Hey, Raybo the gent who designed the earthtainer. Recently told me he doesn't recommend the sterilite containers cuz he has had the them break apart after a few yrs. Rubber maid! I don't think toxic leech is a problem. But if it bothers you that much. Do a container search on the web and companies will come up... alot of them sell food grade tubs and such.. but you will pay the price for them!!

I guess Raybo and others have been using rubbermaid and others for a while now.... their still alive.

Want to be all green, Clay pots, they been around for centuries or plain ole mother earth she's been growing plants since the begining.. LoL

Hi, thank you for responding. You bring up good points, if the rubbermaid containers do not seem to be a problem of leeching, that would be awesome. It just seems logical that a combo of heat, and the materials used in manufacture would be a cause of problems.
I know some plastics have had materials banned because of health problems caused, and I've even read about studies showing negative health impacts from simply using regular water bottles. I know people using these are still alive, but the toxins created within the body are hard to neutralize, and from some evidence, seems to cause/be related to many health problems that Americans experience.
I guess I'd just like to be healthy as possible, while my crops should have the ability to create a body that is healthy as possible.
Again, you are appreciated for the post. You have some real good points that are a direct truth. Thank you. ~Karen

Hey Karen

Sorry if it came out to sarcastic, wasn't my intention... actually was trying to be slightly humorous... Ah the written word.......

I am new here and have been reading alot, searches etc.. I did come across a thread or two about containers and toxitity. But I couldn't remember where I saw them, that's why I didn't mention them. You might try a search and see if you can find them. I remember the underlying message that they were reasonably safe. I just don't remember the details everyone gave.

I am aware of the recent plastic concerns etc agree with your concerns. But mpo is, if toxic chemical leeching was a real problem it would probably effect the plant or fruit some way. And I don't hear alot or none of that. I feel it has to be healthier than the store bought commercialized produce picked early and covered in chemicals to stay fresh looking, that you get at the 'super market' LoL

I think it should be ok. But I would stay away from any containers that held some really nasty chemical of what ever.. Later
Rob

Hey Rob,
No way, I didn't take your post as being sarcastic in any way! I may have come across different though, and I did think that what you wrote was pretty funny. Anyways, thank you for the post, and I might lean more towards your side of the information. I guess I can't know for sure until I try it, right? HA I'm just thinking of allthe possibilities of what could be planted in these things! LOL
I really would like to try to grow some very highly nutritious fruits/veges, which being that I'm so tight, would be a much better option considering the ridiculous prices of regular produce which is not near as nutrient dense, and like you said, so chemically laden! LOL Bye for now.

Old thread, but I thought I would try to help.

I'm not sure of the type of plastic that is used in the Rubbermaid bins. Checking the recycle number, if it is on the tubs, can tell you what it is made of. Types 2, 4, and 5 are suppose to the better types of plastic that are BPA-free. Obviously a clay pot is probably a even safer choice, but there can always be surprises.

Hope this helps!

I disagree with the prior poster's information about the grades of plastic. I recall reading an article that stated that the higher the number the worse the danger is about leaching.

Best thing to do, if it is a concern, try to use food grade plastic bins. But you are looking to save money if you are looking to improvise. This is kinda like would you stop eating fish b/c it has mercury risks or does the benefit of eating mercury laced fish out weigh the risk....your call.

Donotuse Sterlite. TheyoffgasforyearsIusedthemforChristmas

You know... you gotta take some things with a grain of salt. Everything has positive and negatives. Not everyone can afford expensive stuff.

I have a big cinderblock garden set up. "Don't do it! The bricks will leach all your water!" they told me. Uh huh. As you can see by this old photo -- bit wilted, sorry it was the worst part of late July at the time -- apparently the plants survived.

While I was setting that up, I decided to use a whole bunch of Dollar
Store big tubs to plant things in. "Don't do it! The plastic has
chemicals and is weak!" they said. As you can see, despite these many
challenges, my homemade earthboxes worked out.

I also used a variety of terracotta pots; Ceramic pots; Walmart plastic pots;

...and everything grew. And I ate the result. And nobody died.

That was in 2006 that I first set all that up.

All of it was perfectly fine until March of 2015 when we had an ice storm. Horrible, especially for my trees.

Every single container I had was destroyed. Every. Single. One. The terracotta and the ceramic and the plastic -- as well as the tubs. A small fortune in gradually collected pots in front and back of my house. The only thing that wasn't destroyed was the cinderblock!

So all I can tell you is that all that stuff lasted for nine years for me -- all of those different things outdoors. And it only died with the ice storm and even my quality ceramic and terracotta pots bit the dust just as much -- often even worse, most the plastic just cracked, those others shattered.

So, you know, whatever... Do what you can afford, man! Gardening is fun! Plants grow even when we don't want them to, to which weeds attest. Put them in any growing media with some decent amendments for nutrients (or, in inorganic media and then water with nutrients), get the plant into the light, and it'll probably grow. That saying, "Don't let perfection be the enemy of good" probably fits here. If you've got lots of cash, buy premade products. If you don't, buy some cheap tubs (surprisingly, walmart online will now free deliver most of these things) and go to town. :-)

PJ

Wait - did someone die after eating vegetables grown in plastic containers? How did I miss that?