The latest in Earthbox Technology

CLa · May 11, 2008

A while back I did an indoor experiment with a tree container. Picture below:

Well I decided to recap on that idea and bring it outside. Of course it would have to be covered to work right.
The process:
I actually did this with the smaller size sterile container from walmart. I think it is like 10 gallon? The hole I cut out here is only this big because my plant has been in the tree container for some time, so it is kind of big. You could make the hole smaller if you were planting just a seedling like a foot or less tall:

I used bricks to hold the container up, just creating room at the bottom for a reservoir.

Note the hole placement for drainage is actually about an inch above the bottom of the tree container.

Notice the fertilizer on the sides, kept away from the center so that it wont harm the plant.

Standard black plastic covering (trash bag):

Finally I drilled some holes at the bottom of the watering pipe to increase flow when adding water.
The product:

I used plastic boxing tape to also create sort of a blockade, so that the water would not run into the small hole. That took a little while to get it right, but that along with putting a thin block of wood to get the box to sit at a slight angle is crucial for this particular box. Because there is no dirt mound as with a normal earth box to hold the plastic high enough for correct water runoff during a rain. In the last picture you do not see my added work to the plant-stem hole there. Lets just say I built a levy of plastic around the stem heh. Of course some water will get in, but nothing to worry about. For those new to self watering containers, it is important to keep most of the water out of the top of the plant, otherwise your fertilizer will drain down to quickly and you will nuke your plant. Well there it is, I'll report back in a month on progress.

Paul

May 11, 2008	#1
CLa Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Central Louisiana. Zone: 8 Posts: 207	The latest in Earthbox Technology A while back I did an indoor experiment with a tree container. Picture below: Well I decided to recap on that idea and bring it outside. Of course it would have to be covered to work right. The process: I actually did this with the smaller size sterile container from walmart. I think it is like 10 gallon? The hole I cut out here is only this big because my plant has been in the tree container for some time, so it is kind of big. You could make the hole smaller if you were planting just a seedling like a foot or less tall: I used bricks to hold the container up, just creating room at the bottom for a reservoir. Note the hole placement for drainage is actually about an inch above the bottom of the tree container. Notice the fertilizer on the sides, kept away from the center so that it wont harm the plant. Standard black plastic covering (trash bag): Finally I drilled some holes at the bottom of the watering pipe to increase flow when adding water. The product: I used plastic boxing tape to also create sort of a blockade, so that the water would not run into the small hole. That took a little while to get it right, but that along with putting a thin block of wood to get the box to sit at a slight angle is crucial for this particular box. Because there is no dirt mound as with a normal earth box to hold the plastic high enough for correct water runoff during a rain. In the last picture you do not see my added work to the plant-stem hole there. Lets just say I built a levy of plastic around the stem heh. Of course some water will get in, but nothing to worry about. For those new to self watering containers, it is important to keep most of the water out of the top of the plant, otherwise your fertilizer will drain down to quickly and you will nuke your plant. Well there it is, I'll report back in a month on progress. Paul