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Resource Sun May 20 2007
Backyard Farming
We learned about the EarthBox from a Reader article last spring, and after a little encouragement from some friends who owned a couple, we bought in. We planted three different varieties of cherry tomatoes in our first box, which operates under a pretty simple set-up. EarthBox describes that set up as
Our maintenance-free, award-winning, high-tech growing system controls soil conditions, eliminates guesswork and more than doubles the yield of a conventional garden-with less fertilizer, less water and virtually no effort.
I would describe it as a box with an inch deep water reservoir in the bottom. It’s not rocket science, but by gum, it works!
That first box yielded a ton of tomatoes! Our tomato plants were huge and bushy, virtual green sasquatches towering over a corner of our deck. I did have several “Little Shop of Horrors”-esque nightmares…and the tomatoes tasted good, sweet and sunny. My favorite thing to do was sort of a tomato confit, simmer them slowly in a cup of olive oil with a couple of cloves of garlic and a little salt. We’d keep a jar of that in the refrigerator, and it was great on salads, pasta, grilled meat.
We have a nice size deck that gets a lot of sun, and it’s a good place to grow some vegetables; we think the EarthBox is a perfect toy for the urban gardener. Sure, you can grow fantastic tomatoes in 5 gallon buckets from Home Depot, and there are plenty of other gizmos out there that claim to make becoming a green thumb super simple but the EarthBox seems to really work, and is a small investment for something that looks like it can be re-used for years if you take care of it.
This year we are stepping it up a bit with three EarthBoxes, 1 with tomatoes (but only 2 plants instead of 3, thinking more quality than quantity), one with kale, and the third is destined to hold flowers but its currently sitting empty.
We’ll keep you updated with photos as the summer progresses - hopefully our 32 foot-tall kale and 46 lb; cherry tomato will win some ribbons at the Logan Square County Fair this year.
Roxann Christensen / May 21, 2007 9:40 AM
Serious backyard farmers are utilizing the SPIN farming method to push yields and income far beyond what any thought possible.
What makes SPIN different from other methods is that it re-casts farming as a small business in a city or town, thereby incorporating agriculture into the built environment. It adapts commercial farming techniques to sub-acre (less than acre) land bases, and it requires minimal infrastructure.
Free photos on how SPIN works and more information can be found at www.spinfarming.com