Earth Box (TM) Gardening

There are a wide varieties of methods to increase the production of fruits and vegetables in a garden. The "earth mound" is simply a mound of better soil, that is often covered in a heavy black plastic that helps retain moisture in the mound. You see this method used often in farmlands today. Another method is a "framed box" that is bottomless. This method again uses a better soil inside the box and the box helps to keep the soil in place and also can be covered with a heavy plastic. A very popular method now called the "Earth Box" (TM) has been developed and for a number of years I personally have wanted to know more about this method of gardening. The cost of this system is a consideration on start-up, but greatly decreases with subsequent use. A typical box might cost from $50.00 to about $75.00 and supplies could run another $25.00. The cost depends a great deal on the supplier, availability, model, and package. If you were growning two tomatoe plants in one of these boxes it is marketed as able to produce up to 50 pounds of tomatoes. This means the first crop of tomatoes may actually cost you $1.00 to about $1.25 per pound. The second crop of tomatoes could cost you from $.25 to $.50 cents per pound. There is very little work with this type of gardening and virtually no maintenance. These systems of gardening generally work for anyone.

I was particularly interested in the science behind such systems and found that this box system uses a plastic container about the size of a recycling bin commonly used in many communities. The plastic container has a screen made of plastic that fits into the bottom and rests a few inches from the bottom of the container. At about that same point there is an overflow hole that will let excess water drain from the box. This is important because it keeps gardeners from overwatering the plants.Water is added to the box to the point that it starts to come out of the overflow hole. When the soil is added to the box it does not fall through the screen. At two opposite corenrs of the screen there is a larger square opening in the screen and you push down on the soil over these two openings only. This forces the soil to be compacted down into the bottom of the plastic container where it will be down into a section that will contain water. This helps to draw water up into the upper levels of soil by capillary action. By compacting this section of soil it causes it to stick together. As the rest of the soil is added it is dampened with water but not overwatered and it is not compacted. This added soil can be patted down just a "small" amount and it can be mounded a bit down the center of the box. The soil that is purchased for this purpose and added to the box has been sterilized and this prevents initial contamination. Along the mounded soil at the center of the box a measured amount of fertilizer is added. This fertilizer is not spread around the surface of the box but is only spread along the center mound. This placement of the fertilizer prevents the roots from being "burned" by the fertilizer. At one end of the box there is a tube that has been added that goes all the way to the water section (Add this tube before adding any soil). This tue would allow you to add more water later and also allow air to get into the system. In many systems "dolomite" is also added to the box. The way the box is setup may change a bit for different types of plants. Finally the box is covered with a heavy plastic that has a black surface for northern climates and a white surface for southern climates. The different surfaces help to regulate the temperature of the soil in the box. Plants are added by cutting a hole in the plastic and planting the plants through the hole in the plastic. For tomatoes only two plant seedlings are used. The number of seedlings is different for different types of plants. Some plants will need to be "staked" to hold them upright.

These types of systems have been designed to require little maintenance and high yield and I have found that the thought and science that has been incorporated in the design is impressive. My goal however would be to design similar systems without the initial start-up costs. Plastic containers are certainly available and it seems that with a modest effort a gardener could design a low cost alternative method that mimics this process.