Re: "Earthboxes" - pro/con

**"Debby Williams" w*@msu.edu**

Judy,

Earthboxes are being promoted around Chicago as part of  the UN Growing
Connection.  They use a soilless media so you would need fertilizer for the
plants to receive any nutrients.    You could use fish emulsion in the
water, but would need to be conscious of cleaning the lines regularly as I
believe they would clog.  As far as weight for moving them, there is a 2
gallon water reservoir in the bottom so that would be adding a lot of weight
to the box when it is full.  There should be some way to manage the water to
reduce the weight if you wanted to move them.

I don't consider growing in soilless media very sustainable.  If you did
something similar with a compost mix you would have the nutrition addressed
in part, and the sustainability.

The benefit: you would be avoiding the soil contamination issues common to
urban environments.  However, there are other ways to grow above ground that
would be more permanent that could address the contamination issues.

Debby Williams
Horticulturist

> From: Grow19@aol.com
> Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 10:19:38 EST
> To: DC_EEC@yahoogroups.com, dcsgc@yahoogroups.com,
> community_garden@mallorn.com, comfood-l@listproc.tufts.edu,
> nefood@elist.tufts.edu
> Subject: [cg] "Earthboxes" - pro/con
>
> Hi friends,
> Any of you familiar with Earthboxes, the container garden system being
> promoted by the UN?  I'd like perspective on cost, how much can be
harvested per
> box, good reasons to use them, reasons not to use them, etc.   I need to
advise
> a local project in Washington DC.
> Thanks,
> Judy Tiger, GROW, Washington, DC
>
>
> --__--__--
>
> Message: 2
> From: Grow19@aol.com
> Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2006 10:28:22 EST
> To: DC_EEC@yahoogroups.com, dcsgc@yahoogroups.com,
> community_garden@mallorn.com, comfood-l@listproc.tufts.edu,
> nefood@elist.tufts.edu
> Subject: [cg] oops - more on "Earthboxes" - pro/con
>
> Oops - I meant to ask:
> 1. if its possible to grow 'organically' using Earthboxes since that
provide
> fertilizer recommendations, and overall what it to recommend them over
> in-ground gardening in the DC area.
> 2. The UN folks are promoting them because they can be rolled indoors at
the
> end of the day and outside every morning, to cut down on vandalism.   Not
> sure that this makes sense to me.  Wouldn't they be heavy and  challenging
to
> move once full of soil and water and plants?
>
> Thanks again,
> Judy Tiger
>
>
> --__--__--

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