EarthBox® Gardening Tips

PLANT SELECTION Try Everything! Whatever is available at your local nursery will grow in your EarthBox®. Usethe smaller 5-7" tall seedlings available in 2" pots, or start with seeds.Your County Cooperative Extension Agency (inthe phone book) can recommend the best varieties for your area and season.

POTTING MIX Almost any brand of potting mix for containers or hanging plants will work.You’ll need the bigbag–2 1/2 cubic feet or about 75 quarts per box. Some national brands are: Jungle Growth, Pro-Mix, Majestic, Sam’sChoice and Peters Professional Mix.

FERTILIZER The EarthBox® is designed to be used with a strip of common dry granular fertilizer or plant food forvegetables. Almost any brand of fertilizer will work as long as it is not designed to be mixed with water and all 3numbers on the label are between 5 and 15. Some national brands are Vigoro, K Gro, Scotts, Rite Green, Sam’sChoice and Fertrell.You’ll need two cups of fertilizer for each planting. Organic fertilizers, like Fertrell and NatureSafe, can also be used. Simply use 3 cups of organic fertilizer to replace the 2 cups of chemical fertilizer. Do not addany additional fertilizer during the growing season.

PLANTING Select a sunny spot, as most vegetable plants need 6-8 hours of daily sunlight.The plants shouldalways be planted through the plastic cover into the potting mix. Always leave the cover on. Gently loosen the plant’sroot ball and set your plants into the soil as far away from the fertilizer strip as possible. Select the number of plantsfrom the Plant Selection Chart.

WATERING It’s impossible to over water with the EarthBox.® So don’t try to regulate the water level. Add waterevery few days when the plants are young, and every day when your plants are mature.The plants will take only whatthey need–no more, no less.This could be up to 4 gallons a day! Use the fill tube to keep the water reservoir filled.You’ll know the reservoir is full when water flows from the overflow hole. Allowing the reservoir to go dry will shutdown the system.

STAKES Tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, beans and other vines or tall plants need support.The EarthBox® StakingKit (not included) is the perfect solution for your plant staking problem. Install the staking system and run stringbetween the vertical stakes to provide the support your plants need.

REPLANTING AND WINTERIZING At the end of the growing season remove the old plants and dig outthe fertilizer strip. Cover the box with a new cover until you are ready to plant again.To prepare for the nextplanting season top off the box with wet potting mix and add a new fertilizer strip as per the Fertilizer and PlantPlacement Guide. Cover the EarthBox® and replant.The potting mix can be used 5-6 seasons before replacing.

FOR TOMATOES ONLY Tomatoes require a higher pH level than most potting mixes provide.To preventblossom end rot, simply add 2 cups of dolomite or hydrated lime to the potting mix before planting. If Blossom EndRot develops during the season, mix 1/4 cup of hydrated lime to a gallon of water. Spray the mix directly on theplants or add it to the water reservoir the next time you water your EarthBox®.

CASTER SOCKET Optional EarthBox® Caster Kit (not included) is available.The EarthBox® is equipped to useany standard caster with a 3/8" diameter x 1" length stem.

OVERFLOW HOLE The built-in overflow hole accepts 5/8" i.d. tubing for easy redirection of drainage.

THREE SIMPLE RULES1. Always keep the cover over the soil and fertilizer.2. Always keep the reservoir full.3. Place the fertilizer on top of the soil and don’t use water-soluble fertilizers.

FOR MORE TIPS GO TO: www.earthbox.com

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Fill Tube

ScreenRear Cutout

Water Resevoir

Overflow Hole

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Potting Mix

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Inside the EarthBox® you’ll find a plastic screen and a small bag ofaccessories. Remove the fill tube from the accessory bag and press itthrough the round cutout in the front corner of the screen. If yourplants will need support, we recommend that you purchase theoptional EarthBox® Staking System.Please see the Plant Selection Chartbelow to determine the proper number of seedlings or seeds needed.

Put your EarthBox® in a spot where it will get 6 to 8 hours of sunper day. Pack the two rear corner cutouts in the screen with moistpotting mix. Pour water through the fill tube until it runs out theoverflow hole.This is the way you will water your plants after planting.With the overflow hole you can never over water, so always keepthe reservoir filled.

GETTING STARTED SETTING UP THE BOX

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Continue adding moist potting mix on top of the screen until theEarthBox® is half full. It’s OK for some of the mix to fall through thescreen. Sprinkle the potting mix with water and gently pat it down,especially above the two rear corner cutouts you filled first.

Fill the EarthBox® COMPLETELY TO THE TOP with potting mix.Do not leave a space along the sides. Again sprinkle well withwater and smooth the soil to the top edges. FOR TOMATOES,MIX TWO CUPS OF DOLOMITE OR HYDRATED LIME intothe top 3-4 inches of potting mix and re-smooth.

STARTING THE POTTING MIX FINISHING THE POTTING MIX

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EarthBox® Planting Instructions

Dry Granular Fertilizer

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Choose a FERTILIZER AND PLANT PLACEMENT PATTERNbelow (bottom right). Using potting mix, create a slight moundwhere you will place the fertilizer. Then pour 2 cups of dryfertilizer in a 2-inch wide strip directly on top of the new mound,and gently pat it down. DO NOT MIX THE FERTILIZER INTOTHE POTTING MIX OR SPREAD IT AROUND. Do not usefertilizer that requires mixing with water, such as Miracle-GroTM orother “blue water” brands.

Included in the accessory bag are 2 fitted plastic covers, one asan extra. Both are equipped with a black side and a white side.Keep the BLACK SIDE UP, except in desert climates or Floridasummers – where the white side should face up.Align one of theround cutout holes over the fill tube and carefully stretch thecover over the top of the EarthBox. When the cover is secure,cut a 3-inch “X” in the cover for each plant, AS FAR AWAYFROM THE FERTILIZER STRIP AS POSSIBLE.

ADD DRY FERTILIZER COVER, SECURE & CUT

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Through the cover dig 2 to 3-inch-deep holes into the pottingmix, just as you would in the ground. Place one plant per hole andfirm the mix around the roots. JUST THIS ONE TIME, pull backthe “X” flaps in the cover to water the plants from the top toremove any air spaces from around the roots.Then carefully putthe flaps back around the stems.

Your EarthBox® has all the fertilizer it needs for one completegrowing season.Always keep the cover on and keep the reservoirfull by adding water through the fill tube until it runs out theoverflow hole. To replant, remove the old plants, the old coverand dig out the fertilizer strip. Top it off with potting mix, beingsure it is completely wet throughout, and add a new fertilizerstrip. Install a new cover and plant again (follow steps 5-7).Happy Gardening!

PLANT YOUR GARDEN GROWING & REPLANTING

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EarthBox® Planting Instructions

Artichokes (2 seedlings)

Beans (16 seedlings)

Bell Peppers (8 seedlings)

Broccoli (8 seedlings)

Brussels Sprouts (8 seedlings)

Cabbage (8 seedlings)

Cauliflower (8 seedlings)

Celery (8 seedlings)

Chard (8 seedlings)

Corn (16 seedlings)

Cucumbers (4 seedlings)

Eggplants (2 seedlings)

Flowers (8 seedlings)

Greens (6 seedlings)

Herbs (8 seedlings)

Hot Peppers (8 seedlings)

Kohlrabi (8 seedlings)

Leeks (8 seedlings)

Lettuce (8 seedlings)

Melons (4 seedlings)

Okra (16 seedlings)

Onions (8 seedlings)

Peas (16 seedlings)

Salad Greens (8 seedlings)

Spinach (8 seedlings)

Squash (6 seedlings)

Strawberries (8 seedlings)

Tomatoes (2 seedlings)

Plant

Fill TubeFertilizer

(3 per row) (4 per row)

(5 per row)

(2 per row) (4 per row)

(8 per row)

EarthBox® Plant Selection Chart

EarthBox® Fertilizer & Plant Placement Patterns

Single Row(Number of seedlings needed)

Double Row(Number of seedlings needed)

LegendThe patterns shown below illustrate the best placementof plants and fertilizer based on the suggested number ofplants per variety as listed above.

Use this list to purchase the correct number of seedlings for the type of plants you wish to grow.t

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