masthead
In This Issue
EarthBox Education
Fresh From the Forum
Retailer of the Month
From Our Customers
Special Offer!
Postscript
About EarthBox
EarthBox Education
White House Accolades
The Growing Connection (TGC) has been recognized by the White House! As you may already know, TGC, developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, administers gardening programs and community gardens around the world that grow vegetables using the EarthBox system.
 
The Growing Connection
 
The goal of TGC is to reduce hunger, foster self sufficiency, and help people use Internet tools to both research gardening solutions and to stay in contact with other TGC participants.
 
Here's what the First Lady herself had to say:
 
THE WHITE HOUSE
 
His Excellency
Dr. Jacques Diouf
Director-General of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
Rome
 
Dear Dr. Diouf:
 
Thank you for your letter.
 
I share your hope that one day we will live in a world free from hunger. It is only through the work of public servants like you and everyone involved with The Growing Connection that we can begin to make this hope a reality. I thank you for your commitment to achieving this goal and for the ongoing efforts of you and your team to reform the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization. I wish you all the best in working toward a solution to the pressing issue of global hunger.
 
Sincerely,
 
Michelle Obama
Grab Some Free Goodies!
 
Want to win an EarthBox gift certificate? Just send us your best EarthBox-related recipe, article, or photo, and you might find yourself a winner. 
 
Here are the categories we'd like you to shoot for: 
  • A helpful story that provides EarthBox owners with information
  • A story on your most successful crop
  • A photo illustrating a successful EarthBox crop
  • Your greatest number of EarthBoxes in use at once
  • Your best disaster story, so everyone can learn from your mistakes
  • Your quickest recipe using an EarthBox harvest
  • Your spiciest recipe using an EarthBox harvest
  • Articles on non-traditional uses of the EarthBox

Your entry should be brief and to the point. We'll pick a new winner every month, and we'll post each winner in an upcoming issue.

Send your contest entries to [email protected], with the word "contest" in the subject line, and we'll take a look!

We Have a Winner!

We've chosen the latest winner in our ongoing "Grab Some Goodies" contest! Shelley Couturier will receive a $25 EarthBox gift certificate for her photo. We'll be posting more winners as we choose them. We're still waiting to hear from you!
 
Here's Shelley's winning entry:

"My Crazy Cucumbers!

out of control cukes

"It's hard to tell, but there are two EarthBoxes under all those cucumber vines! Though the wooden trellis seemed overly big when the plants were only an inch high, I think they could have been built even higher! After two months, I'm at Cucumber #36 with a whole bunch more to come. I think I'll have to learn how to pickle cucumbers. No more bruised $1 cucumbers for me!

"My bush beans are next to the cucumbers, and they're similarly producing beans like crazy." 

Quick Links

MGA Logo
 
Home Gardening Seal
Greetings!

Your EarthBox plants share the great outdoors with all kinds of living things -- especially insects. Now, it's a fact that 98% of the insects in your garden are either beneficial or benign, so it's a good idea to learn which bugs are harmful and which aren't, so you can recognize the baddies when they appear.

Of course, you'll need to focus on the pests that are common in your particular area and climate, as well as those that are specific to your crops. There are insects that attack flowers, others that enjoy fruits or vegetables, and a few that are happy with both.

Insect pests fall into three broad categories: suckers, chewers and soil inhabitors. Good examples of suckers include aphids, leafhoppers, stink bugs, and thrips. Chewers are your standard caterpillars -- cabbage worms, diamondback moth larvae, corn earworms -- as well as grasshoppers, locusts, and carrot weevils. Common soil inhabitors (which feed on the roots and bases of plants) include corn rootworms, wireworms, pill bugs, white grubs, and cutworms.

For insect pest identification purposes, it's hard to beat Texas A&M University's Vegetable Integrated Pest Management site, which provides great photos for visual identification of both pests and beneficial bugs.

Alternately, you can ask your local county extension agent or EarthBox retailer for more information on how to identify and manage the pests that are common in your zone.

Aside from standard pest control methods like insecticides, sticky traps, and encouraging beneficial predators like mantises, ladybugs, and toads, there are several simple things you can do to control unwanted insect populations. For example, keep areas around your plantings free of debris; remove any standing water; where possible, put nets or other pest prevention enclosures around your plants; and inspect your plants periodically for signs of invasion, so you can head 'em off at the pass.

Also, keep your plants stress-free, as this will increase their resistance to insect attacks. You can do this by keeping the water reservoirs of your EarthBoxes filled, and by strictly following the instructions when fertilizing.

Happy gardening,

Frank's Signature
 
Frank DiPaolo
EarthBox
logo small
 
Fresh from the Forum 
Peter Piper's Peppers
 
pepper and vegsForum member Tag recently tickled our funny bones with this post:

"If my name was Peter and I was a piper I would have pretty near a peck of peppers to pickle.

"I'm pleased to produce pictures to prove my proud prediction of a productive and plentiful harvest of pretty peppers. Previous pepper predictions pooped out primarily because powerful and plentiful precipitation pounded my poor peppers to pieces.
 
Please peruse the pictures of my plentiful pretty peppers. I'm posting pictures to prevent people from doubting my proud prediction of a productive and plentiful harvest of pretty peppers. Photographic proof, not phony photoshopped pictures produced on a PC. The produce section of Publix would purportedly be proud to be the purveyors of Peter Piper's prodigious pickled pepper products. Phenomenal! Now if I can keep the pests and pets away.

"These peppers placed into potato soup positively pop. A side of peas and Pepsi or punch is perfect. Add pecan pie and purr.

"Please don't punch, poke or prod me for producing such a prodigious use of the letter P in this post please."
 
But do take a peek at the pictures of our forum-posting pal's prestigious peppers!
Retailer of the Month
Flowerland, West Michigan

Every month, we highlight one of our valued partners, so you can learn more about them and their products. This month, we salute Flowerland, with three locations in West Michigan.

flowerlandFlowerland was rooted in 1949, a time of growth and progress following the challenging years of The Great Depression and World War II. This full service nursery has bloomed over the past sixty years, and is still growing. Items offered by Flowerland include landscape and garden supplies, patio furniture, gifts, home d�cor, water gardening products, wild bird care, trees, plants and flowers. The quality products that are offered are complemented by a dedicated staff of certified nurserymen, master gardeners and floral designers.

Customers are offered many specialized services, including free seasonal seminars and planting services, not to mention The Flowerland Show -- a weekly call-in radio show on WOOD 1300 AM, featuring personalities Phil Dirt, Doug Deep and a cracked pot (Kristi). You can also become a friend or fan of Flowerland on Facebook.

You can visit Flowerland online, or at any of their three West Michigan locations. For more information, call their corporate offices at 616-532-5934.
From Our Customers 
Mary's EarthBoxes
 
"The zucchini are growing rapidly. The tomatoes, pepper and growing connectioneggplant are growing, but not so fast. My dog Isabella loves smelling the tomatoes, almost as much as me!"

Mary
Zone 7 North
Central Arkansas
Special Offer!
Red Mulch Covers

Special Order Until June 15, we're offering 40% off or more on quantity orders of red covers. If you're wondering, "Why red?" here's the scoop: these covers are part of a new growing technology developed by a Clemson University scientist and tested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

These "red mulch" covers work by reflecting light off their special red film, encouraging increased growth in some plants. For example, tomato plants grown through red mulch yield up to 20% more fruit. In many cases, the sugar content is also increased: strawberries and other fruit grown this way are incredibly sweet.
 
Discount prices range from $1.87 each for three or more covers to just $0.75 each for 20 or more. So order now, while the sale is on!
Postscript

EarthBox is on Facebook!  Now you can become a fan of EarthBox, joining a community of fellow EarthBox users for conversations, advice and photo sharing -- or just to check out whatever new information EarthBox has to enhance your gardening experience!
Ordering 

To place an order, call us at 866-727-5532 (24/7) or visit our online store.

About EarthBox 
 
The patented EarthBox was developed by commercial farmers, and proven in the lab and on the farm. Our maintenance-free, award-winning, high-tech growing system controls soil conditions, eliminates guesswork, and more than doubles the yield of a conventional garden -- with less fertilizer, less water and virtually no effort. It's used successfully on a daily basis by commercial farmers, educators, and consumers. Distributors are also finding it to be a popular growing system.
 
EarthBox is a remarkably easy-to-set-up system that can be used to grow produce virtually anywhere. EarthBox systems have been incorporated into community gardens all over the world, enabling families and neighbors to share fresh produce, while minimizing work and expenses. EarthBoxes can even be found in classrooms. Our EarthBox Pre-K through 12th grade standards-based curriculum support packages can bring science to life, with hands-on cross-curricula lessons that teach principles of growing and nutrition utilizing the scientific method in student-driven experiments.

To find out more, visit www.earthbox.com.  
EarthBox� 1350 Von Storch Avenue � Scranton, PA 18509 � 1-866-727-5532