The end of the growing season is coming up for a lot of EarthBox gardeners. It's a sad time for some. We all know that spring will eventually be back and the planting will begin again. In the meantime, winter is a great time to think about what could be planted for the upcoming growing season. The seed and plant catalogs will be coming out in late winter.
Remove the Automatic Watering System from your garden if you are using this system. Drain the tubing as much as possible. Place the AWS in a plastic bag/trash bag for storage inside where it will not freeze.
To prepare your EarthBox for the winter, cut down your plants and remove debris. Remove the mulch cover. Tip the EarthBox forward towards the overflow hole to remove any remaining water. Leaving water in the reservoir can lead to freezing and cracking the EarthBox.
There is no need to remove the roots from the EarthBox at this time. The roots will eventually break down over the winter season and are much easier to remove in the spring when you are ready to begin anew.
We do recommend removing the fertilizer strip. Fertilizer salts move towards the top of the box and build up over the season. It is best to remove a layer of growing media above the rim of the EarthBox. Once this has been taken care of, replace the mulch cover to protect the potting media from the elements. It is possible to use a tarp or large garbage bags in place of the mulch cover to cover your box.
Store the EarthBoxes, if you can, at a 45 degree angle to help prevent any melting snow to get into the reservoir. The EarthBox can be stored outside for the winter.
It is not necessary to dump the potting media except if you have had confirmed cases of blight and live in an area that does not get a killing frost. It there was blight, you won't have the months of freezing temperatures to kill it off. Empty your potting media into a large trash bag and dispose of it if blight has been experienced. Do NOT dump this into your compost or in your yard. The EarthBox can be sanitized by using bleach and water solution. Otherwise, EarthBox recommends using the same potting media for at least 6-8 growing seasons.
Interested in seeing this in pictures? Please check out the attachments.
