Vertical Gardening

Vertical Gardening can be a gardener's dream, especially if you have limited space to grow vegetables.

Advantages of Vertical Gardening

Air circulation is increased so fruit and foliage dry of faster when wet from rain. Also, fruit and foliage diseases are reduced.

As fruit is not lying on the ground, rot problems and damage from soil born diseases is eliminated.

Here is one of my favorites. Because you use less soil as traditional gardening, you won't have to weed as often.

Because your plants are up high, there are fewer problems with pests as many can't reach your plants.

Vertical gardening offers the opportunity to grow just about any kind of vining plant with great success.

Choosing Plants for Vertical Gardening

Depending on what kind of construction system you use (and we will discuss this later), you can grow such popular vegetables as tomatoes, snap peas,lima beans, roma beans, cucumbers, acorn or butternut squash, corn and some varities of melons.

Vegetable Garden Tips- When you head to the nursery, make sure you buy vining plants not the bush varieties.

That said...There are two important things to keep in mind about vertical gardening. First your choice of vegetable plants you intend to grow, and second suitable construction material.

Vining plants climb by means of tendrils, twining, or clinging, and will need a strong structure to support their weight.

Vegetable Plants and Construction Material

Vegetable Garden Tips- When you go to your garden nursery, choose tomato plants that are indeterminate.

Because tomatoes are a vining plant, they are an excellent choice for vertical gardening. Three bamboo poles fashioned in a tripod style, tomato cages, or a telescopic sprial tree are ideal structures that allow tomato vines to grow upward with little help or encouragement.

Beans like tomatoes, can grow as bushes but grow well vertically, use similar construction material that you use for your tomato plants.

Pole beans do well on a trellis, tripod, or arbor. They can grow as high as six feet so keep this in mind when planning your construction.

Now that you have an idea of some plants you can grow in a vertical garden, and construction material you can use, let's expand on this idea.

Dollar Cost and Constructon Material

How much money do you want to spend on your vertical garden?

Depending on how much you are willing to spend; vertical gardening can cost you several hundred dollars or more.

Now the good news!...It doesn't have to.

Look around your yard for any existing vertical structures you can use for your plants to climb.

Do you have a chain link fence? This is an ideal support for your plants plus you get the added advantage of adding a little beauty and privacy to an otherwise bland or ugly setting.

You can pick up vertical lattice at Lowes or Home Depot made from rough wood available in four feet wide by seven feet high sections for less than ten dollars per section. They make a great support system for your plants and can be errected most anywhere in your garden.

One of my favorite locations is next to the side of my house or against my garden wall. I also leave a little space between the wall and lattice for air circulation for my plants. You can brace the bottom of the lattice structure by inserting the bottom lattice stakes into the ground.

Hang twine (jute variety is very good) from a tall overhead horizontal structure such as patio or balcony and fasten the twine at the bottom to the floor of the structure. At the end of the growing season the twine can be discarded along with any intertwined vine growth.

Bamboo shoot or wood fashioned into a three pole tripod is another inexpensive structure ideal for growing vining plants.

Telescopic plastic spiral trees (which are light weight) specifically designed for vining plants are also available for between ten and twenty dollars. You can purchase these from the internet or perhaps your local hardware store.

Another pre-manufactured ready to use structure are planter boxes which can also be purchased at a very reasonalbe price.

And of course...the most basic of all structure, inserting a single pole or stick in your vegetable container pot to tie your plants as it grows.

For tying your plant to this form of support use stretchable green tape available at any garden center. It is easy to tie and knot to support the vegetable plant and will not harm them or impede their growth.

If you don't mind spending some extra money you can spice up the look of your garden by purchasing garden arbors, trellises, or pergolas. Either of these structures are available in an assortment of sizes, shapes and material. If you go to the internet, you will find a list of manufactures offering a wide variety of colors and shapes. They are pricey, so shop around a little before you make your purchase.

We usually think of vertical gardening as growing upward. Remember too it can also grow down. If your garden space is really small, why not use hanging baskets from porches or the patio balcony. You can also add a touch of flare by choosing different pots of different sizes, shape and color.

Gardening Plant Care

Vegetable plants need sunlight to grow and produce fruit. Do keep this in mind when you plan or decide where your plants will be located. If you are not sure of the bright sunny areas in your garden, go out when it is sunny and check the arc of the sun throughout the day noting areas the sun reach and those areas that are in the shade. Simply put...Find an area in your garden that will receive full sunlight.

You can also check with your local nursery for advice on plants that will thrive in conditions they will encounter in your garden.

Do keep in mind that vertical gardening plants will cast a shadow. Plant them away from any sun loving crops you may be growing. However, shade tolerant crops will love and welcome your vertical garden plants that cast a shade.

Because vertical growing plants are exposed to greater air circulation, they dry off more quickly than non-staked vegetable plants. This helps in reducing fungus disease and fruit rot. However having greater air circulation will also cause the plant soil to dry out quicker especially on sunny days, and you will have to water and fertilize your vertical plants more frequently. Avoid letting the soil become completly dry.

Vegetable Garden Tips- To reduce frequent watering, use mulch at the base of the plants.

Vegetable Garden Tips- If you grow plants on the side of a wall or side of your house be sure sun doesn't reflect too much heat for that type of plant.

Vegetable Garden Tips- To check to see if the ground is warm enough to grow cucumbers at the beginning of the planting season, sit on the ground for a few minutes. If it doesn't feel cold then it is warm enough to plant.

And now you're ready to start!

Happy Gardening