My younger son, now nearly 50, was always into growing things – an interest I encouraged when he was a child. He once entered a sunflower-growing contest, and years later is still smarting over the certificate he won – for his prize pumpkin.

Apparently the certificate was prophetic. He’s now taken to the craze of growing vegetables in an EarthBOX® one of those environmentally friendly container gardens you can order online.

“It’s amazing,” he said.  “The vegetables literally explode overnight.”

He said this as he introduced me to his own EarthBOXES®, now teeming with peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes.

Then, he added, “You have to have one.”

It was hard to argue.  My sunny yard space is limited, and so far, my only homegrown vegetables have been whatever a single tomato plant could produce. Last year the crop was so poor and late-blooming that I wound up air-frying a few puny green tomatoes and spiking them with remoulade sauce.

According to Amazon, though, the EarthBOX® promised “successful gardening anywhere” with just three easy steps:  assemble and (1) fill with peet-based commercial potting mix, (2) add dolomite and nutrients (supplied with the box) and (3) cover, plant and water.  The box, it promised, would be “durable, food-safe and UV-stabilized.”

I placed my order, and imagined a full crop of very healthy zucchini without inviting the vines to wind around hosta or grow up tree trunks.  I planted one straggly tomato plant by the back fence but said yes to the box.

When it arrived, I filled it eagerly with rich, black material from the corner hardware store, the nutrients included with the EarthBOX® planted some admittedly sickly-looking end-of-summer zucchini plants and snapped on the cover.

Unfortunately, on the way to the garbage can with the bag, I noticed that I’d mistakenly bought compost and mixed the other ingredients in with that.

No problem, I told myself, dumped the compost on the tomato plant, returned to the hardware store for the right planting mix,  and rushed to order more “nutrients.” They arrived.  Eventually.  And I replanted the uprooted zucchini, which had been languishing in my garage.

With all instructions finally followed, I dragged the hose out to the box each morning and dutifully poured water in the EarthBOX® spout.  With all the misadventures, I still got 6 environmentally-friendly zucchini, but…

Meanwhile, I’ve done nothing to the tomato plant, and it won’t quit. Dozens of tiny yellow blossoms have produced plump, juicy specimens. I guess compost still works.