Who Has The Oldest Earthbox Here?
 

I scored 7 used EBs today--for free! :D On nextdoor.com of all places, I happened upon a post that was almost a week old and thought for sure they were gone but I messaged the man anyways. Surprise, still there. So I rushed over today.
2 were about 5 yrs old, with casters. The other 5, to my surprise, were ones I had never seen before. The older gentleman said they were the first he bought about 15 yrs ago. They were heavy and built like Sherman tanks. The inner design was different so you have to lay down these grid-like things on the bottom so that the screen lays flat on them. He gave me enough of the covers to last me a lifetime and more, a shopping bag stuffed with new ones. He made his own platforms w/ casters for them too, so you can roll them anywhere. Pretty cool.
So now I'm wondering, who else here has these "vintage" EBs? The drain hole looks smaller, that is the only thing I am concerned about but the former owner said he grew corn every year without fail.

Congratulations on the earth box score.:D

Wow, EarthBox ‘s are expensive. Great score.

Does homemade count ? I think Raybo out in california probably has oldest

[QUOTE=peebee;731376]I scored 7 used EBs today--for free! :D On nextdoor.com of all places, I happened upon a post that was almost a week old and thought for sure they were gone but I messaged the man anyways. Surprise, still there. So I rushed over today.
2 were about 5 yrs old, with casters. The other 5, to my surprise, were ones I had never seen before. The older gentleman said they were the first he bought about 15 yrs ago. They were heavy and built like Sherman tanks. The inner design was different so you have to lay down these grid-like things on the bottom so that the screen lays flat on them. He gave me enough of the covers to last me a lifetime and more, a shopping bag stuffed with new ones. He made his own platforms w/ casters for them too, so you can roll them anywhere. Pretty cool.
So now I'm wondering, who else here has these "vintage" EBs? The drain hole looks smaller, that is the only thing I am concerned about but the former owner said he grew corn every year without fail.[/QUOTE]

I scored 5 free Earthboxes from Nextdoor - they are the same old style that you have. They are solid! Are they really 15 years old? I will use them for the first time this year.

Scott, the man looked to be around 78 to 80 at least, with a pretty sharp mind. That's what he said, that he thinks they are that old. My first EB is now 10 yrs old and showing signs of ageing. It is of thinner lighter material.

I think my oldest are about 7 years old, and seem no different from the newer ones, except for the colors. I now have bright green and purple. I would buy used for less in a heartbeat.

You might find on craigslist but sometimes not very reasonable. You know they are out there, unused now but maybe people just forgot they are in the garage. Maybe yard sales, thrift stores...just have to keep looking. Not easy to find; I just got very lucky this time.
I bought one last week, used once (still had one new cover too) with the stand which is about $50 by itself, new (not worth that new price IMHO), both for $20 total. I didn't quibble about the price after I saw the pristine condition. But you can't beat free, even if old :yes:

What a score! I'm just a bit jealous.

do the old ones get brittle at all?

Scooty, the old ones are made of super thick plastic. They are so rigid, I can't imagine them getting warpy or brittle at least for another few years. But the younger ones, yes I have one that's 10 years old and the sides are misshapened a bit now. Kinda bulging if you know what I mean. But it's been outdoors this whole time so I have no complaints.

Excellent score.

Mine are not that old (5 years for the oldest) but I don't see any sign of wear. Mine are left outside all year; either used for growing or in the summer storing/solarizing the potting mix.

Some scratches on the inside but that is where I shoved the cage legs so definitely self induced.

I have other knock off troughs (more in the line of long EarthBox Juniors) and the edges are rubbing off.

I thought the originals growing Papaya trees in Florida were still around and about 25 years old.

Earthbox plastic is a special kind that doesn't degrade in the sun.

[QUOTE=ginger2778;731928]Earthbox plastic is a special kind that doesn't degrade in the sun.[/QUOTE]

Yes they are built to last for sure :yes. The 10 yr old one that is misshapened looks like the sides stretched a bit but it doesn't affect performance at all. I'm going to plant strawberries in one tomorrow.

Peebee,
I checked with my sister in N.Y upstate. Hers are 16 yrs old. They have worked very well for her getting an early start on her Mortage lifters. They have withstood frozen temps and being neglected thru the winter and are still going this year.
Aloha

Not sure about earth boxes, but I received three free grow boxes yesterday that have never been used. I actually logged on to see what people think of them and saw this thread. Any opinions? On first glance, that part that holds about 8" of mix looks shallow.

[QUOTE=JaxRmrJmr;732683]Not sure about earth boxes, but I received three free grow boxes yesterday that have never been used. I actually logged on to see what people think of them and saw this thread. Any opinions? On first glance, that part that holds about 8" of mix looks shallow.[/QUOTE]

I am not familiar with Grow Box, but I have "Patio Picker" or "City Picker" or something like that, and I like t for shallow rooted things like bush beans and zinnias.

I remember searching for comparisons a few years ago.

Here's a few

[URL="https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2157731/earthbox-growbox-city-picker-planters"]https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2157731/earthbox-growbox-city-picker-planters[/URL]

[URL="http://www.homegrown.org/profiles/blogs/last-year-s-garden-should-have-been-named-the-drought-bowl-so-it"]http://www.homegrown.org/profiles/blogs/last-year-s-garden-should-have-been-named-the-drought-bowl-so-it[/URL]

[URL="https://www.treehugger.com/lawn-garden/5-self-watering-planters-easy-vegetable-gardening.html"]https://www.treehugger.com/lawn-garden/5-self-watering-planters-easy-vegetable-gardening.html[/URL]

[QUOTE=JaxRmrJmr;732683]Not sure about earth boxes, but I received three free grow boxes yesterday that have never been used. I actually logged on to see what people think of them and saw this thread. Any opinions? On first glance, that part that holds about 8" of mix looks shallow.[/QUOTE]

I have 9 of them. They are far inferior to Earthboxes. Just the 2 piece system is inherently leak prone, the plastic gets brittle after a few years, they continuously get holes from the weed whacker, my Earthboxes have no leaks, are older and have no weed whacker holes. I am in the process of replacing them with Earthboxes, a few per year. And they are shallow, and smaller in general. Even that burlap cover system, meh! They only cost about $6 less, what on earth was I thinking?

Thanks for the input. I think I will use them for lighter feeding veggies like snacking peppers and broccoli due to the shallow design.

They would probably be great for strawberries too.

I had 2 of the original Earthboxes that my mother gave me at least 25 years ago. I finally had to retire them because the bottom grid was sagging badly and the sides had spread to the point that I needed large pieces of styrofoam to fill the gaps. My other Earthboxes are 10 - 20 years old when brown was the only color. As I recall, I would buy 3 at a time with shipping for $100. I am up to 18 now. I tried several cheap brands. They never last more than 3 years.