man the phones also!!!!

If you have problems bending or kneeling due to arthritis or other physical ailments then this EarthBox is great to get you back to gardening. If necessary you can put it on a stand and garden from a wheelchair. I had a hip replaced and will have the other hip replaced soon. With a bit of help with the initial set-up I can now enjoy gardening again.

The EarthBox is not easy but it is EASIER than in-ground gardening. Their website has a forum which is FAN-TAS-TIC for anyone to ask questions and get guidance on how to grow in the EarthBox.

Many folks complain about the shipping fees. Order the box with NO potting mix and your shipping fees will be around $6-7 per box -if- you are on the east coast. Remember that ALL shipping has increased due to the increase in fuel cost. Complain all you want but if you take a box that size to UPS, USPS or FedEx and try to ship ---- IT WILL NOT BE LESS THAN $10 ----- EarthBox gets a discount from FedEx for ground shipping because of the volume they ship that is why they can ship for less. Just try to ship that box back to them and you will find out that the shipping fee you have to pay to return the EarthBox is more than the shipping fee you paid to receive the EarthBox.

I ordered the Earthbox last month,came w/no problems,I planted 2 Celebrity tomato plants,from 6" pots...I followed the planting directions to the "T" and have been very pleased so far...the plants have grown a foot in just under a month,w/watering every day...I have counted at least 2 dozen blossoms so far w/ a few baby tomatoes the size of your pinky nail....just make sure you support them...I am using 42" cages that are staked for extra support....

I received an EB as a birthday present. I currently am using it to grow tomatoes. I'm not aware of any biling or shipping problems with this order. Believe me, if there were, my father wouldn't hesitate to let me know about it! My only complaint was that the directions to put it together were missing. That problem was remedied by downloading and printing them from their website. It was pretty easy to put together.

I really like my EB and will continue to use it next season for some other vegetables. I'm sorry to hear about the problems others are having with customer service and delivery.

I never had a problem with EB's ordering or customer service. If you want to SKIP dealing with Earthbox...just head on over to http://www.hsn.com (the home shopping network's webpage) as they have the boxes for a lot less and you can bypass dealing with EB. I have ordered 8 boxes from HSN with no delay or issues. Also they have flexpay so you can split up your payments as the boxes aren't cheap.

I have had my boxes for two seasons and they are well worth the money! Good luck and sorry to hear you are having problems with delivery!

I am extremely unhappy with the customer service at this company. The reason why is because I received a special "coupon" from my Dixondale order that said if I buy 10 Earthboxes without the soil or fertilizer it would cost me 375.00 if I use the Dixondale code. I thought it would be wonderful to get a discount, so I went on line to earthbox.com and discovered if I buy THE SAME 10 similar earthboxes, it will only cost me 325.00!!!!!!!!! Who is getting this 50.00 difference? When I called earthbox.com on sunday after 5:00 pm, to inquire about the pricing, I was told he didn't know why there was a price discrepancy and to order it on line if it was cheaper!!!!!! He basically refused to investigate why there was a price difference!!! THEN, I decided to place my order on line to see what happens. I WAS HORRIFIED THAT to place my ten order shipment cost an ADDITIONAL 150.00 for FEDERAL EXPRESS!!!!!!!!! They don't use USPS with tracking, they don't use UPS with tracking, they USE THE MOST EXPENSIVE method of shipment yet, they only guarantee you will recieve the item up to 3 weeks after placing your order. STILL, that is not a big deAL, BUT 150.00 SHIPPING?????????? once i try these, they better be the second coming, because i will make sure EVERYONE knows the truth between EB's and container gardening!!!!!!!!!

I have 5 earthboxes and love them. I just picked up the new staking system the weekend. I like other in the area have been waiting for the manufacture to correct a few issues to meet the inventors specs. The first sets had to be hammered together, not a good fit. The new ones work great. It is nice living across the river from the research center. That answer lots of questions and try all kinds of stuff in the earthbox. I was there a few weeks ago when the opened one filled with potatoes. I do think you could do better outside the box for potatoes . I think they only got about 10/15 lbs from the crop, but that is just my guess.

ordered a staking system 1/17 still have not recieved it co syas they are shipping them out it is 4/9 my planting date is 4/15

Earthboxes are great IF you realize that there simply is not a single garden environment that is good for all plants.

Earthboxes provide gradual feeding (via a pile of dry fertilizer placed at planting time away from direct contact with plants but at the top of the soil) and constant moisture. Properly cared for, plants in an Earthbox are never soaking wet and never dried out. Obviously, there are many garden plants that thrive on this. Still, there are those in the field of tomato husbandry, for instance, that think the plants need the soil to get fairly dry at times for the best results. You can't do that with an Earthbox.

There is a plastic cover that the plants poke through that acts as a mulch. It also can act as an environment for mildew or other moisture problems to develop, if the greater environment you put the boxes in is prone to that. The system won't work without the covers, though, so a few users will need to work with that design reality.

Earthboxes are also, well, boxes...albeit big ones. If you don't insulate the box somehow, it is going to go through greater temperature fluctuations than in-ground planting. There are many environments where this is not a problem, but just be aware that yours might not be one of them.

Earthboxes can also be taken inside when a snap of bad weather is expected, allowing lettuces to survive longer into the fall, to be germinated successfully earlier in the spring, and to be spared short-term heat waves. Be aware, though, that planted Earthboxes are unweildy and HEAVY. Most people not wanting a back injury should not be lifting them without help, even from a raised outdoor spot onto a wagon.

As for care, if you can't keep up with watering an Earthbox, you are very unlikely to keep a plant alive in any situation. The water reservoir has an overflow, so you can set an auto-water system to top it off every day if you're going to be gone. There is a grate that keeps most of the soil out of the reservoir, with only amount dipping in that acts as the wick. It is a very slick system.... unless you let the "wick" dry out. Then you've got problems. You might be able to re-hydrate without killing your plants, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Also, I've had my Earthboxes for about 5 years now, outside all year round, and they show no sign of UV decay. It looks to be a very durable system that will be well worth the initial outlay. (Plan on having to replace the covers, though.)

I very much recommend the Earthbox, but always with those few caveats that might not occur to a person unacquainted with how the system works.

I have purchased several Earthboxes over the years. I have a huge gopher problem and find containers a big help in keeping them at bay.

The containers arrived in good time (I am on the west coast) and in good condition. I have no complaints about the earthboxes for growing plants, though my experience has been with ornamentals more than vegetables.

What I do want to comment on (in all seriousness!) is that they provide excellent habitat for our supposedly endangered red legged frog! Last year I noticed a frog had taken up residence in each of four of my earthboxes. At the time I had not identified them, but now I am certain that they are rana aurora draytoni, or red legged frog. I think they spend all year in them. Right now it's breeding season and I hear their chorus--there must be half a dozen of them.

The company might want to investigate doing some studies and may be able to supply earthboxes to environmentalists for mitigation purposes.

AUTOMATED WATERING SYSTEM
I have an idea to share about automatic watering of my Earth Boxes. I purchased a Toro "Count On - It" automatic faucet control valve. I hooked it to an outdoor faucet and connnected it by hose to my two EB's using a hose Y fitting. I set the "Count On - It" to come on every 24 hours, and run for 3 minutes. I cracked the faucet and adjusted the water flow so it would'nt squirt, but dribble out of the EB weep hole. The only problem was the hoses crimping as they went up and into the water tube. I wired some popsycle sticks to the hoses to keep that from happening. The systems works great.

Although I have had trouble with worms on my tomatoes and green beans, I have been generally satisfied with Earth Boxes. I

I love Earthboxes. I have 7 of them and grow indeterminate tomatoes in them--I have had some grow 8 + feet in those boxes. I also have about 30 regular containers but for easy, foolproof growing Earthboxes are fantastic. You do have to water them every day and you have to follow the directions correctly. They are expensive but very, very durable. They offer a quantity discount when they are all going to the SAME address--which is standard practice. Ordering has always been a breeze and they arrive right away. Excellent for anyone who loves a home-grown tomato!

I have read the negative comments about earth boxes and all the problems can be solved by making your own. I use rubbermaid boxes that are taller and bigger and follow the basic design. Use the black septic drain pipes for your bottom support and use screen on top of it to keep the soil from falling into the water. I use newspaper for my wick and away you go. The cost is a third of buying one and you can grow your bigger tomatoes and have a bigger water well on the bottom. Some of my boxes have 6 gallon capacities. Rubber maid boxes are the best because the plastic is flexible and doesnt crack as easily in the sunlight. Many of my boxes are 5 years old and still going strong. Cheaper, bigger and easy to use. I had 7 kids and was using 30 of these for all my vegetable needs. I love the earthbox but hated the price and low water storage. I solved both of those problems and you can have fun making them.

Bob

About 5 years ago, in my first attempt at gardening, I dedicated 2 of my 5 EBs to corn, I planted 32 kernels and reaped 64 ears. I was amazed. I planted corn in the dirt also, and it came along about 2 weeks later. I now have 18 EBs and I continually try different combinations and have found that it really doesn't matter how much you pay for the potting soil. It's all good enough. My zuchini squash is absolutly scarey. Melons are terrific. Maters grow terrificly well, but I need to learn a bit more about them so they don't split on me. But that is not the EBs fault. My bad. Cherry tomatos are flawless and plentiful and very, very tall.

I have been using Earthboxes for three years and am very happy with them. I plant tomatoes and cantaloupes and carry buckets of each to work for my co-workers. (I hand pollinate the melons.) I don't stake my plants. I use 'tables' I've built from 1" x1" boards and chicken wire. I build 8' x 8' frames, and staple chicken wire for the table 'surface.' The 'legs' are the height of the earthbox. I can group 8 earthboxes around each 'table,' and the vines flop over onto the chicken wire. I have really good air circulation, but spray to prevent mildew. You can't grow corn in an earthbox - I know from experience - and I won't waste an earthbox on beans, peas or herbs. I wouldn't, however, grow tomatoes and melons in anything else. They also are a terrifc gift for elderly gardeners. Oh, and after each growing season, I dump the used soil on my compost heap.

I purchased two earthboxes at the beginnning of summer, right before they closed for the season. I planted pole beans in one and herbs in the other. The pole beans sprouted in three days and grew wonderfully. We enjoyed several harvests. The herbs in the other box are doing even better. My basil plant is a mutant!!! It has several trunks on it that are a good 2", and is 5' tall. I keep clipping it and pinching off the flowers and it just keeps getting bigger. The other herbs are doing very well too, but the basil is incredible. I think it could be record size. I do have to water the herb box every couple of days since the basil is so huge it takes up alot of water. The other box can be watered every three or four days. I planted the same herbs in the ground two days before getting my earthboxes. All of them died except the basil which is still barely holding on. It is a sad display compared to the earthbox basil, only about 10" high and very stragly. I attended two of their seminars and spoke directly to the owner/inventor in Ellenton. He was so very helpful and such a pleasure to talk to. I am going back later this month to purchase at least six more. Earthboxes have been the only way I have been able to grow any vegetables or herbs in our Florida heat. The earthboxes seem to keep the pests to a minimum too, although I check the plants daily and remove any suspicious leaves, etc. I highly recommend this company and this product.

Earthboxes are terrific. I had a great tomato season despite alot of cool weather and rain. YES you have to stake your tomatoes (which you need to do anyway). YES you have to fill the reservoir every day...but that's because the tomatoes are using the water, it's not evaporating, so it's not wasted.

I don't think of the self-watering system as a shortcut to irrigation - its just a more effective/efficient way to get water and nutrients to the roots, without the danger of infecting the plants with fungal diseases from water splashed back from the soil.

I grew some pretty large indeterminate tomatoes in my earthboxes, not just small bush type and I had great results.

michigan is a tough environment for tomatoes and, after years of lack of success, earthbox has seemed to finally have brought me to the threshold of tomatoe gardening nirvana ! i planted four different variety regulars in two boxes on may 15 and followed the directions explicitly. i planted one outside the box as a comparative(no contest). as of today, july 8,all plants are blossomed and and well-fruited. one "big boy" is over 8'tall. two are in the 5-6' range and one about 3'. (variety differences probably the main cause). i have 10' 1/2" stakes for each plant (my third "staking!")my 4' fencing around the two boxes is sufficient to keep the bunnies out but, because of the 1" netting, will probably cause harvest problems.

Wow - love them! I purchased 3 boxes to start and just ordered another 3, one as a gift to my boss, who first got me interested in gardening. I live in Putnam County NY and the land on my property is very rocky. I've tried planting to ground and in pots, but the EarthBoxes far outweigh my previous experiences. They are easy to use and maintain, and take all of the guesswork out of watering. I planted the boxes on May 8th and picked my first ripe tomato this morning (June 23)! Truly awesome!

After finding this website and reading negative comments about the EarthBox I had to join and write of my experience with them for the first time last year. I can only surmise that anyone having problems with them are only poor gardeners.

I have been growing tomatos in New Jersey (the Garden State) for over 30 years. Last year I grew 12 different varieties in six EarthBox's. I used cement reinforcing wire shaped and wired to the containers to contain them. The wire is 5 feet tall. After August I had to add another 2 feet of regular gardening wire to contain them. Eventually, I had to wire them together and tether them to the ground with tent spikes to keep them from blowing over in the wind they were so top heavy with tomatos. They grew beyond the 7 feet of wire in September, and eventually fell over the sides under thier own weight killing the tops of the plants. No bugs all season long.

I had HUNDREDS of tomatos. My family couldn't eat or give them away fast enough. I had Beefsteaks that I couldn't get through the 5"x5" cement wire cages. I had a 3.4 lb local fair winner of a SuperSonic tomato.

This year I'm growing 18 plants in 9 Earthboxes. My tomato plants are already 2 1/2 feet tall at the end of May, they look like small bushes. THIS year I'm taking pictures to prove it!

Anybody complaining that they dry out to quickly or have to water too frequently? Have you ever heard of plastic mulch? I watered mine once every four days. I even went away for a week's vacation with no problem.

I think that EarthBoxes are a gift from God. So much cleaner and easier than planting in the ground. I plan to retire to Florida next year where I will probably not have a garden. But you bet I'm gonna buy a condominium that has a patio or balcony with a southern exposure and will bring a few EarthBoxes with me!

My Earthboxes arrived(3)in november and I set them up and planted beefsteak and patio tomatos and as time went by I found that everything they advertised was true.I planted other plants in containers as I always did before and the growth in the boxes far outweighed the growth in the containers. I am now eating beefsteaks from the boxes while the other plants are smaller and have small green fruit. Of course I had to support the beefsteaks with large green rods purchased at Home Depot because the plants were so heavy with tomatos. I am disabled and for me this meant no more weeding and worrying about overwatering and overfeeding. Best gardening purchase I ever made!!

I didn't use it last season and have lost the fertilizer and lime directions for the Earthbox. I first used the box in 2001 with great results. Only problem was that fire ants got into the box even though I had it elevated. Inn addition, Earthbox didn't return my inquiry as to whether I should use the soil cover on the white or black side. This year they didn't answer me on the fertilizer question. Otherwise, I was pleased with the 2001 results. The thing gets heavy as heck though, in case you want to move it around. I planted standard tomatoes and they were very good.

Last year when my mother-in-law planted the same tomatoes in her earthbox that I did in my garden, I was convinced after a few weeks that I NEEDED an Earthbox. My plants were still 6 inches high and stunted, while hers were about 3 feet. She got about 100 tomatoes off of 2 plants! I got about 8 off of 4!
This year I bought an earthbox and so far, my plants are growing very quickly and there is no wilt or blight or anything bad that I was so accustomed to in my garden.
It is only June 17 and I will be picking my first tomato soon!
I just went online and bought one for my mother!

So far, so good! I set up 2 EarthBoxes about 5 weeks ago (2/20/03) with 2 tomatoes, 2 peppers, 4 hills of yellow squash. The tomatoes are 1.2-1.4 m (4-5 ft) tall with numerous tomatoes! I am harvesting some small cayenne peppers 5-8 cm (2-3 inches) long. The squash, started from seed, are beginning to flower. These boxes are inside my pool screen enclosure (central Florida), so I will have to hand-pollinate the squash. My 3-yr old granddaughters love watering the "garden".

I live in zone 5/6 and planted 1 tomato plant and 1 cucumber plant in the Earth Box last season. I followed the instructions exactly, filled the reservoir once in the morning and had the LARGEST, most prolific plant I've ever had. As a test, my husband bought the same tomato plant and planted it in ground on the same day I planted the Earth box plant. Not only did my plant (in the box) fruit first, it grow larger, produced more and longer than the one in ground. My only complaint is that it almost overshadowed the cucumber plant _ which also did well. I'm a believer!