Rating my homemade earthbox

This winter I became interested in the “self-watering” container called the Earthbox. However, the smallest one was $50. I couldn’t allow myself to spend 1/2 a c-note on a big pot. So I decided to make my own. Thanks to the internet, I made two, one very similar to the original, and a smaller one. http://www.seattleoil.com/Flyers/Earthbox.pdf

The total materials would have been about $30 for both. I used things that I had around the house, so my only cost was time. I spray painted both of them black to increase heat retention.

The big one was to host my basil. Unfortunately, the basil didn’t survive the transplant (I don’t think that it had anything to do with the earthbox), so this one has sat dormant for the summer. The smaller earthbox hosted a tomato plant given to me by a friend who had run out of her room in the greenhouse. That tomato has surpassed all expectations of this cold summer and is only about 2 weeks behind it’s siblings in the greenhouse. The best thing is that I can take it inside once it starts getting cold! My tomatoes will finally have time to turn red!!!!! My only complaint that with all the rain, still had to “fill” the earthbox, because it is a closed system.

In summary, I will definitely use this method for warm weather plants and probably make more for next summer!