Extension Communications
Extension 4-H Youth Building
Ames, Iowa 50011-3630
(515) 294-9915
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Extension Communications |
4/22/04
Contacts:
Linda Naeve, Reiman Gardens, (515) 294-8946, lnaeve@iastate.edu
Jean McGuire, Continuing Education and Communication Services, (515) 294-7033,
jmcguire@iastate.edu
Reiman's Pick for the week of April 19, 2004
EarthBox is Not a Typical Container Garden
By Linda Naeve
Extension Coordinator, Reiman Gardens
Gardening is a hobby in which there are many practices and techniques passed from one generation to the next, some that have never been researched or challenged. Also, because gardening is a multi-million dollar a year industry, there are countless gadgets and gimmicks that claim to make the job easier, improve yields or simply beautify the landscape. It is often difficult to separate facts from "old wives tales" or marketing schemes. This week's Reiman's Pick -- the EarthBox -- is a concept in container design and plant culture that really does makes gardening easy and nearly foolproof.
The EarthBox is a sturdy container made of recycled plastic and available in just one size, 2 1/2 feet long by 15 inches wide by 12 inches tall. It is large enough to accommodate a few plants of a single crop either two standard-sized tomato plants, eight pepper plants, four cucumbers, eight strawberries or two rows of green beans.
A vegetable farmer, Blake Whisenant, developed the EarthBox to create a container garden that produces maximum yields, is environmentally friendly and requires minimum maintenance. It now has become commercially available after more than a decade of research at the University of Florida, Penn State and Rutgers.
You may be wondering what makes the EarthBox superior to other plastic pots used for growing vegetables. It isn't just the container itself, but rather the cultural system used with it that makes Whisenant's container garden so different.
The system consists of a unique container with a water reservoir in the bottom of the pot, loose potting soil that contains a high percentage of sphagnum peat moss and all the nutrients required for the entire season applied at planting time.
Specifically, the EarthBox utilizes a gradient concept that provides nutritional stability to the plants. A prescribed quantity of complete analysis fertilizer is applied in a band on the surface of the potting soil. The 2.2-gallon water reservoir in the bottom of the container provides a constant supply of water up into the soil through capillary action. A grid above this reservoir supports the soil mix, and an overflow hole in the side of the container assures a small air space between the soil and the water table. Also, soil mix, packed into two corners of the water reservoir, acts as wicks to draw moisture to the soil surface. When the water reaches the fertilizer band, nitrogen and potassium move by diffusion to the plants' roots. The supply of nutrients is constant and replaces those removed by the crops.
Finally, the growing system for the EarthBox also includes a patented plastic mulch cover that resembles a large, heavy-duty shower cap. The plants are planted through holes cut in this cover. The cover reduces soil surface evaporation to conserve water.
For more information on the EarthBox, go to www.earthbox.com.
You can plant and take home your own EarthBox garden at a workshop at Reiman Gardens on May 10, at 6:30 p.m. There is a fee for the workshop and pre-registration is required. You can learn more about this workshop and other container garden workshops by calling (515) 292-2710 or visit the Web site at www.reimangardens.iastate.edu.
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Editors: A color photo, suitable for publication, is available at right. Click on the thumbnail photo to go to the fullsized photo. The picture's fullsize photo is 180K. Caption: The EarthBox is a container garden that is an easy planting and growing system for gardeners. This planter gives gardeners who live in apartments or don't have the space or quality soil to grow a successful vegetable garden. |
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