Winterizing and Pre-planning for Spring EarthBox Growing
Whether you've just ordered your first EarthBox® container gardening system or you're an experienced EarthBox® grower, we expect you're eagerly anticipating your next growing season. While you're waiting, there's no need to twiddle your (green) thumbs; instead, start making preparations so you can get a jump-start on next year.
First Step: Winterizing
Prepare your existing EarthBox® systems for Winter first by cutting down any plants and removing debris. Be sure to remove and discard the used mulch cover, and tip the box towards the overflow drain to remove any remaining water. Fertilizer salts rise to the top and build up over the course of the growing season, so it is best to remove the layer of growing media above the rim of the box and the remaining fertilizer strip. Place a new mulch cover over top and store outside so any remaining root masses can decompose over the Winter. It is suggested to try to keep the EarthBox® system leaning at a 45º angle towards the overflow drain, so that any melting snow and ice doesn’t get into the reservoir and freeze, which may result in cracking. Alternately, you could place a tarp over the box and secure it, or place the box on a covered porch.
There is no need to dump the contents unless you had any cases of confirmed blight, and you live in an area that does not get a sustained killing frost. If your crop had blight, and you won’t have several months of freezing temperatures to kill it off, it is best to empty the contents in a trash bag and discard (do NOT use the contents in compost or in any areas in your yard). Sanitizing the emptied EarthBox® system with a bleach/water solution is recommended. Simply wipe down the inside of the EarthBox® container with a 10:1 water/bleach solution (10 parts water, 1 part bleach). You can wipe down the screen and fill tube as well.
Along with winterizing your EarthBox® garden, you may also want to take the time to spruce up your patio, deck, or plant stands, as needed. If you use the EarthBox® Automatic Watering System (AWS), be sure to disconnect and drain it, and store it inside where it will not freeze.
Next Step: Planning Ahead
Start by giving some thought to the kind of plants you'd like to include in your EarthBox® garden in the upcoming year, so you can procure the right seeds or seedlings. Most seed catalogs are available in January, so you can even start some seeds indoors in advance. You'll be ready to go as soon as it gets warm enough; but be sure to have the last average frost date at hand, so you'll know when it's safe to plant outdoors.
Final Step: Moving Forward
Remember, before you start planting in the Spring, consult the EarthBox® Instruction Manual so you'll have your checklist ready. It's a great aid for all EarthBox® growers, both inexperienced and seasoned. It'll help you with several important points, including:
- How to assemble your EarthBox® gardening system
- Plant suggestions
- Growing media information
- Placement of fertilizer and seedlings
We invite you to check our FAQs for more details on preparation and planting your EarthBox garden. For even more information, browse the rest of our Learning Center resources and Blog articles on our site, and be sure to watch our newest video, below!
Enjoy your preparations – and keep warm as Winter approaches!
Someone suggested that pouring a cup of bleach over the potting mix or into the reservoir at the end of the growing season might be beneficial. Any thoughts on this?
I have a soil recipe I use in my boxes for tomatoes. This includes, equal parts of peat moss, topsoil and potting mix. Also, I mix blood meal and bone meal with iron, gypsum, plant tone and a 8-8-8 fertilizer. Lastly the dolomite with liquid cal. Thanks for the watering tip.
Just a warning -- that "cure" for BER using pickling lime almost killed all my earthbox plants last year. The VERY next day they were wilted and sickly. I'm surprised they even bounced back. I followed the directions exactly. Perhaps that recipe is too strong. I was growing Brandy Boy. Finally, it did NOTHING to stop BER, however I did not try to calcium nitrate.
Hello Lee, thank you for your feedback and we're sorry to hear you almost lost your crop. We would love to learn more about the problem you experienced, so we encourage you to please call or email our Consumer Service Team so we can try to understand a bit more about this issue you experienced. We can be reached Mon.-Fri. 8:30a-4:30p ET at 1-800-4GARDEN if you would like to speak with someone in our office. Thank you!
Too late for us this year. Better Boy, Zebra, and sweet peppers all have BER. Only Sun Golds have been harvested. Better luck next year, now that we know.
Aww...that's too bad, Marylyn. We hope you try again next season and have better success with your tomatoes the second time around!
Hi! Am loving the earth boxes, but my tomatoes have BER. If I put clean egg shells in the water reservoir, would that help?
Hi Karen, if you want to use eggshells in an EarthBox, we recommend that you dehydrate them and then grind them into a fine powder. They can then be added to the soil alongside the dolomite. We do not recommend that eggshells be put into the water reservoir as they do not break down quick enough to supplement the soil in any meaningful way. We offer a calcium nitrate packet that can be added to the water reservoir weekly that does help prevent BER. You can purchase that as part of our Tomato Replant Kit - https://earthbox.com/earthbox-accessories/earthbox-tomato-replant-kit
Any other ways to treat BER? My two tomatoes have morphed into an octopus of branches covering the patio and I can't possibly dump the earthbox. Also, any alternatives to Pickling Lime? Doubt I can find this during the Pandemic. And should I fertilize with again/regularly since I am growing many more tomatoes than expected?
I started adding a liquid concentrate of Calcium/Magnesium (10ml) once a week down the water tube and I only had a few tomatoes with BER from my 6 boxes. I also installed your watering system this past year and had the best harvest I have every had. The constant water paid off.
Hi, I’ve planted Armenian cukes for the past two years in my earthboxes, two plants side by side. Numerous flowers appear but never any fruit. They are outside so pollinators have access. We even rent mason and leaf cutter bees every year to help. Any thoughts on how I can get fruit to develop?
As a master gardener, I was taught that nightshade crops, particularly tomatoes, need to be rotated and not planted in the same soil year after year. Are you saying that this is not necessary with the Earthbox system, and that the same soil is safe to plant nightshade crops for up to 10 seasons?
That's correct. You should be reusing the soil season after season unless you have a confirmed plant disease like blight.
I've heard that dropping a Tums into the watering tube occasionally can also help prevent BER. Would love to know what your advice is on this, and if others have had success with this cheap and easy method?
Barbara, you would need to add something like 275 Tums to equal just setting up using the correct amount of dolomite
On my better boy tomatoes, looks like one or two small tomatoes are developing blossom end rot, the others are not. Planning n adding calcium to the boxes today, but should I pluck off the small ones that appear to be developing blossom end rot?
Hi Kathy, Any tomatoes that have Blossom End Rot (BER) should be picked and discarded as soon as possible. Picking off the affected tomatoes as soon as possible will allow the plant to put energy into producing more flowers and fruit. Be sure to add 1 teaspoon of Calcium Nitrate to the water reservoir one time each week to help prevent BER.
Where do purchase calcium nitrate and all I could find is Bonide Rot Stop.
Your local garden center should have some, or you can also buy it from us by calling 800-442-7336.
I have used the earth box planting mixture.. Bought the refertilizer packs... I followed instructions to a tee.. but my zucchini have big leaves and my zucchini get about 2-3 inches long and rot off... not sure what is happening. Can you tell me what is wrong?
Hello Sharon, thank you for your question. The problem you are describing with your zucchini plant is lack of fertilization. Basically, your female squash flowers (the ones with the tiny zucchini fruits behind the blossom) are not being pollinated. The fruit will only grow so much and then it begins to rot if the flower did not receive pollen from the male flowers (the flowers without the fruit and with just a straight stem behind the blossom). You can pick the male flowers and manually pollinate the females if you do not have any bees, butterflies, or other pollinators in your area, which will allow the tiny fruits to "set" and mature into full-size.
Don't you mean "lack of pollination" rather than "lack of fertilization"?
How do I apply rot stop (Calcium 9.2% solution to earth box container to prevent blossom end rot. My plants are small now. Two in one earth box. Thank you
Hi Laura, Bonide Rot Stop is a foliar spray. Directions on their label state to "apply to the point of run-off onto the foliage and fruit during periods of rapid growth or following excessive rain fall." We advise you apply this in the evenings when temperatures are lower to avoid foliage burn. They do not recommend using this regularly, as it can cause leaves to burn if used more often than every 7 days.
I had a bad time with BER a few years back and started adding calcium nitrate once a week. Since then I’ve started adding it before it starts and so far so good. I was reading and noticed that I should reuse the soil every year, I haven’t been doing this but I’m really glad I don’t have to empty the boxes and buy new soil every year 😮. This year I got mixed up and have been adding it to tomatoes and squash, not peppers. Now I have quite a few peppers to remove.. 😐. I’m at the age where I have to learn things over lol Julien Bowles