I get pitched a lot of items as a garden blogger. Over the past 7 years, I’ve been offered  mosquito repellents, kink-less hoses and ostrich fertilizer. While I appreciate the passion and innovation of these start-ups, I almost always pass on accepting samples and a subsequent review. I like to think I’m a blogger with some integrity and many of these products don’t fit with who I am so I happily pass on the freebie.

But every once in a while an opportunity presents itself that is too good to pass up. A product that sells itself within seconds. A product that fits right in my wheel house. A product where I can’t say “yes please” fast enough.

The Eco Garden System is one of those products.

I was ridiculously fortunate to be given an Eco Garden System (“Original Garden”) for a trial and while it is too early to provide a full review, I can say the early votes are in and they are all extremely positive.

As you can see, this is a raised platform planter with so much more than meets the eye. Here are just some of the details:

• The Eco Garden System is made out of recycled “food contact grade plastic” which means there is no leaching from wood, no contaminants and should provide more longevity than that of a wooden planter.
• There is a water reservoir at the bottom of the planter and it is separated from the soil through a plant soil platform. This reservoir collects rain water so no water ever goes to waste.

• The separation of the water reservoir from the soil and ultimately the roots of the plants above, creates a desired “air gap”. This air gap allegedly leads to “super growth” as the roots hang in the gap, absorb the maximum amount of oxygen and thrive with all of the moisture.
• The water reservoir actually warms the soil temp above which allows for a longer growing season.
• If the water reservoir becomes too full, there is a drain at the bottom of the planter to allow for excess water to be disposed.

• If the water supply dwindles, you simply hook up a hose and fill the reservoir. Easy peasy.

I received mine a few weeks back and couldn’t wait to open the box and get to work.

Now if you know me, I’m kind of horrendous at all things DIY. That includes putting anything together. When the need calls, I always call my brother-in-law and beg for his guidance.

But not this time.

I did it all myself.

And while I’d love to pump myself up and tell you how proud I was of my accomplishment, the truth is it couldn’t have been any easier.

This is all I had to do a few times.

It took about 45 minutes to complete the assembly and I didn’t have to go back and correct myself at the very end.

Go me.

Once it was built, I found level ground in the garden and my new planter had a home.

I followed the suggestion on the website and filled the planter with a 4 to 1 ratio of organic garden soil and peat moss for moisture retention.

Since we are in the early stages of fall, I dug up some of my cold season veggie seeds and planted them in my shiny new planter.

And now we wait.

While I’m excited to see the seedlings emerge, I’m most excited to create a cut flower garden next spring.

So what do you think?

I’ll be working closely with this company moving forward and will see what we can do in terms of a giveaway/contest/discount.

More fun to come.