Tyrus,

How many strawberry plants are you growing?

Regards,

Podgers wrote:Thanks for all the great information on the Earthboxes, and to all the urban farmers, congrats on your incredible harvests! We have been following the updates all summer and had a quick question: How important is the constant direct sunlight? We live in a classic Chicago two-flat with a deck above the entry way, and the space is the perfect size for a (potentially large) number of the boxes. We face west and the space gets direct light from about 2:00PM on, which concerns us just a bit. Any thoughts?

There are definitely a lot of veggies that will do just fine with only 4 hours or so of direct light. I find this book to be a good source of info for what works well in containers and how much of just about everything each veggie needs: http://www.amazon.com/McGee-Stuckeys-Bo ... 903&sr=8-2

Most veggies will probably grow and produce with less light, its a matter of yield and whether or not that specific plant was worth it. Better definitely to focus on plants that will thrive there.

Cathy2 wrote:Tyrus,

How many strawberry plants are you growing?

Regards,

I put six plants in the EB in early May. The first fruits were very small, sparse and a little tart. The second ones were a bit bigger and sweeter and now they're still small compared to the huge commercial berries in the produce section but they are tasty. I've found most strawberries on the tart side though - nothing a little honey / sugar doesn't fix. I was going to donate them to a friend with an in-ground garden but haven't had time. They've done very well in the boxes and have produced a lot of runners. This will most likely be my last crop before the frost but you never know...

My strawberry plants have taken off as well. I'm getting a half-pint every day or 3 from 6 plants. However, like Mike G, mine are just so-so flavor wise. Probably 'cause I just picked them up on a whim from home depot. I'm not growing them in a SIP either. They are in a half wine-barrel.

I have read various things about flavor in plants such as berries, melons and so forth saying that there are ways to make them taste sweeter ( by under-watering at specific times for example ) I'm sure you could find more info about this at the GardenWeb forums were you so motivated =)

I, however, will not be planting strawberries next year and will plant some extra beans which have been my star producer this year. Pounds upon pounds of perfect green and purple beans have been consumed this year =)

I bought varieties at Gethsemane that sounded promising. Maybe next year they would be. I don't know, I just looked at the vast amount of greenery they produced and the tiny number of strawberries they produced by comparison, and divided by the cost of an Earthbox*, and decided I really didn't need tart, $3 individual strawberries doled out once or twice a week...

I'll grow something else next time.

* Of course, not an item that I won't get lots more use out of, but based on this year, and the fact that I'm pretty much at capacity on my deck, they just didn't justify hogging 1/3 of my capacity.

Don't feel so bad, the 100 plants I put in this spring netted me about 10 itty-bitty strawberries. But the rabbits love the leaves!

Well, the weather has turned in Chicago and we're expecting some overnights in the "frost" range, I thought I would post some pics on the last of the rooftop garden. I emptied the water by covering each box with an unused "shower cap" and tilted the box on it's side until the water drained out. Since we had some really mild temps in the 70's for the last few days (no rain) so I decided to let the boxes air out, uncovered. Rain is on the horizon, so I covered the boxes with clear, 4mm plastic tarps. I still have some lettuce and spinach in a box and wanted to see how long it'll go, so I built a "low tunnel," using 9 gauge wire (found in the home depot fence area) fastened to my wooden box channels with wire tacks. I put a thermometer under there to see what the temp differences are. If the numbers look good, I can expand the seasons next year.

Also, I dug a few herbs out and put them in "Pop Bottle SIPs," made semi-famous by Bob Hyland out of Brooklyn (http://www.insideurbangreen.org/recycle ... a-bottles/); which is a great way to re-purpose trash. It works similar to how an Earthbox works but I can put them on my south facing window sill. Here are some pictures:

Your pop bottle SIPs can double for fishermen as minnow traps.

Hey guys. This has all been extremely helpful information and I'm planning on making my own SIPs this year. For tyrus and whoever else used the boxes or made their own, did you also make the wooden "holders" for your boxes or were those included? They seem handy and I'm interested. I know I saw on Green Roof Growers how to make a trellis and that seems like a great idea.

buttface wrote:Hey guys. This has all been extremely helpful information and I'm planning on making my own SIPs this year. For tyrus and whoever else used the boxes or made their own, did you also make the wooden "holders" for your boxes or were those included? They seem handy and I'm interested. I know I saw on Green Roof Growers how to make a trellis and that seems like a great idea.

I made the wooden holders myself but they're really easy to do with just a standard hand driver/power screwdriver. As an fyi, I do contribute to that particular blog and would be happy to answer any questions you may have. Good luck!

I just ordered two of the earthboxes and I can’t wait to get started. I just have to decide what I’m going to grow…..maybe I should have ordered a third.

On an itchy-green-thumb scouting mission, I went to check out the West End Florist & Garden Center and discovered that they carry Earthboxes (I think they're $75? They also sell an Earthbox support system) They were still in winter mode, but the staff was extremely solicitous, and asked several times if "there was anything in particular I was looking for that they could get in for me."

West End Florist & Garden Center
3800 Old Glenview Rd.
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 475-1933

MikeW665 says wrote:maybe I should have ordered a third.

Mike, it is ALways a case of 'too many seeds, not enough dirt.'

Order a third, maybe a fourth!

Geo

Mhays wrote:On an itchy-green-thumb scouting mission, I went to check out the West End Florist & Garden Center and discovered that they carry Earthboxes (I think they're $75? They also sell an Earthbox support system) They were still in winter mode, but the staff was extremely solicitous, and asked several times if "there was anything in particular I was looking for that they could get in for me."

West End Florist & Garden Center
3800 Old Glenview Rd.
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 475-1933

Just to let everyone know, you could buy the Earthbox from their website for $29.95. You'll have to pay for shipping but that may be another $6-7. Much cheaper than any of the garden centers. I basically did the same thing last year, looking for Earthboxes and realized not many garden centers carried them (or many of the other materials you need using sub irrigates planters) and the ones that did wanted $50-70 each. Good luck.

I did order mine from the Earthbox website, the bad part is it’s going to take 1 to 2 weeks to get them to me.

Geo wrote:

MikeW665 says wrote:maybe I should have ordered a third.

Mike, it is ALways a case of 'too many seeds, not enough dirt.'

Order a third, maybe a fourth!

Geo

I couldn't resist, after reading many posts from people with the EB I knew 2 wouldn't be enough. I just ordered two more.

Well done Mike, you won't regret it, I gar-un-tee it.

Geo

Living up near the Wisconsin border I will also have to come up with a way to keep the local wildlife out of them. I'm thinking thermal tracking shot guns.

MikeW665 wrote:Living up near the Wisconsin border I will also have to come up with a way to keep the local wildlife out of them. I'm thinking thermal tracking shot guns.

I have always found a hunk of cheese or shiny object is enough to keep a Wisconsinite out of things.

Jamieson22 wrote:

MikeW665 wrote:Living up near the Wisconsin border I will also have to come up with a way to keep the local wildlife out of them. I'm thinking thermal tracking shot guns.

I have always found a hunk of cheese or shiny object is enough to keep a Wisconsinite out of things.

Sad........But true.

I've found my new Garden Guardian shotgun here. Should keep even the wildest 'Sconsonian at bay.



Geo

Geo wrote:I've found my new Garden Guardian shotgun here. Should keep even the wildest 'Sconsonian at bay.



Geo

The video is no longer available.....Bummer.

Try this, or just google "aa-12"—should work.

Geo

That would work.

Two of my Earthboxes showed up today....WOO HOO ! !

MikeW665 - how great!

I received some of my seeds today. I started later than I would have liked, but not too late. I have to decide to direct sow the lettuce or to start indoors and transplant, then direct sow a few every few weeks until June.

Tyrus, did you start all yours at the same time last year? Also, did you direct sow or transplant? Anyone else with EB or SIP experience, please chime in. I imagine that transplanting is easier from the perspective of the holes in the EB cover, but I also was thinking I could just cut out a thin row for the direct sown seeds...

ViewsAskew wrote:Tyrus, did you start all yours at the same time last year? Also, did you direct sow or transplant? Anyone else with EB or SIP experience, please chime in. I imagine that transplanting is easier from the perspective of the holes in the EB cover, but I also was thinking I could just cut out a thin row for the direct sown seeds...

In the spring, I used transplants and they did great. In the fall, I tried direct seed and they didn't do as well (I had a hard time thinning without disturbing the roots). This year, I'm using transplants again that our fellow "green roof grower" BruceF started for us. I just picked 1/2 of them up on Friday and they look great - so thanks to BruceF for starting them for me. I'll post a picture when I get more time...

This is going to sound crazy, but one of the best ways to thin seedlings, indoors or out, is with manicure scissors. There's no need to pull up the roots: there's no bud tissue below the seed leaves in most vegetables, so if you cut the stem, the plant dies.

Geo

Earthboxes 3 and 4 showed up today...Woo Hoo. Now I just have to decide if I'm going to start my own seeds or go with seedlings.

Mike, if you want to start seeds, I was just shocked by the fast service of two companies - Nichols and Bountiful Gardens. I ordered last Sunday or Monday. I got the BG seeds Saturday and the Nichols seeds today. Amazing! I'm taking a break from planting my indoor seed starting pots at this exact moment.

I also have a LOT of seeds, so PM me if you might want to share them. I'm planting 3-10 seeds of items and have up to 200 seeds of each type...I have okra, lettuce, chard, spinach, Chinese greens, basil mix, green beans, lima beans, and 4 types of tomatoes (maybe other stuff I can't remember). I bought each because they seemed to do well in our area and should do well in an EB.