Friday, January 30, 2015

Earth Box fun................

Hey are you still out there?  How is your week?  What have you been up to?  I once again have been bombarded with a crazy work week.  I really do love my job but two new little ones on my caseload have really put me over the edge.  It takes a LONG time for me to write up the new little ones evaluations.  These little people deserve to have as much information compiled in their first evaluation as possible so that parents, teachers or foster parents can understand what is going on with the child.  Now you know from my blog I can be a bit wordy....... so obviously it takes me a long time to get it all out.  It is like fitting the pieces of a puzzle together and figuring out the child.  I am not so sure my menopausal brain fires as fast as it used to so that probably isn't helping me. I have been the paperwork Queen and now I am almost done!!!!

I have to admit that I have not knit of crocheted at all in the last four days.  I think that might be a record for me.  No wonder I feel a bit frazzled and overwhelmed.  I haven't even read a blog post in days, did you notice I have been missing?  I sure hope I haven't hurt any one's feelings out there.

As I have nothing crafty to talk about I thought it might be fun to show you my new Earth Boxes.  Remember last weekend I took a field trip with my friend Cathy to visit the Earth Box store in Ellington, FL.  The store had three different sized boxes to choose from to grow a self contained garden.  As we have so many deer here I needed something that I could keep on my screened in porch but would not be a huge mess.


I bought two of the larger boxes and one smaller one to start my little veggie garden.


Two tomato plants, some lettuce and three strawberry plants found there way home with me.


You can buy these boxes in kit form which I would suggest.  I wanted organic fertilizer so I was informed by the woman behind the checkout stand that I had to buy everything separately.  Well that was foolish as I should have bought the two kits and the organic fertilizer separately and it would have been cheaper.  You need soil, growth simulator and fertilizer.  See the black tube in the upper right hand corner of the photos?  That is where you water the plants.


Here is the box with the fertilizer in it before I covered it up with more soil.


After you have all the soil, growing stimulator and fertilizer all compacted in the pot you cover it up to keep the soil and moister inside.


Take a cup and cut out circles for you plants with an exact-o knife or box cutter.  A large container can hold two tomato plants, or six smaller plants.


Once your hole is ready, dig out some soil and put your plant in.


Look a mini garden!  I also bought the feet and plant stand to hold the tomato plants up.  You can grow just about anything you want in your Earth Box.  Wish me luck!

34 comments:

Lilbitbrit said...

Sounds interesting, a fun project. In UK my cousin grows tomatoes straight out of a plastic bag of soil, up against their fence, it seems to work well.

Christy

CJ said...

It sounds like you been really busy, I hope you're able to have a good break over the weekend. The veg boxes are great, the cover will no doubt keep the soil nice and moist. I shall look forward to seeing how they grow. CJ xx

Maureen said...

Those are amazing! I would love to have something like that. No planting here for a long time to come, though.

kathyinozarks said...

these boxes look perfect for your patio-and the plastic will keep the weeds away too-happy for you-hugs
I have been busy with the blog party, getting firewood in, and getting ready for cold weather over the weekend-as much as I love the super bowl I am not watching this year-do to how the games were played previously so will have the whole weekend to devote to crafts-fun!

Teresa Kasner said...

I'm so sorry you're having to work so hard! I've missed you but no way did you hurt my feelings.. I know your life is busy and full. I am excited to see how your little container garden will do.. I know it will be fun for you and LB too! We're having sunny weather here.. it's been a joy. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

mynestofyarnandbuttons said...

Wow Meredith this is all so exciting! Can't wait to see the mini garden grow! It will be so fun to watch and better to eat!!! Have a great weekend, xoRobin

Annie Cholewa said...

You could never hurt our feelings my friend, and we all go missing when life's busy.

I can't believe you're planting tomatoes already, but clearly that's the difference between Florida and the wilds of Wales!

Jill at emeraldcottage said...

Home grown tomatoes are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay nicer than shop bought. I've grown them a couple of times. I'm not very good at remembering to water them and believe it or not we do have dry spells in Juky and August here in Blighty!!!
Good luck with it all :)
Jillxo

My Garden Diaries said...

I am so jumping over to that link up there buddy!!! These are amazing! Like magic little greenhouses!! I can not wait to see all of your veggies as they grow!! Love it! Happy weekend to you and God bless you for taking the time with those write-ups for those kiddos! Nicole xo

HollyM said...

Well, how neat is that! And you sound like a pro already. It will be beautiful when it grows.

Susanne Tyree said...

I wish you luck with your gardening efforts. Right now we are in the middle of winter and there is no place to put something like that. I am anxious to see how it all goes for you. I'm thinking a flower box or a wall papering box might work too, filled with dirt, some fertilizer and covered with a garbage bag maybe put some smaller pvc pipe in it for watering. I've seen where people even plant potatoes in large flower pots on their patios. I love gardening tips. Keep us posted on the progress.
Susanne :)

Judy S. said...

Very interesting! It'll be a while before it's safe to try something like that here. Even my indoor plants would like more light! How fun to have fresh greens to eat in January!

Pradeepa said...

I love this idea of growing our own veggies at home but I definitely lack the green thumb. Only cactus can thrive under my supervision. Can't wait to see your veggie garden.

Betsy said...

Yes! I've missed you Meredith, but I also know how busy you are so no hurt feelings here. Those little ones are so lucky to have you working with them. I know you will give them the best start possible. What an absolute blessing you must be to them and their families. Your container garden looks really interesting. That's what I need for the lake and it's rock filled soil. There's a reason it's called Granite Point Resort!!! I know you and LB will have the best of times watching your goodies grow.
Blessings,
Betsy

handmade by amalia said...

It is the same with me! Those crazy busy days when I don't have time to craft are those days that I need the quiet and comfort of crafting the most. But they pass!
Amalia
xo

Kris said...

What fun Meredith! Good luck!!!!
Hope you can have a restfull weekend!
XOmKris

Géraldine B. said...

I wish you luck ! that's a great project ! For now take care and try to have a rest ! Hugs

Taci simmons said...

Those are awsome! Can't wait to see your vegetables when it starts to grow.

Unknown said...

That looks so promising! I wish your veggies well! ; )
Have a lovely weekend! xx

Tanna said...

Your life sounds as hectic as mine was last year! I couldn't find time to knit, crochet or blog!! That's TOO busy! Hope you got all your most intensive paper work behind you.

I think I am going to have to check out one of those boxes. Hmmm.... Keep us posted!

blessings ~ tanna

linda said...

I can't wait to see your little garden grow Meredith just think of all the lovely juicy strawberries. Paperwork is a pain at my place of work too it's all I seem to do all day. Have a great week and enjoy some crafty time. :) xx

Linda @ A La Carte said...

Meredith, the grow boxes are interesting. I'll be following along to see how they grow. Work does get in the way sometimes doesn't it :)

hugs,
Linda

Babajeza said...

Nice to read you! :-) And welcome back! For me, it has been a good and a bad week. Vacation is supposed to be good but if you are sick and if even your husband is sick .... you can imagine ... Whereas my illness is not to mention, he is almost dead. Nonthelss I was paper queen too (in fact just finished the paper I absolutely had to write 5 minutes ago). Well, well, life is going on ... I'll be back in school on Monday. Well, well ...

I wish you good luck with your mini garden, the tomatoes and herbs. We are burried under a thick layer of snow. It's cold. It's winter. Well, well ...

Have a nice weekend! Regula

Anonymous said...

Looks like the eatin' will be good in your neighborhood real soon. Good luck with all the baby plants.

Yes .....I DID miss you, but I figured work and Little Buddy were keeping you quite busy.

Caffeine Girl said...

The Earth Boxes are really interesting. If only I had one drop of sun in my shady yard!

It was a crazy work week here, too. But I think I managed to knit every day -- however, I do not have a little one at home!

Christina said...

What a lovely wee garden you have! I wish my two little ones had someone like you writing up their reports, it is so important to have as much information as possible to give the little ones a good start. Well done you. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. xx

Stins said...

Good luck with those magic boxes ;-)!
I am looking forward to see your growing results...
Is little buddy helping you with these?
Have a great weekend, lots of love from Mirjam.

Carla from The River said...

Hello,
I like your Earth Boxes. Fresh Veggies!! YUM!

Enjoy your weekend.
Carla

Pammy Sue said...

Interesting! I've never seen those before. Hope you get lots of tomatoes and veggies! Nothing better than home-grown stuff.

Anonymous said...

I love these little boxes of veggies to be! Not much different than raised beds in a garden, just on a smaller scale! :D Okay, and no little wheely things on the bottoms of raised beds, in fact no bottoms, lol! I be those veggies are going to be yummy... sending positive "green" thoughts to your veggies to be!
Hugs always my dear friend,
Beth

eclectichomelife said...

Looks great. I love the start if growing something. Brings hope and happiness. Will pop back often to see how you are getting in x

Helen said...

Hope work calms down for you, it sounds very busy. The earth boxes are a wonderful idea!! have a good week :) xx

moonstruckcreations said...

I have been overloaded too at work, what is it about January?!

Love your planters such a good idea, I really want to try to do more in my garden this year.

Helenxx

Amy at love made my home said...

So much more fun than working all the time!! Hope that you get lots of lovely things to munch on! xx