And Now for Something Completely Different: EarthTainer
Tuesday, May 17, 2011 at 9:32PM 
I spent a good part of this past weekend, and all of date night, working on a DIY project with my husband. Now, that might not sound like fun to many of you but let me reassure you that both of us had a great time. We have now invested quite a bit of time and money in the hopes of having home grown tomatoes in suburbia this summer.
A few weeks ago my spouse came across an article describing a self-watering tomato-growing container called an EarthTainer using items commonly acquired at the home improvement store. A few of the necessary items proved a little tricky to find but we persevered and soon had everything we needed. The base of the unit is made from two large storage bins; there is a water reservoir in the bottom that makes it difficult to either under- or over-water the tomatoes. This planter is the creation of Ray Newstead who has written a 20-page PDF meticulously detailing every step needed to build your own. This man has thought of everything and offers lots of practical advice on the process of building the containers and planting your tomato plants as well as constructing a support cage for the growing tomatoes (which we have not added yet done, see below). The steps were not difficult and we easily completed two containers in a couple of hours. Our plants are in place and we now anxiously await the arrival of our first tomato (which, by my calculations should be worth approximately $73.48/pound). Here are a few photos of our progress along with the finished product.
Under construction
Inner support shelves complete
Drilling the drainage holes
The completed unit ready for planting; the white pipe is for adding water
Plants in and moisture barrier in place
Julie Bowersett
Several people have emailed me to ask about a cage system for the tomtoes we recently planted so I'm posting an update. Last weekend my husband completed the cages that snap onto the EarthTainers. The original plans call for using pea fencing which is available through a mail order garden company. While I was at my local nursery I saw these tomato trellises and thought they might work for this as well.
Using the instructions in the PDF plans, hubby bent the trellises into the necessary configuration that allows them to snap onto the container. He had to modify the instructions a little to suit the dimensions of the trellises but these seem to work just as the author intended. Here are some more pictures of the cages in place.
A close-up of the attachment points
One other modification my spouse made, which is worth mentioning, especially if you have small children at home, was to attach the white watering pipe with a piece of wire to the inside container. We hope this prevents the tube from being pulled out by curious toddlers. He drilled a hole through the pipe and the inner side of the container and ran a piece of coat hanger wire through both holes.
EarthTainer, garden, home in garden, home 
Reader Comments (4)
You are just awesome Jules! I will be over for my freshly jarred sauce as soon as you say it is ready! Remarkable! REALLY!
Will they need cages? If so will that make a difference or do you just put the cage on top of the plastic? Cool project!
The instructions include how to make an elaborate cage system that snaps onto the rim of the container. We haven't finished that part, yet, but these will have some sort of caged support for the plants.
Excellent implementation and construction! I really like the cage adaptation as folks will be able to find a similar cage locally. Hope you have excellent tomato production this Season! - Ray