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ATTN! If you like this guide please rate it with a 1-5 star rating to the right of this text and leave comments with constructive criticism :) Thanks :)
Intro:
This is a guide to building a 2 different great "EarthBox" systems for next to nothing in relation to the $50 commercial version. The smaller is a more experimental idea and may just be TOO small... the larger will work as well or better than the commercial counterpart. This instructable will cost you about $10 for EVERYTHING for the smaller and about $15 for the larger... I recommend building 2 of which ever you chose to bring down cost... or build 2 of each like i did :)
Name:
EarthBox is a commercial version of a "self contained gardening systems". From here on out i will call mine TeraHydro Boxes... lol... my own brand... lol
TeraHydro Box explains exactly what it is tho... it is basically a hydro system for growing plants that also incorporates a small amount of dirt for plant stability and fertilizer delivery. Further explanation of the science is in the first step of this project.
Advantages:
The advantages of growing plants in a TeraHydro Box are abundant.
-A place to grow for those without "real dirt" aka large yards
-Requires much less space
-Saves huge amounts of water
-Easy to keep plants well watered
-Almost maintenance free all season after planting
-Huge crop yields
-Easy to grow organic or "regular"
Update!! BOTH the small and large TeraHydro Boxes worked excellent. The Large TeraHydro Box worked much better than the original Earth Box even!! I harvested gallons and gallons of salsa. Way to much in fact, haha... While I still recommend 6 tomato plants for the large THB, 2 would be better for the small one. Six plants was just to much vegetation for such a small area and the plant were a little small from not getting enough light. Check my account soon for more garden projects in 2010! :)
ATTN! If you like this guide please rate it with a 1-5 star rating to the right of this text and leave comments with constructive criticism :) Thanks :)
Intro:
This is a guide to building a 2 different great "EarthBox" systems for next to nothing in relation to the $50 commercial version. The smaller is a more experimental idea and may just be TOO small... the larger will work as well or better than the commercial counterpart. This instructable will cost you about $10 for EVERYTHING for the smaller and about $15 for the larger... I recommend building 2 of which ever you chose to bring down cost... or build 2 of each like i did :)
Name:
EarthBox is a commercial version of a "self contained gardening systems". From here on out i will call mine TeraHydro Boxes... lol... my own brand... lol
TeraHydro Box explains exactly what it is tho... it is basically a hydro system for growing plants that also incorporates a small amount of dirt for plant stability and fertilizer delivery. Further explanation of the science is in the first step of this project.
Advantages:
The advantages of growing plants in a TeraHydro Box are abundant.
-A place to grow for those without "real dirt" aka large yards
-Requires much less space
-Saves huge amounts of water
-Easy to keep plants well watered
-Almost maintenance free all season after planting
-Huge crop yields
-Easy to grow organic or "regular"
Update!! BOTH the small and large TeraHydro Boxes worked excellent. The Large TeraHydro Box worked much better than the original Earth Box even!! I harvested gallons and gallons of salsa. Way to much in fact, haha... While I still recommend 6 tomato plants for the large THB, 2 would be better for the small one. Six plants was just to much vegetation for such a small area and the plant were a little small from not getting enough light. Check my account soon for more garden projects in 2010! :)
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Signing UpStep 1How it Works
Here is an explanation or TetraHydro Boxes and how they work. The first image is a cutaway from the Earthbox website and helps you understand what i am saying if you have never seen one.
Essentially, you have a large plastic tub, with a water reservoir in the bottom, dirt on top with a huge strip of fertilizer, and the whole thing acts similar to a hydro system for growing plants and vegetables. If you don't know what hydro growing is, the short and sweet version is: it it a growing system with no dirt, that allows the roots to grow in a large bucket of fertilized water. After taking apart an Earthbox after a season of growth i discovered all of the roots had reached the water reservoir and were doing just that. NOTE: whether you use my build design or not there are two things i know are very important that most other guides overlook. In order for the "hydro" part of the earth box to work the water reservoir has to be absolutely dark, to promote roots and discourage algae, and there also must be tons of hole in whatever device you use to separate the water and dirt. Other wise you end up with wet dirt, like you needed, but root bound plants which is not as good for plant health.
Earthbox is a good system. A great system even. Just wayyy overpriced. My TetraHydro Box is based off the same principles, and i deviate in a few small ways, but usually will tell why i did and what Earthbox recommends instead. For example... Earth boxes recommends only 2 tomato plants per box, yet i have grown 6, even in their box, with tons of success so that is how i do it now. Perhaps they have a reason, or think they have a reason for why you should only plant 2 plants, but i think its just to sell more boxes... lol... alot of the things they recommend doesn't seem like there is a real solid reason tho... i think they pushed the product to market as fast as possible and did not get real exact on how or why you should plant things a certain way. The majority seems like educated guesses from smart people, so i use their instructions as a guide and experiment with my own ideas too :)
Essentially, you have a large plastic tub, with a water reservoir in the bottom, dirt on top with a huge strip of fertilizer, and the whole thing acts similar to a hydro system for growing plants and vegetables. If you don't know what hydro growing is, the short and sweet version is: it it a growing system with no dirt, that allows the roots to grow in a large bucket of fertilized water. After taking apart an Earthbox after a season of growth i discovered all of the roots had reached the water reservoir and were doing just that. NOTE: whether you use my build design or not there are two things i know are very important that most other guides overlook. In order for the "hydro" part of the earth box to work the water reservoir has to be absolutely dark, to promote roots and discourage algae, and there also must be tons of hole in whatever device you use to separate the water and dirt. Other wise you end up with wet dirt, like you needed, but root bound plants which is not as good for plant health.
Earthbox is a good system. A great system even. Just wayyy overpriced. My TetraHydro Box is based off the same principles, and i deviate in a few small ways, but usually will tell why i did and what Earthbox recommends instead. For example... Earth boxes recommends only 2 tomato plants per box, yet i have grown 6, even in their box, with tons of success so that is how i do it now. Perhaps they have a reason, or think they have a reason for why you should only plant 2 plants, but i think its just to sell more boxes... lol... alot of the things they recommend doesn't seem like there is a real solid reason tho... i think they pushed the product to market as fast as possible and did not get real exact on how or why you should plant things a certain way. The majority seems like educated guesses from smart people, so i use their instructions as a guide and experiment with my own ideas too :)
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1) Does this system work well with starting from seed? ie, could you leave it open and sow seed in there and thin and transfer? Or only with small established plants?
2) if using a pre used bin, how should one clean it to prep it? Pretty sure it has only been used for yard work, But it is pretty dusty and dirty.
BTW you are now my new favorite person. I am going to make 2 a week until I can do my whole yard in these... Well maybe not the whole yard. But definitely the back patio.
2) I would try to use only water to wash the bin starting with boiling water to kill anything that might harm your plants, then give it a good scrub with just warm clean water and finally when it looks clean a final rinse with boiling water. There may be some plant safe products out there you can buy but boiling water will do the job just as well.
Have fun and post some picture when you get going let us all see how you are doing.
Going to make several of these right away.
I do have a question tho. What is the purpose of the 1" pvc in the corner. Would you use it to replenish the nutrient rich water?
Also I am reluctant to drill a hole for drainage, unless I plumb the drain line to recycle the spilled nutrients.
For this set up, what would you say would be the minimum required amount of sunlight per day? Thanks,
As a way to prevent the dirt from dropping through the reservoir holes when filling up the box, you could cover the grate with non bleached household paper. Once the dirt is thoroughly soaked, the paper will quickly disingrate and allow root propagation.
A question, though...When you say 'add the plants', how big are the plants you are using? Seeds, little sprouts, or the baby-sized plants like you get in a pot from Home Depot?
How often do you water them? Does it really need to be filled every day as the earth box instructions say? I though the point of having a "self-watering" system is not having to water all the time.
Is it bad to use soil based mix? Square foot gardening recommends 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat, 1/3 vermiculite, but earth box says no compost and 75-80% peat. Could I use something in between these two recipes? I was hoping to take advantage of the town's free compost, and also rather not use that much peat as it is not renewable. I know I could use coir but not sure if there is a local source and the shipping is expensive for it.
Thanks
In regards to your soil question... There needs to be better soil options, yes.
I will be working on a new recipe for the spring of 2011. I am growing organically now and would like the still use my boxes. The organic potting mix and organic dry all purpose fertilizers are an option, but would cost over $20 a box and not an option for me. The reason earth box tells you not to use compost is because it makes to dense of a soil. this system only works with "light" dirt, lots of airspace, and well draining. Compost sops up and holds moisture. So there is my challenge, but I promise I will have a solution for 2011.
I am guessing that 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat, 1/3 vermiculite would work, but would also be expensive. And... peat is not renewable, you are right, however there are alternatives to peat available such as composted tree barks or other regionally available options. Google some :)
What would you consider as a "too small basket"?
Very good and clear 'ible'
Keep updating please.
Chefmichel
In the large boxes there is a variable amount of dirt space from approximately 1 inch all the way to 3 inches as you reach the top of the baskets. That seems to work well and leaves plenty of room for a large reservoir. Big baskets are good for the same reason. Large reservoir. I wouldn't use any smaller baskets than I did for the large box, and while the small box works it seems less worth the effort.
Yes the potting mix will usually yield the best results because the conditions are optimum for as broad as spectrum as possible straight from the facility it was produced in. The taste of fertilizer you are concerned about is not there are all thankfully. Plants do an amazing job at breaking down the elements they need and turning it into something healthy and delicious. Choosing organic fertilizer is also a possibility tho, and personally i'd recommend it, but make sure your fertilizer strip has 3 cups of fertilizer instead of 2 because it is always a much lower strength. (eg. 5-5-8 instead of regular chemicals ranging between 13-13-13 and 16- 16-16.)
Even with all said thus far tho.. its entirely possible to plain ol dirt outta yur yard if you prepare it right. Much more difficult to explain tho. Everyone's dirt is different tho so its hard to explain how to do it without seeing yours. I'll sorta break it into suggested results for 3 basic types of dirt in case it's helpful.
--Sandy:1 Part your sandy dirt, 1 part compost, 1/2 cup fertilizer per 5 gallons dirt.
--Clay: You have the worst dirt possible. It really would be best to buy potting mix. You can try making it work tho with a ratio of 1 part your clay dirt, 2 parts compost, 1 part sand, and 1/2 cup fertilizer per 5 gallons dirt. Mix very well.
---Dark and Rich: Add 1 bag of peralite per 5 gallon bucket of dirt. Unless there is cost restriction, that will work best but sand can help also. You are just trying to help it drain better.
Brian,,, hat's off to you for taking the time and effort to put together a really decent approach to this EB (Earth Box) thing.
I've been "doing my version" of this same concept for 10 years now, and have had excellent success, enough to where I have given tours of my little above ground garden and other experimental approaches.
I would like to offer a couple of suggestions to your instructions/methods, most of which I learned by disappointing inadequacies of a previous growing year!
For all you gardening-builders out there, regardless of what size containers or construction techniques you finally decide to use, I've found the following ideas to be worthy of consideration:
1. The "box" should be sturdy and able to deal with 1½ - 2 cu ft of decent potting mix, and soil depth of : min 9", preferably 12".
2. Buying the ("Miracle-Gro") type potting mix with fertilizer already mixed in will give you and excellent level of nutrient feeding for the new plants.
The EB folks suggest their little sacs as a form of slow release feeding. Bear in mind the plant roots are "smart", in that they wont go and grow into any thing, or substance, they don't really like!!
3. Brian, - Your fill pipe should be generously increased to allow your garden hose nozzle to be inserted easily, and remain there by itself while performing the periodic feeding. My suggestion would be 1½" or even up to 2". (Same bottom end treatment). Bear in mind that opening at the bottom is going into a water area that will be resaonably free of any potting mix or soil. I also found that a couple of sturdy, simple, "tie-wraps" that loop through the outer "sturdy box" and around the fill pipe will help prevent the pipe from being inadvertently withdrawn from it's intended location down in the water area!
4. In lieu of using the "drawer organizers" and drilling all those holes, I've successfully used ( repeated year after year) some (liberated) cut up plastic soda bottle carriers that I cut into supporting sections for holding up a cut to fit platform made from some (liberated) market/bakery bread trays (like the ones out back of the supermarkets). When cut to size ( Sawzall works very well), and used in conjunction with the standoff supports just mentioned, they become a perfect a perfect and sturdy base for the soil/potting-mix and very closely resemble the EB platform.
I fit 2 open-mesh 5" dia. plant baskets.into, and through the platform, to allow the potting mix to get down into the water reservoirs to allow the "wicking of the water" up into the plant area. A low cost alternative would be a regular plastic plant pot with good placement of holes. Remember that if it is not a sealed plant pot all the water you need would get through anyway, so you wont need all to many holes anyway.
As the "Gardenwife" suggested (8/24/09 in her reply, above) the CoCo Coir will work VERY well. I use it in all my planters, and consider it the best, since it is both a porous medium that will prevent excess (if any!) potting mix from dropping through into the reservoir, and also will allow the vigorous rooting to get down into the reservoir for added watering.
5. One of the most important design considerations is providing the air space between the level of the top of the shelf/support the Potting Mix will rest on, and the top of level of water (the level it come to after filling to the overflow and where it settles out). This level ideally is about an inch., ¾" will be fine also but only ½" is too close (to tight, too little circulating air! The VITAL reason for this is that the Potting Mix needs the oxygenation to get to the root system of the plants. It is equally as important as receiving the proper moisture (watering). Making a series of holes in the container wall, on BOTH sides, at the same level.
Fill the empty container to the desired water level, with attention to making sure the container itself is level, and marking/scribing where you've just determined the level needs to be after fully filled and overflowed. That level is the bottom of the drainoff hole ( The invert of the pipe discharge, for you wanaby plumbers out there), and if you measured right, it should be about an inch from where the top of the potting soil supporting shelf will be.
I have found that because this oxygenation is such a vital part of the plant health and growth, I have run an air line with an air stone down my "generous sized" fill tube and out into the center of the water reservoir area.
I use a little Sunbeam air pump (purchased at a pet center, or hydroponics store to reinforce this "oxygenation"
I am continually rewarded with a generous bounty from the TWO tomato plants per container that I can manage to contain in the "Box" !
The neighbors love me!
I have all my planters set up on tables (30" off the ground), and it is so comforting to be able to do what ever maintenance or "nurturing" I care to do without have to kneel down or stoop over.
6. Support !!!- By using the sturdiest boxes/containers you can afford or acquire, it is a relatively simple task to secure the wire hoops to them, (bend and shape to your needs). Think "out of the box", they don't need to be perfectly round!
****Suggestion= buy the welded wire, four uprights, four ring, tall (57") sturdy ones from Lowes or Home Depot. You'll have them for many years.
They do a great job galvanizing the wire in China, don't they? lol
Time to start you seeds is upon us!
Thanx again, Brian