Whats it good for? I can see one pepper... i got one as a gift,,, I'm thinkin herbs?
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Earth Box...
- Thread starter S.S.Tupperware
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I put 2 TS plants in one a couple of years ago and they did great. However it was a bit cramped and my home made box that started off with a 30 gallon container did much better. If you do a pepper plant I would suggest just 1 plant.
I do have a 2nd box for growing Ashitaba (a Japanese medicianal plant) that I use for making tea. It's by fair the healthiest tea you can brew. However when I read that it cost $26 for a mere 2.5 grams or $4,714 a lb I quickly picked up a few plants and put them in my earth box. All 3 plants have been flourishing for over a year and I have harvested several pounds saving a TON of money. Just a thought.
I do have a 2nd box for growing Ashitaba (a Japanese medicianal plant) that I use for making tea. It's by fair the healthiest tea you can brew. However when I read that it cost $26 for a mere 2.5 grams or $4,714 a lb I quickly picked up a few plants and put them in my earth box. All 3 plants have been flourishing for over a year and I have harvested several pounds saving a TON of money. Just a thought.
I created my own from 5 gallon pails same principle (EarthTainer and Global bucket)I like them and I will reuse this year and mayber create a few more. I like AJ's setup interms of its simplicity and cost however. My plants did very well in them. I would suggest setting up an irrigation system to keep them full.
I've used Earthboxes for the past three years. I follow their instructions and put 6 pepper plants per box. The first year they did great, big healthy plants and lots of peppers. The only issue I had was it became top heavy, and blew over, so I had to stabilize them. The next year I bought the organic refill pack, and didn't bury the fertilizer far enough below the surface, and ended up with a container full of maggots in one of the containers!!! In the other container the plants were a bit leggy, but still produced well. Last year, I was trying to save some money and used whatever potting mix I could find locally. Big mistake! There was a ton of leaf drop, and all of the peppers were stunted. I realized the soil was holding way too much moisture, and removed the plastic cover. Once the soil dried out, the plants started to recover, but they were so far behind, that none of them really produced much. I'd like to make my own mix this year.
As far as number of plants per box, I think that depends on what kind of peppers you are putting in there. I certainly wouldn't put one that has a shrub-like habit, like a Lemon Drop, in there, but if you are using it for things like jalapeno type peppers, I think you could fit at least 4 in their without sacrificing productivity.
Just reread the original question. Yes, you could use it for herbs. Probably 6 to 8 basil plants would work nicely. You could also use it for lettuce or other leafy green vegetables. As deep as they are, you could probably grow carrots, radishes, etc. in there too At least you wouldn't have to worry about it being top heavy. About the only thing I wouldn't grow in them again is tomatoes. Tried that a couple of times, but had two issues. We get very strong, sustained winds in the spring here, so they were way too top heavy. Even with them all the way against the side of the house, they still managed to blow over a couple of times a season. The other problem was watering. Two full sized tomato plants would completely drain the reservoir in a day. If I missed even a single day of watering, I ended up with blossom end rot. Of course, I live in a high desert climate, so your results may be better than mine.
As far as number of plants per box, I think that depends on what kind of peppers you are putting in there. I certainly wouldn't put one that has a shrub-like habit, like a Lemon Drop, in there, but if you are using it for things like jalapeno type peppers, I think you could fit at least 4 in their without sacrificing productivity.
Just reread the original question. Yes, you could use it for herbs. Probably 6 to 8 basil plants would work nicely. You could also use it for lettuce or other leafy green vegetables. As deep as they are, you could probably grow carrots, radishes, etc. in there too At least you wouldn't have to worry about it being top heavy. About the only thing I wouldn't grow in them again is tomatoes. Tried that a couple of times, but had two issues. We get very strong, sustained winds in the spring here, so they were way too top heavy. Even with them all the way against the side of the house, they still managed to blow over a couple of times a season. The other problem was watering. Two full sized tomato plants would completely drain the reservoir in a day. If I missed even a single day of watering, I ended up with blossom end rot. Of course, I live in a high desert climate, so your results may be better than mine.
You can grow anything in your earthbox. Like highalt said, use a good potting mix.
Peppers do really well in earthboxes. Depends on what pepper variety as to how many
plants. If it's jalapeno's, you can do 4. Last year I put in one box, a tabasco, chocolate
habanero, Aji crystal, and another one can't remember what it was. The tabasco was
so big. Next time I would only put 2 tabasco in an earthbox. It's trial and error. I have
seven earthboxes.
Peppers do really well in earthboxes. Depends on what pepper variety as to how many
plants. If it's jalapeno's, you can do 4. Last year I put in one box, a tabasco, chocolate
habanero, Aji crystal, and another one can't remember what it was. The tabasco was
so big. Next time I would only put 2 tabasco in an earthbox. It's trial and error. I have
seven earthboxes.
It came with a coco mix, lime, and some ferts. I followed directions and have no doubt it will work. i think i will put some volunteer dill in it, since i use it a lot on fish and and taters, not to mention about everything else when i have it fresh.
Yeah if you do the research on ashitaba it has an amazing list of ailments that it helps with. I have been drinking the tea daily for over a year and my cholesterol level has dropped quit a bit although my diet hasn't changed much.
I wouldn't bother with seeds as they are VERY hard to germinate and can take several months. I got my live plants from http://www.horizonherbs.com/ the owner sells all types of hard to find and rare plants like mandrake. I picked up a copy of his book and it was by far one of the most informative and easy to read gardening books I own.