EarthBox has created a special EarthBox World Food Day School Kit (EBWFD School Kit) that includes romaine lettuce seeds, a seed-starter kit, a CD that contains educational activities for students, and more! By using the School Kit along with an EarthBox Container Garden System, a classroom can grow a crop of lettuce, learn about the importance of food security, and organize a World Food Day event in their community. 

Parents, grandparents, and community supporters are encouraged to donate an EBWFD School Kit to a local classroom, and to participate in the event if possible. For more information, click here. 

Peck's Green Thumb  

This month we salute Peck's Green Thumb of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Peck's has been serving customers and landscapers for over 55 years.  

Avid gardeners and beginners alike can find something at Peck's to suit every gardening need, from a wide variety of trees, shrubs, roses, perennial flowers, annual flowers, bulbs, and tropical patio plants to gardening tools, hanging baskets, and fertilizers. Peck's also has a landscaping division.

Peck's relies on the best growers in the country to provide quality plants in their full-service garden center. Their garden shop also offers opportunities for enhancing gardens, decks, and patios with items such as garden art, benches, statuary, bird feeders and supplies, and fountains.  Their flower shop is a favorite stop for floral arrangements.  

With eight Iowa Certified Nursery Professionals, the staff can diagnose plant issues, make recommendations, and guide customers on product usage.  

Notes co-owner Shirley Peckosh, "We explain the 'how-to' to customers who are buying an EarthBox for the first time. Often, EarthBox growers will stop by the display to share their experiences from last year, including what they grew. Those 'EarthBox Pros' sell more to first-timers for us, just by sharing their stories. We've learned to place the display near a main walkway to the greenhouse so we can take advantage of our 'customer pros' and their stories!

"To further engage customers in the EarthBox system, we plant a tomato display box early in March, and then move it to the tomato plant aisle in the greenhouse. It helps to sell the EarthBox and definitely helps to sell tomato plants! We move the planted box outside in summer, and customers love to watch the tomatoes grow and ripen."

Camille tells us, "Just had to share this picture with you, as NO ONE can believe how big these tomato plants are...they reach the eaves of my house, which are 8 feet tall! Plenty of fruit on these plants. So many of my friends are ordering from your site, including my nursery man. I think I sold a lot of EarthBoxes for you with this picture. GREAT PRODUCT!"

"A VERY satisfied customer who HIGHLY recommends you!"

Want to win a $25 EarthBox gift certificate? Send us your EarthBox success photos with the word "contest" in the subject line of your email, and you could be a winner!

Please make sure your image is in .JPG format and at least 640×480 pixels or 5 x 7 inches at 72 dpi. We'll pick a new winner every month, and post the entry in an upcoming issue.

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 Planting Fall EarthBox Crops 

Our Thanksgiving tradition is based on an appreciation and gratitude for good harvests from Mother Earth -- a concept that is, for many of us, more symbolic than actual these days. But adding some home-grown EarthBox produce can bring that reverence for nature and its offerings to your Thanksgiving celebration!  

Now, this doesn't have to involve immense planning or a great volume of crops; in fact, it could simply include some of the herbs or produce that you canned, froze, or dried from an earlier harvest. On the other hand, you could still grow part of your Thanksgiving produce fresh in your EarthBox, if you start planting soon. You could also grow some flowers for table centerpieces and for host gifts.     

What Will I Grow?

There are many cool weather vegetables to choose from. If you're planning to include some fresh EarthBox produce in a Thanksgiving dish, just select a recipe that includes the appropriate vegetables. Your next step should be to check with your local nursery or agricultural extension agent for average first frost information for your area, so you'll know what you can safely plant.  

Remember: some of these crops can endure short periods of frost, but you should be prepared to protect those that can't with frost covers and cold frames, in case of an unexpected cold snap.  

Seeds or Transplants? 

Next, you'll need to buy the seeds or transplants for the produce you want to include in your Thanksgiving celebration. If you're growing straight from seed, be sure to check the seed packets to determine how many days are required to maturity, and work backward to determine your planting dates. Transplants will mature more quickly, of course; again, check with your nursery or extension agent for details.

Suggested Crops 

Crops that mature in approximately 90-110 days include the following. Keep in mind that you may have to harvest some of these a bit early for your Thanksgiving feast, but all should be perfectly edible by then:  

• Brussels sprouts
• Celery
• Cilantro
• Garlic
• Parsnips
• White potatoes 

Crops that mature in approximately 50-60 days include:  

• Beets
• Collards
• Early cabbages
• Early carrots
• Kohlrabi
• Leeks
• Perennial herbs
• Spinach
• Swiss chard
• Turnips
• Winter cauliflower  

Crops that mature in approximately 30-50 days (and sometime less) include:  

• Arugula
• Broccoli
• Bunching onions
• Chives
• Leaf lettuces
• Mustard
• Radishes
• Spinach  

Here are some delightful cool-weather floral options:  

• Bachelor's buttons
• Calendula
• Chrysanthemums
• Dwarf aster
• Greater periwinkle
• Larkspur
• Lobelia
• Pansies
• Petunia
• Snapdragon
• Toad lily 
• Viola 

All it takes is a little planning right now, during the hot weather, to fill your Thanksgiving with EarthBox delights. Put these ideas into play, and your efforts will be greatly rewarded come November!

Parents, grandparents and mentors, you have three good reasons to purchase the EarthBox Snow Pea Activity Guide:

1. Right now, you can help the kids in your life retain academic skills by completing the fun-filled, hands-on activities.

2. When the kids are becoming restless later this month, they can plant, nurture and collect data from their crop in the box! 

3. Finally, when they harvest their crop in September and October, they can bring it to  school for "show and tell" and share the harvest with their classmates!

We appreciate your opinions about EarthBox products, and so do your peers. Because we recognize how helpful and valuable our customers' viewpoints can be, we would love to receive your comments -- whether positive or negative.   

Here's the process: go to our website, click the category on the left column, and then click on the product name. Next, click on "Review this item," and start writing.

Thanks in advance for your help! We look forward to reading the reviews, and improving your EarthBox experience. So please, don't hesitate to post reviews on the product profiles at www.EarthBox.com.  

Have a lot of cucumbers? Already shared them with everyone? How about some mouth-watering cucumber recipes from your fellow EarthBox growers? Click here to see some great ones!  

If you'd like to ask a question, commune with your fellow EarthBoxers, or just swap recipes, we urge you to join us in the Forum at http://forum.earthbox.com.

As these flourishing crops attest, you can easily use EarthBoxes on a significant slope if you're careful! Here's what this grower had to say: "EarthBox row. I purchased four more boxes this year (six total). Eggplants, tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelons, and peppers."    

jmyers2043

Greenville, SC 

Zone 7b

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