Indoor Earth Box review

[late]

This is going to be a little odd. Because I am going to say that I love my Earth Box, but I doubt anyone here will want one. I may not use it again.

The Earth Box is a hempy bucket. There's a number of advantages, there's a lip that makes carrying it easier, it's made from good plastic which means (maybe) it's going to leach fewer plastic compounds.
It's ready to go, throw it together in about 5 seconds, and you're off to the races.

The problems: it's big, I've lost 3 to 4 inches of grow space. I have less than 3 feet now between the glass and the dirt. Small tents aren't usually tall. If you do have a large tent, they cost $29 bucks each, which is a lot if you need 20 or 30 buckets.

Like all hempy buckets, it works. It holds more than twice the fluid of the reservoir pot I had been using. The improvement in rate of growth is remarkable. I'll have to cut the top when it hits the glass, but I have no doubt I will get more pot from the plant that I have in the past. This is especially desirable in a plant like Medgom that doesn't give you a lot. Now that I think of it, if you mostly grow short plants, like Medgom, this would work out nicely (in a 5 foot tent).

I think I will have to make my own, after I find a pot that fits my tent. Either that or get a new tent.
But I haven't found a tall tent so far that I would want to buy that fits the space.

So there you have it, a great hempy bucket that just doesn't offer what pot growers need.


http://earthbox.com/earthbox-systems/earthbox-root-veg

 

[Ozone69]

I've got a couple of those that I use outside for pepper plants that work decently well. Haven't tried the with cannabis, though. Be interesting to see how they do.

If you're looking for something a little smaller, the Octopot's are similar and (I believe) a little smaller. www.octopot.com

 

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what do you mean by glass?

 

[late]

what do you mean by glass?

The glass cover on the light hood.

 

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ok, because earthbox sure is stingy with info. I've googled all around and I as yet haven't found anything useful other than they look sort of like a self watering pot and I can't figure out how you would use the plastic mulch screen or how it would benefit.

 

[Ozone69]

They are designed to be a simple water from the bottom type system. The screen sits a couple inches off the bottom of the pots and creates a resivoir area in the bottom with the fill tube sticking up in one of the corners. There are chucks missing in the corner of the screen so there will be nice plugs of the potting soil media protruding below into the water to wick up the moisture. They also sell a fertilizer system with it that you layer in and plant around and supposed to be able to grow water only for vegetables and the like. You can just pour water in the tube to keep the area in the bottom filled every couple days.

 

[autogogo]

They are designed to be a simple water from the bottom type system. The screen sits a couple inches off the bottom of the pots and creates a resivoir area in the bottom with the fill tube sticking up in one of the corners. There are chucks missing in the corner of the screen so there will be nice plugs of the potting soil media protruding below into the water to wick up the moisture. They also sell a fertilizer system with it that you layer in and plant around and supposed to be able to grow water only for vegetables and the like. You can just pour water in the tube to keep the area in the bottom filled every couple days.

ohk, I gotcha. All the reviews were complaining about the flimsy mulch screen and the only screen I could see looked like a botttom screen. I use to grow pot in a bottom watering pot and I really liked it. I still use the 10 inch ones out back for growing peppers. I hear ya on the glass. Mine are in [HASHTAG]#10[/HASHTAG] airpots on rollers so it is a tall setup by the time you get to the top of the soil. The airpots create fantastic root devlopment, that's why I didn't go back to the self watering. The screen on the bottom of an airpot looks like the same size as on the earth box. But my roots never grow through. Have you tried using less soil in the earthbox to lower the soil height?

 

[Ozone69]

If they're complaining about a flimsy mulch screen, then it might be about the top cover. They come with a trash bag like material cover that's white on one side and black on the other. You put it over the top of the soil on the boxes to hold in moisture, and with the white or black side up depending on if you want to pull in or reflect back heat. Make holes in 'em in each spot you're planting something. They call them mulch covers, so could be what people have a problem with. The elastic band around the edge that holds them on to the pots is VERY easy to tear off. Especially after being out in the elements for a while.

 

[late]

I was trying to put that elastic top cover on and it ripped twice. Threw it away.

 

[late]

The plant is still growing rapidly. I wonder if anybody makes custom tents. I don't want to spend more money on growing, but this pot is winning me over.
I need a taller tent...

Just a FYI, the plastic screen is tough enough. It's just the pot cover that's crap. Since I never use one, it's not a problem for me.

What I've done since the beginning is use reservoir pots. I use a good potting soil like Roots with some extra perlite. And I use a small amount of liquid nutes to keep the plant growing quickly.

This time I am also trying a little foliar feeding for the first time. I have a spray bottle with a little seaweed juice and 'tappin roots', and spray that in the morning when I turn the lights on.