EarthBox

Big boys...

2008-07-10T14:11:00.002-05:00

These next two kind of snuck up on me. I just wasn't looking hard enough or in the right place. Check out the album for a couple others but these make it a total of 19 cucumbers.

14 cucumbers and counting...

2008-07-02T19:54:00.002-05:00

Here's the latest and greatest pictures of my cucumber plants and the cucumbers I've picked in the last week including the 3 in the last picture that are from today alone:

This brings the total number of cucumbers picked from my plants to 14 with plenty more on the way.

Update...

2008-07-02T13:50:00.002-05:00

It's been a week since my last post. My wife is days away from giving birth so most of my time has been devoted to that. An update though on my EarthBox: I've picked at least 11 cucumbers now and there are at least 2 or 3 that are ready to be picked with plenty more to come. I'm definitely sold on the EarthBox now and can't wait to get another. The cucumbers have been some of the best tasting I've ever had. On more than one occasion, there has been a bitter taste to the store-bought cucumbers I've had but there is no case of that with my homegrown ones. It's truly a sight to see. I'll get some more pictures up of my latest pickings as well as how my plant looks now as it's been while since I last posted one. I skipped on the trellis because things seem to be doing just fine on their own. Next year though, I'll know what to expect and will be ready from the start.

Also check out the right column as I'll have some blogs and sites I check out regarding real food.

3 more...

2008-06-24T16:33:00.002-05:00

I just picked this three around 4:30 pm Central time. The top cucumber in this photo is a lot smaller around than the rest. I'm not certain why that is but my only guess is that it was picked from the back side of the EarthBox that received the least amount of sun. I have no clue if that's the case but that's my guess when I compare it to the rest that were shorter but bigger around. So that's a total of 8 cucumbers picked in a matter of 4 days.

Fresh pickings...

2008-06-23T12:40:00.002-05:00

I picked my first cucumber on Saturday but it was eaten by myself, my wife, my folks and my in-laws who were down from Lincoln, Nebraska for the day before I could snap a picture.
The first picture is of 2 more that I picked on Sunday.

These next 2 I picked first thing this morning.

Day 45 - Cucumbers!!!

2008-06-19T13:53:00.002-05:00

Take a look at these pictures:

Be sure to check the others I've posted. I've got 3 cucumbers of significant size with several more on the way. And all it's taken is a daily watering. I'm definitely sold on the EarthBox and can't wait to get another one going for next year.

Day 38

2008-06-12T21:16:00.002-05:00

It's been over a week since I last posted. I've been having to add more water than before but as you can tell, the plants are definitely growing. Check out these new pictures:

Day 29

2008-06-03T20:01:00.003-05:00

It's been a few days since I last posted anything but check out these pictures. Please feel free to advise me on this. I know I need to get a trellis of some kind.

Day 23

2008-05-28T19:05:00.003-05:00

Here are some brand new pictures I just took this evening:

As always, click on the pictures to check out the rest from tonight or click on the album in the right column.

Life happens...

2008-05-28T10:44:00.002-05:00

My apologies for the lull over the past few days. My Memorial Day weekend was far from uneventful. My wife was sick last week and I was too over the weekend. Also, while my wife was on her way home Saturday night, the left-front tire blew the tread off and damaged all of the electrical wiring in the vehicle as well as damage to the fender and grill. This occurred on the interstate. My wife is fine (she's also almost 8-months pregnant) but the car needs a bit of work. And my car is also needing some work. Sounds like it needs a new alternator.
So again, my apologies on not keeping the blog updated as there has been some significant growth in the past several days. I promise to get some pictures up soon.

Day 17

2008-05-22T19:35:00.003-05:00

There was a decent amount of rain last night and even more wind all day today and still this evening but my cucumber plants seem to be holding up just fine. The sun never made it out for any length of time either. Take a look at the pics below and let me know what you think. And to see the rest, click on either one to check out my album to see the changes.

An amazing book...

2008-05-20T15:07:00.002-05:00

If you're into food, whether just eating it and probably more likely growing it, you've probably heard of Michael Pollan. I've just started his book, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. In it, he chronicles how the food (or food-like substances) we eat gets from the field to our plates. The book came out a couple of years ago and I picked my copy recently in paperback form. He has since written In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto that just came out earlier this year. The tag line on the front cover reads "Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants." There are so many things to take to heart (literally and figuratively) when it comes to the food we eat. It's truly amazing and eye-opening stuff. I could keep writing but go check out either of these books or buy your own copy. Below is a lecture he gave at Google last month.

Day 14

2008-05-19T22:25:00.003-05:00

There has been significant growth in the past few days. Just take a look at these pictures:

Click on either one to get to the entire album. There are chances for rain later in the week but other than that, this should be another great week of sunshine.

Lessons from Europe...

2008-05-19T14:35:00.002-05:00

With my EarthBox, I finally got around to doing what many Americans have done for a while and even more Europeans have done for even longer. Check out this post from Wise Bread, a blog about finances and budgeting.
Also, stay tuned as I hope to have some new pictures of my cucumber plants. There has been some real visible growth in the last few days.

Connections...

2008-05-15T16:17:00.001-05:00

Google is a big supporter of the EarthBox and The Growing Connection international program. It's truly amazing to see what's possible while growing good, nutritious food in a sustainable way that's friendly to the environment.

Day 10

2008-05-15T16:09:00.003-05:00

This week has been almost ideal. The sun has shined for most of it so far. I've been extending the length of time between waterings and have found that the EarthBox doesn't use all that much when you think about it. That might change a little as they plants get bigger but even so, it's not taking as much as if they were planted in the ground.
I also need to consider what kind of trellis to get for my cucumber plants once they're big enough.

Day 7

2008-05-12T20:26:00.002-05:00

It was very sunny today but the wind blew and is still blowing yet this evening. The plant on the left didn't make it through the day. I didn't think it would. The plants that are left seem to be doing alright. I just hope I planted them right. Check out the pictures and enjoy the slideshow on the right column.

Sunny Sunday...

2008-05-11T20:27:00.002-05:00

Today was a gorgeous day. Sun, sun and more sun and not much in the way of clouds. It was a bit breezy at times. It must have been left over from last night's rain and high winds. 1 of my plants is really hurting from it and I'm not sure it will make it. The other 3 seem to be doing well. I'll plan on taking a picture tomorrow night as it will be 1 week since planting in my very first EarthBox.

Saturday morning...

2008-05-10T06:31:00.004-05:00

Got up this morning and didn't have to add much water. With the rain from Thursday night we received over half of one inch. Friday was cloudy almost all day and by the time the sun came out, it had already passed overhead much too late for my EarthBox. Saturday is supposed to be pretty cloudy and probably more rain.

Rain or shine...

2008-05-09T06:47:00.002-05:00

It rained a bit last night and is still pretty wet this morning but the sun is coming up but we'll see how long that lasts. It looks like the sun could go for a while today so that should be good for my EarthBox. While my mound should be bigger, there wasn't any pooling on top and the sun should help that out.

Day 3

2008-05-08T17:59:00.004-05:00

Here's day 3. The sun was out all day and there was a nice breeze. I've been pretty OCD about keeping the water level maxed out, both as a precaution but to also get an idea of how often I'll really have to keep it watered since this is my first EarthBox. Today was by far the nicest day of the week. Tomorrow should be decent but Saturday could bring some more moisture. The 2nd picture is a closeup of the plant on the right.

Day 2

2008-05-07T17:57:00.003-05:00

Not much change if any. I added more water when I was home for lunch this afternoon. The sky is still overcast and the wind keeps blowing. I wouldn't mind seeing the sun sometime soon but I'm not sure when that will be. Stay tuned.

Commercial applications...

2008-05-07T10:00:00.003-05:00

This YouTube video shows the commercial applications for EarthBoxes. It's really amazing. It's truly organic, local for that area, uses less resources, saves time and money and so much more. It really shows what is possible with an EarthBox. What a sight to see!

Rain, rain go away...

2008-05-07T09:43:00.003-05:00

It rained last night and it's supposed to rain some more today so my cucumbers aren't getting much sun since being planted Monday night. Checking on them this morning, they didn't appear to be in standing water on top of the EarthBox so that's good. I'm still optimistic about my first attempt at growing vegetables. Why shouldn't I be? When I'm home for lunch, I'll check my water level and add some if need be.

Day 1

2008-05-06T18:49:00.005-05:00

Here's a picture I just took of my EarthBox. It was around 8 pm last night, less than 24 hours ago, when these 4 cucumber plants were planted. It's a tad windy out right now and the sun decided to come out but had already passed over the house. I added some more water until it came out of the overflow hole in the bottom hence the white plastic cup.