Container gardening is a great way to grow your own veggies, even in a limited space. We’ve looked at making an upside down tomato planter. Now let’s make use of that patio or back porch’s floor space with a home made Earth Box! Not only does this contraption let you grow a bunch of veggies and herbs in a small space, it’s self-watering! Once you start to get sprouts, you just have to add a bit of water from time to time to replenish the reservoir if you don’t get any rain!
Over at Craftster, user AeonGoddess has a great tutorial with photos on how to build your very own Earth Box! She’s got hers out on the balcony of her New York apartment, and now she’s rich with home-grown beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, and even okra!
Notice that she’s also got potted marigolds to keep pests like bean beetles and tomato horn worms at bay. If you want to learn more about companion planting, check out this post over at Ecolocalizer.
The Craftster tutorial doesn’t mention making a cover for your box, a cover is a great way to keep pests at bay once your plants are past the sprout stage. To make a cover, you can cut holes in the plastic tub’s lid for your plants to come through or use bungee cord to secure a plastic tarp (or spent shower curtain liner?) with holes cut in it.
Do you guys do any container gardening? We’d love to hear your experiences in the comments!
Image Credits: Earth Box Tomatoes. Creative Commons photo by Sugar Pond Marigold. Creative Commons photo by kmohman
