Has anyone experience in using earth boxes for growing veg'

[BigV]

From what I have been reading they seem like a good idea and would cut down the chore of daily watering.
Are there any snags.? I know I would have to make them as they don't appear to for sale in UK? I am writing about earth boxes for growing vegs.BigV


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[BigV]

Don't know what happened to the end of that sentence! I am talking about earth boxes for growing veg.BigV


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[veggiechicken]

Too many words for a Title, I guess
Don't know what earth boxes are though

[rustylady]

Got any pictures or Internet links BigV?

[WendyC]

Or is it just another name for raised beds?

[Alison]

Is it those big bag things?

[WendyC]

Cat litter trays are sometimes called earth boxes, but I wouldn't grow veg in one.

[bearded bloke]

Don't know what happened to the end of that sentence!

Shortened the title a bit for you BigV now you can read the end

[lottie dolly]

Had a goggle,apparently it's a self watering patio container,

[Feral007]

Cat litter trays are sometimes called earth boxes, but I wouldn't grow veg in one.

That's cheeky WendyC, I tried having some herbs indoors again last year, but my cats, after eating the lemongrass for a week or two, then decided that potting mix was much more ecologically friendly and deserted the litter box for the herb pots.

But I've just googled and lo, and behold, earth boxes are aussie things! Never heard of them before, but here's a link.
About Us - EarthBox Australia

Seems to me to be a set of largish window box type plastic self watering pots with a soft poly lid on them to grow through.
For me - it would never work. If it's too hot the plants cook through the poly. But the self watering pots I've tried for tomatoes and flowers, the inner pot is far too small to grow very much for very long. So if you want to use these you'd want to search the Vine for tips from the people who only grow in containers (and probably save your money and just use what containers come free)

[Feral007]

Really if you were looking at containers and wanted to make them a bit more self relient in summer, I'd just have quite a few pots, then some old tubs - laundry/bath tubs. Put some bricks in the bottom of the tubs to raise the pots out of the water, then put some wicks of fabric/rope from the bottom of the pot to the water. And if you were going away for a short while you could put a poly top over it, if it wasn't going to be baking hot. But really, I'd probably just put regular pots in a shady spot and mulch the pots up with straw while away.

[AllInContainers]

Ah, yes - I got something like that from Aldi last year. I actually have my raspberries in one, and kiwi in another. I also grew cape gooseberries in them in my windowsill using them.

Since using them, I kind of wish I'd stuck with normal planters. Any fine roots poking through the grid at the bottom is liable to introduce root rot (same with the sunken section that is supposed to be where the wicking occurs), depth of soil/compost is reduced, and I have no idea whether the reservoir at the bottom is full of water, empty, or full of sludge and stopping the planter draining correctly. It's like having another unknown thing to contend with, whereas if I just had standard drainage I feel I would be able to make a better judgement of how much watering it actually needs.

They seem a good idea for people who can't get to water as often as others due to working away from home etc, but I'm not convinced there's any real benefits otherwise - and possibly negatives if using them for perennials so the pot isn't being emptied and cleaned out once a year. I've thought about cutting off the overflow pipes so the planters drain as normal (no wicking), and use them for plants that need good drainage as the grid bottoms should be better for that than any pebbles/crocks/styrene

[veggiechicken]

Thanks for the link Feral. Here's a diagram from the site How the EarthBox works - EarthBox Australia
I bought a couple of wheeled, self-watering troughs from L1d1 a couple of years ago. Unlike these ^^^^ they don't have a cover or a drainhole so you can't leave them outside as the rain would drown them. OK undercover though.

[BigV]

Earth Boxes what they are
The best link is postoilsolutions.org which tells you all about earth boxes.Also try YouTube where there are several demos. I shall persevere and come back later with news! BigV



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[Catseyes]

Some I knew had these and they worked well for toms in her greenhouse. This was some 5 years ago and think they were new on the market then


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