How to Make an Earth Box
An earth box is a clever way to plant a garden indoors when you have limited growing space in your yard. In an earth box, the water and soil are separated by a screen. The water is replenished by pouring it through a pipe to reach the lowest level where the water reserve is located. Plants grow quickly in an earth box, and you'll have a larger harvest than normal. The design also reduces the amount of care you have to put into your plants with watering and fertilizing and reduces your worries about over- or undernourishing your plants. Earth boxes can be expensive, but with a few common items, you can create your own. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Utility knife
- Rubbermaid food storage container
- 2 rubbermaid storage bins (at least 14-gallon size|)
- Marker
- 2-ft. piece of piping
- Soil
- Fertilizer
Instructions
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1
Use your utility knife to poke small holes into the sides and bottom of the food storage container.
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2
Press the bottom of the food container against the bottom of one of the storage bins. Trace the contours of the food container on the bottom of your bin with your marker.
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3
Trace the contours of the pipe in one of the right-hand corners of the storage bin. Use your utility knife to cut out the shapes you made on the bottom of the storage bin, and then poke small holes evenly over the entire surface.
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4
Cut the storage bin ¼ of the way up from the bottom and all around the bin. Remove and discard the top portion for another project.
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5
Place the cut storage bin down into the other storage bin so that the bottom of it is facing upward.
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6
Slide the food container and piping into the holes you made for each. Make sure the open, top rim of the food container is facing upward.
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7
Poke a hole into one of the smaller sides of your earth box so that it is about ½ inch below the water line you made with the other bin. Make sure it goes through both layers of bins. This hole will release water to let you know when to stop adding water to the tube during watering.
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8
Fill your entire earth box with soil. Add a strip of fertilizer that is a ½ inch thick and wide down the middle, going lengthwise.
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9
Cut a hole in one of the storage bin lids for the piping to go through and then cover your box.
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10
Poke holes into the top of the lid of your earth box for your plants. Make sure to space the holes evenly, depending on the number and types of plants you want to grow. Do not plant anything directly over the fertilizer.
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11
Transplant your plants into their spots, and water by pouring water through the piping until it begins to come out of the hole you made in the side of your earth box.
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