Customer Reviews

EarthBox 1010008 Staking System In Dark Green for the EarthBox Garden Kit

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am a physician living and working in Tokyo. While my neighbhood is considered to be "out in the sticks", my yard is 8 feet at its deepest point, the majority of it is about 1.5-2 feet... and I am talking from the wall to the fence. As such, I have precious little space to grow... the fact that the yard is all gravel and manicured trees leaves me even more limited.

I purchased the EarthBox systems so that I could leave for work every morning and come home 12 to 37 hours later without worrying about my vegetables. I achieved this freedom by placing a timer on my outdoor hose with a series of splitters to the hose, one length emptying into each of 5 EarthBox pots. The timer comes on for one minute every day and keeps my plants healthy and happy. SO healthy and happy that my tomatoes have achieved heights of 12 feet, completely laden with fruit!

The black mulch sheets maintain the moisture throughout the day, the timer keeps the resevior filled, the staking system keeps the plants upright despite their extreme height and the winds of the Kanto plain and roughly weekly earthquakes (I did have to zip tie a couple of extenders to the tallest ones). I never worry about bugs, I never have to feed... I just walk out when I get home and pick the beautiful fruits for dinner each night.

I had misgivings about buying plastic pots as I have always sought out natural products/clay/earthenware for both the moisture control and the look/feel. I can tell you that these pots have sold me 100% on their design and value!

The staking system is a disapointing - cumbersome, overly expensive, the netting is poorly worked out with insufficiently clear instructions. Glad I only ordered one to try out: Save your money! Easier to use regular tomato cages, or make one's own staking.

This is my first year for growing green beans in my earth box with the staking system. Last year I used makeshift staking similar to the teepee style I used when I planted in soil many years ago. As I look back to the teepee method, it doesn't make sense to have the plants grow into a tiny space when they are at their peak growth period. There was no room to spread. Not so this year!! I love the fact that it was so easy to install and so easy to train my beans to climb. They are not getting crowded because they are growing straight up and they are reaching for the stars!! I hope to get another earth box next year and I will definitely purchase a staking system for it also. Love, love, love my earth box.

This is the second staking system that I have bought for my Earth Boxes. The design has changed by eliminating a metal rod in the middle. Thus, the staking is weaker than the first system that I bought. Part of the problem (if you can call it a problem) is that my tomatoes grow so tall in the Earth boxes that I need a sturdier staking system.

System looks good & integrates perfectly with the Earthbox. Originally, I wanted to build some type of trellis myself, then realized that I would spend about the same money on something that would not look as good. The extra casters are nice; now the box rolls much better. I'm not a fan of the netting, however. Reminds me of a cheap back-yard badminton net. Figuring out how to tie the strings onto the aluminum tubes was a little frustrating as the instructions are unclear. Next season, I may try something stronger like plastic netting or zip-ties. I'm sure there are several other ways to design a staking system on your own, but I can't think of any that keep the Earthbox as untethered as this one.

Be prepared - depending on what you are growing, you may have to purchase extensions to this staking system in order to expand it even higher. Our two tomato plants are growing like crazy and we've only had them planted for a month and a half. I wouldn't be surprised if I need to order an extension kit in a few weeks.

The staking system is easy to assemble and attach to the EarthBox. Since the tomatoes are still small, I can't comment on how well it will support them when they are mature.

If you are going to grow anything over 12 inches tall, I'd recommend getting the staking system for your earth box, especially tomatoes, cucumbers, and eggplant.

The first year I used the EarthBox, I didn't buy this staking system for my tomatoes. Well that was a bad choice because the EarthBox system lets your plants grow bigger than they would under any other conditions so things can get a bit out of hand without the staking system, especially when you are growing tomatoes. It was very easy to set up and my tomato plant grew so much better and in a much more organized way.

This is a fantastic price for the EarthBox staking system -- less than on the EarthBox web site. I was originally just going to buy a couple of staking extension kits directly from EarthBox at about $20 bucks a piece. When I add the shipping fee of about $13, though, I'd have wound up spending about $53 just for stake extensions. Compare that to about $61 (through amazon prime) for full staking systems from amazon and, well... it's clear where the best deal is. The stakes in the full system can easily be adapted to serve as extensions on what I've got and I'll have the outriggers to put stakes on my other 2 EarthBoxes, should I need them. Thanks for the great price, amazon!

Got this today. It was very easy to put together, much easier than some of the reviewers have said. The staking part I would say took about 10-15 minutes. The netting took a bit longer, only because it took a bit to straighten it out and figure out what end to tie where. Once I did it was very easy.

I am giving it four only for the fact I think it could be slightly cheaper in price, say 20-25 dollars tops.

I will say the good thing about this staking system is that it can be used year after year, so as far as that goes, that's kind of nice that it's cost effective.

I did get the best price I saw for it on Amazon plus free shipping.

Over all I am happy with it, and look forward to planting my veggies!