Earthbox update
Back in May I bought two Earthboxes, in one of them I have two types of tomatoes (Sprite and Siberian), the other Earthbox I have two Japanese eggplants. Despite the amount of rain we've had in the past couple of months, I'm happy to report that all of them are doing really well and thriving. As you can see from the pictures below, the tomatoes are about six feet tall with lots of tomatoes (still green at the moment). Eggplants are also growing strong with about 10 eggplants in total.
Overall I'm very satisfy with the Earthbox. It has made the watering very easy and you don't have to worry about over-watering--when you see water coming out from the spout on the side that means enough. Also, no fertilizer is needed during the season except at initial planting time. We've had a couple of hot and humid days and I had to water them everyday but most of the time I've been watering it every other day. The only thing I'd like to change is the tomato cage. I was trying to save some money and bought the cheap steel tomato cage. One day we had a really severe thunderstorm with wind gust up to 60 mph, the tomato cage tipped over and almost broke the plant in half. Now I have a twist tie to secure the cage against the deck railings.
Compare to last year's Celebrity tomato planted in a normal container, these plants in a Earthbox definitely look more healthy and produces more fruits. The Sunset Magazine blogs about the Earthbox and compared it against a tomato plant grown in a normal pot. The writer talks about how she was a skeptic at first and became a convert. Take a look at Confessions of an Earthbox convert.
From this to this:
Sprite tomato on the left, Siberian tomato on the right:
Two Japanese eggplants in one Earthbox side by side:
August 3rd, 2009 - 03:55
Looking good Louise! Keeping up with all the watering right now makes me wish I had used earth boxes!
August 3rd, 2009 - 09:09
Wow! That is really impressive for something that is designed to be kept on the balcony. I’ll certainly keep an eye out for it if the stores begin to carry it here.
August 3rd, 2009 - 20:14
These look awesome, Louise. (My tomatoes are still green too.)
I have two Earthboxes and took the cover off one of them this year. It makes me a little confused about watering because we’ve had so much water from the sky. So definitely save those covers!
I also love those glass globes!
August 9th, 2009 - 17:22
rowena – I’m sure there are something similar in Italy. If you’re handy you can even make your own. I remember reading some blog post about a self-made earthbox.
Jen – Thanks Jen! I didn’t take the covers off, not sure what their purpose is? I think it’s there to keep the weeds out and make the soil warm for the tomatoes?