Your GrowBox™ planter automatically creates the perfect growing environment that makes gardening easy for anyone. Simply fill the planter completely to the top with potting mix, lay the Nutrient Patch™ cover on top of the moist soil and plant your plants or seeds through cuts in the cover. It’s that easy!
The fertilizer tubes will dissolve into the soil and release an entire season’s worth of specially formulated nutrients in a narrow strip on top of the soil. The plant roots will grow towards that fertilizer strip and automatically feed at their proper rate. Water from the built-in well will constantly move upwards towards the roots and keep them moist. Leave the cover on to protect the nutrient strip from rain and just add water to the well through the side spout as needed. It’s that easy.
Follow these instructions below and you’ll never have to guess about when to add water or fertilizer again!
IMPORTANT Note About Potting Mix
ONLY use Potting Mix and NOT Potting Soil in your GrowBox™.
(You may hear in the setup video or see elsewhere to use potting soil. This is no longer recommended.)
IMPORTANT Note About Fertilizer Tube
The fertilizer tubes attached to the underside of the Nutrient Patch™ will immediately dissolve upon contact with water. Keep the tubes dry until you place the Nutrient Patch™ on top of the potting mix.
STEP 1 – ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS
Remove the 4 pins from the bottom of the planter top and set them aside (1). (These will be used later to secure the Nutrient Patch to the potting mix.)
Join the two halves of the planter together – Keeping the spouts on the same site (2). It’s easiest to join the halves beginning at an angle – The top half has a small lip that will fit inside the bottom half at the short ends. Start there and align the side as you join the parts together.
When the edges and tabs are seamlessly lined up, snap the top firmly on to the 8 pins for a secure fit (3) and (4).
Finally, push the two hinged-gates down to the bottom of the planter until they click into an upright position (5) and (6).
STEP 2 – FILLING / PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS
Pour some potting mix into the top half of the planter and pack the two square holes with the mix. This is how water from the well will “wick” upwards to water your plants from below (1).
Fill the planter half-way up with potting mix and soak it good with water. A small amount of mix will fall through the small holes in the screen, but that’s OK (2).
Now COMPLETELY FILL the top half of the planter with potting mix. Don’t leave any space at the top lip – Fill the planter with as much potting mix as it will hold – even a bit higher in the middle and again soak the potting mix with water (3).
Lay the Nutrient Patch™ cover – tube side down, on top of the wet mix. The cover should be centered on the mix and the fertilizer tubes will immediately begin to dissolve and release the nutrients in a narrow strip down the center (4).
Lift one side of the cover and gently spray water on the fertilizer tubes to make sure they begin to dissolve (5). You can also use a sharp knife or scissors to carefully open the tubes, but be sure the fertilizer stays in a narrow strip on top of the potting mix – about 2 inches wide. Do not spread the fertilizer around or mix it into the potting mix, leave it in a strip on top of the soil and replace the cover.
Gently push down on the cover top to sink the fertilizer 1/2 inch into the potting mix (6).
STEP 3 – PLANTING BY THE NUMBERS
Before you begin planting, please see Cool and Hot Season Growing Tips and Sun and Shade Growing Tips to make sure you’re planting the best plants for your geographical location and where your GrowBoxes™ are located. (For your convenience, these links will open a new window)
Choose what you want to grow and look at the planting diagram in the next section below to see how many plants of that type should be used. Match your plants to the numbers. For example, you can grow 8 pepper plants at numbers 1-7-13-17 and 2-6-12 and 18. Or grow 6 mustard greens at numbers 1-9-17 and 2-10 and 18. For tomatoes, just plant at numbers 3 and 16.
After you’ve selected, gently lift one side of the cover without disturbing the fertilizer strip and use scissors to cut from the edge to the selected numbers. Cut a small triangle over the number (1). This is where each plant will go. Repeat on the other side.
To plant, lift back the flaps of your cuts and plant 2 to 3 inches into the soil beneath the triangle (2) and (3).
Add a little water around each plant to remove any air spaces from the roots then replace the flaps around each stem (4). The cover stays on top of the soil and the plant stems should extend upward through the cover.
Push the 4 pins from the very first step through the cover to secure it to the soil (5). Fill the water well through the side spout and add water when it gets low (6). There’s no need to add any fertilizer for the life of those plants, just replace the Nutrient Patch™ with each new planting. Keep the water well full and Happy Gardening!
