Home > Lawn, Garden & Home > Master Gardeners > Gardening Topics > Container Vegetable Gardening > Earth Boxes > Earth Box Summary Report 2006
Earth Box Summary Report 2006
In spring 2006 EarthBox® in Scranton, PA donated 60 EarthBox® kits to the Maryland MG Program for use in projects and demonstrations. All Master Gardener programs in the state received at least 1 EarthBox®, along with a feedback form for collecting data and observation. This summary captures the highlights from 11 reports filed by Master Gardeners.
Many thanks to the company and the participating volunteers for a successful first year of growing that yielded some very useful information.
Introduction to the Project: Small Gardens, Big Rewards
Backyard and community food production is an essential part of the Master Gardener outreach program. We recognize that vegetable gardeners are an important part of community food systems because they
• grow food that nourishes themselves and their families
• are a critical reservoir of food growing knowledge and experience
• teach children about plants and gardening
• improve soils and recycle nutrients
• eat locally and seasonally by growing some of their own food and supporting local farmers and markets.
Container vegetable and herb gardening has become increasingly popular in Maryland because lot sizes are shrinking and more adults are in the workforce and don’t have the time for large backyard gardens. At the same time there is great interest in growing and eating fresh organic produce. Finally, new container products like the EarthBox® are enabling people with little gardening experience to become successful and confident food growers.
The Vegetable Gardening Working Group decided to use container gardens as a “hook” to encourage more Marylanders to “get growing”. The EarthBox® has great potential because it can
• get people instantly started in gardening
• be worked into existing Master Gardener projects
• be used effectively to teach many different gardening principles.
What Did We Learn in 2006?
An EarthBox with one pepper and one tomato plant.
Frederick Co.
Bethany Dellagnello; 1 box used to gain new info for container gardening presentations.
Grew 3 Armenian cucumbers on a low brick wall next to driveway; full sun. Followed all instructions. Added 4 gallons of water daily by July. No additional fertilizer added. Planted on 5/17. Plants grew rampantly. First harvest mid-July. Plants declined prematurely- unknown reasons. Yield was about 30 cucumbers- a bit disappointing based on the work involved. Plants pulled by late August. Next year would plant only 1-2 per box and fertilize mid-summer. Rating:Very Good
Queen Anne’s Co.
Neenah Hoppe, Pat Bowell, Suzanne Davis; 2 boxes Jr. MG Program- Kennard Elementary School
Kids grew lettuce, carrots, parsley, watermelon, sunflowers, etc. on pavement. Followed instructions except did not use plastic cover or fertilize regularly. Water tube seemed to get plugged at end of season. Yields were low because of close spacing and lack of nutrients. Great tool for teaching kids (they loved adding water). Next year will increase spacing and fertilize regularly. Rating: Excellent
Montgomery Co.
Linda Waters; 1 box
At-home demo to learn how it works.
Grew one tomato and 2 pepper plants on pavement in full sun patio. Followed all instructions; watered daily and fertilized just once at start. Planted in June. Tomato grew very well and produced 25 tomatoes (green fruit were still on vine). Peppers were shaded out by tomato plant and only produced 2 peppers. Rating: Excellent
Joanne Mueller; 1 box
Horticultural therapy project- Aspenwood Senior Living Community
Grew 2 tomato plants (‘Early Girl’ and ‘Better Boy’) in full sun at entrance to facility. Planted 6/7; first harvest 7/25. Vigorous top growth with yield of 3-4 dozen fruits. Cared for by a resident with Joanne’s direction. Followed all instructions; no additional fertilizer added after initial set-up. Added 2 ½ gal. water nearly every day, especially in August, (weather was hot and dry.) Wrapped chicken wire around box which kept deer off plants and provided support.
The unit generated a lot of interest by residents. Joanne noted that people with short-term memory loss and dementia will need a lot of direct supervision and assistance to be successful with the EarthBox®. Rating: Very Good
Howard Co.
Donna White; 1 box. To gain new info for container gardening presentations.
Grew 4 tomatoes (2 ‘Roma’, 2 ‘Beefsteak’) and 2 basil plants in full sun. Followed all instructions; no additional fertilizer added after initial set-up. Watered every other day at height of growth. Took pictures for ed. displays, wrote article about EarthBox® for MG newsletter, and shared produce with assisted living community. Rating: Excellent
Baltimore City
Kate Joyce; 5 boxes. Bon Secours Community Support Center- Operation ReachOut SouthWest organic garden club. Grew tomato, pepper, and cucumber plants. Followed all instructions, except substituted chicken manure for provided fertilizer. They got a late start and yields were lower than expected. Will start earlier in spring next year. Boxes were a hit with this urban neighborhood. Rating: Excellent
Al DeGray; 2 boxes. Container gardening demonstration at Cylburn Arboretum
Grew 3 tomato plants (‘Celebrity’) in one box and 2 squash plants (‘Summer Crookneck’) in the other. Followed all instructions; partial sun location. Tomatoes suffered blossom end rot that was corrected by adding lime to water reservoir. Tomato plants too crowded- only plant 2 plants next year. Squash made lots of foliage but few fruit. Rating for tomato box: Very Good; Rating for squash box: Fair
Dorchester Co.
Judy Slaughter; 1 box to gain new info for using containers in horticultural therapy settings and youth gardens.
Grew 2 tomato plants (‘Big Boy’). Followed all instructions; watered 2X/week. Planted 5/1 and first harvest on 6/26. Very good growth and yields. Took EarthBox® indoors to see if harvest continues. Judy is giving EarthBoxes® to all her children as holiday gifts and plans to buy more next year. Rating: Excellent
Washington Co.
Gordon and Janet Bartels; 4 boxes. After-school garden program at Winter St. Elementary School. Grew tomato, sweet and hot pepper, onions, and herbs on pavement in full sun. Followed all instructions; no additional fertilizer added after initial set-up. Watered 2-3 X/week. Could only access plants Mon.-Thurs. During August plants could not survive going from Thurs.-Mon. without water. So impressed with growth they ordered 10 as Christmas presents. Will move boxes next year across the street to Girl’s Inc. to solve watering problem. Rating: Excellent
Patuxent Institution
Bud Tarleton; 3 boxes. Master Gardener program for inmates.
Units were set on a wooden deck and watered once a week; no additional fertilizer added after initial set-up. They used a different growing media in each of the 3 units to test the effect on plant growth. Each EarthBox® had one ‘Early Girl’ tomato, one ‘Indigo’ radicchio, and one ‘Marketmore’ cucumber plant. Tomato plants transplanted into the units on May 19 yielded their first fruit on June 15 (rapid growth and maturity.)
Unit 1 had media supplied by the company, Unit 2 used Sunshine No. 2 soil-less mix, and Unit 3 contained a mix that was ½ garden soil, ¼ leaf mould, and ¼ compost. Unit 2 performed best, plants were larger and yields were greater. Unit 1 performed well and Unit 3 performed poorly. Rating: Very Good
Baltimore County
Regina Carson. 5 boxes. The project included 2 Police Athletic Association (PAL) centers and Baltimore Highlands Elementary school (the school purchased 8 additional units.)
The units were used in a variety of settings. Followed all instructions; no additional fertilizer added after initial set-up. Watered when media was dry to the touch. Tomato, sunflower, chard, radish, kale, parsley, lettuce, and marigold were grown. According to Regina: “I love the EarthBoxes. The children seem to prefer working in the EarthBoxes rather than in-ground. It’s a great way to introduce them to gardening.” Rating: Excellent
Tips for Next Year
• Protect your boxes from critters. Groundhogs ate all of the vegetable plants growing in 3 EarthBoxes® at the Home and Garden Information Center demonstration garden in 2006.
• Don’t overcrowd plants. Two tomato or pepper plants per box seem to work well.
• Consider using determinate and compact tomato cultivars to reduce foliar growth, increase yield, and simplify staking and support.
• Prune indeterminate tomato plants to 1-3 stems, head back laterals, and support the stems with stakes or trellis.
• Remove pepper blossoms for 2-3 weeks after planting to improve performance.
• Start early in the season with salad greens.
• The water requirements of individual units will vary greatly depending on location, type and number of plants, and time of year. For example, a unit located in full sun on asphalt and filled with large tomato, cucumber, and basil plants, may require daily watering during July and August.
• Bring the EarthBox® indoors and grow year-round under a shop light with cool, white fluorescent tubes.
• Fertilize periodically to support season-long production. Cottonseed meal, alfalfa meal, composted chicken manure, worm castings are organic types. Osmocote is a good slow-release chemical fertilizer. Soluble chemical fertilizers include MiracleGro and granular fertilizers (e.g. 5-10-5.)
Report prepared by: Jon Traunfeld, Regional Specialist, Maryland Cooperative Extension
3/10/07
For more information, contact Robin Hessey
Last updated: 04/1/2007