My neighbors are SO envious!
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!

Boxed in and thriving
This year I wanted to garden and grow vegetables. I didn't like my rocky clay like soil and discovered some books on box gardening. I had heard of Earth Boxes before but never paid them mind. The price was just to high! But here on Amazon it was under 40 bucks with free shipping. When I got the box my imagination ran wild what to plant? Reading the booklet that came with it, It show directions for growing corn! I planted eight seeds even through the directions called for twelve. I was being cautious. That was 2 months ago. The corn is thriving! 5 feet high and still growing! The corn does use a lot of water. I was filling the tank once a week but now I fill it twice a week. Corn requires a lot of water. Growing corn on a NYC patio amazing! I want another box for next year. I will heed the advice about the mosquitoes and use panty hose to keeps the bugs out. Also I have bought self watering containers for all my flowers. Wow I love the concept. Now I can go away weekends without having to plead with people to water my plants and finding them thirsty and dying when I come back. I see some using a watering can to fill their Earthbox. I find a hose far easier to fill it.

Anyone can grow things using this system.
Wow!!! I bought my Earthbox a few weeks ago after a referral about them from a family member who used them. The only place I can plant things is my deck and I'm really bad about keeping plants alive so I thought I'd give it a try. It's only been 3 weeks and I ended up planting half-dead plants (my attempts before the Earth Box arrived to maintain them) and they have not only sprung back to life but are absolutely HUGE!!! All I bought were some starter plants from Home Depot and I can't believe the growth. They are way bigger than anything I've seen before in a garden.

All I have to do now is make sure the water container stays full and I keep a bucket outside to catch rain to save me trips to get water inside. I love being able to go out to my deck and pick fresh herbs to cook with and am looking forward to the harvest of vegetables I planted too.

If I can grow things (and not kill them) with this system then anyone can :)

Great Results - Seeing is believing
This is my first year using the EarthBox system and I am wonderfully impressed. I will be using this item for many years to come. I did container gardening last year and used many types of containers from standard pots to the upside down garden. I had pretty good results but had a difficult time keeping up with the watering. I didn't know that once tomato plants get large, they are very, very, very thirsty!

I debated between the EarthBox system and another sold by Gardener's Supply. The EarthBox system offered an optional automatic watering system and that was the deciding factor. Set up of the system is pretty simple. Open the box, add good potting mix, water and seeds/transplants. Fertilizer and dolomite are included in the kit. There is a plastic cover (an extra is included) that goes over the box to prevent rain water etc from entering. Since the plants get all of their needed water from the reservoir in the bottom of the box, additional water from above could result in over watering. I started with two boxes and loved the system so much that now I own seven. My deck garden now has tomatoes, eggplants, cantaloupe, watermelon, varieties of peppers, zucchini and butternut sqash. After 4 weeks my pepper plants are taller and healthier than last year's plants at the 12 week mark. They seem to be able to handle most vegetables as I've planted okra and seen others with 6 to 7 ft tall corn and pole beans. I'm not the best when it comes to dealing with bugs and another great benefit is that since they are on my deck, these are bug free.

I also no longer have to worry about uneven watering and taking care of them while I am on vacation. I added the automatic watering system which fills the reservoir whenever it is below the desired level. I was able to leave home for a long weekend and return to plants that were just as healthy as when I left. The current Amazon price of $39 is excellent. The lowest price found locally for me was $69. The system will require an additional investment in years to come as you eventually need new plastic covers. Fertilizer can be bought anywhere so that isn't a problem. Living in Minnesota, I don't have a very long gardening season. So having a system that produces such healthy and fast growing plants is a huge benefit. And so far, I have found this to be the most low maintenance system I have seen. My neighbors think I am an amazing gardener when all I really did was follow the instructions. I added photos and will add more as the season progresses.

The jury is still out
Have had this product for about a month. Tomatoes had blossoms on them when I bought them. Greenery is beautiful but no tomatoes are forming yet so the jury is still out.