Vertical Gardening

[mand_a_lion]

Has anyone had any experience - positive or negative - with vertical gardening?

In my never ending quest to expand my garden, I'm contemplating building something like this.  My version of this lovely planter would probably look a lot more utilitarian and be a bit longer.  Okay...a lot longer.  Eight feet longer.  I have a space that isn't working

Comments

[virginiadear]

Link isn't providing an image...?

[mommyspike]

http://www.gardenrant.com/my_weblog/2010/04/vertical-planters.html

(URL was on there twice)

[virginiadear]

Thanks! :^D
I missed the doubled URL!

[mand_a_lion]

Thanks! I fixed it. A little late. :P

[volatilefiona]

Might work?
I think strawberries need more sun than they would get on a north facing fence. It would probably work for salad greens though.

Here is a link about using rain gutters for vertical gardening. Might be a cost effective way to utilize the space.
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/072508/nei_309624417.shtml

[mand_a_lion]

Oh. My. God. I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!! Easy, cost effiecient, less chance of drying out...LOVE it!!! Can you tell that I'm practically dancing in my chair?? Thank you!

[forestcats]

Haven't tried that yet, however...

This year I experimented with 12 2L bottles that I attached vertically to a peg board. The results. Nadda. I'm in zone 9a and I found that the water waste was HUGE, the containers couldn't keep the roots safe in this heat. I've seen the walls where they use wool fabric but again huge amounts of water. They also only seem to be planted with herbs and salad greens, nothing fruiting.

My success this year were with Earthbox.com containers. Though I found that my own homemade ones Earthtainer.org were more productive for tomatoes.

I would want to know what the wood was treated with before you go for this experiment.

[volatilefiona]

I LOVE earthboxes. I have about 10 of them. I keep adding a few every year. Just about everything does well in them.

[forestcats]

Are you on their FB page, this spring they gave a 20% off sale and I got a group of friends and we ordered about 30. The automatic waterer was a GREAT investment for them as well.

[mand_a_lion]

I'm intrigued...

I'm currently using a lot of containers to suppliment my bed. I'm thinking this might be a fun experiment next spring.

[gyr8or]

That looks like it would dry out very quickly, you might have to rig up a drip system to keep the berries moist.

[virginiadear]

This. And if it's very hot, very dry (low humidity) or very breezy, even a drip system might not prevent the soil from drying out.
Strawberries want their feet slightly damp.

[virginiadear]

You know, after thinking a bit about your question, I think if I wanted to maximize my gardening space, I'd go for vertical gardening on trellises. And in fact, that's my big plan for next summer season. I'm going to get everything onto trellises that can be got onto trellises, which will free up some ground space, but I want to avoid "intensive" gardening

[sparklysadness]

I love square foot gardening!

This year I grew spaghetti squash, pumpkins, watermelon, and honey orange melons on trellises! (Vines! Vines! Everywhere!) But it worked to an extent. I need to get stronger, better trellises for next year (and remember to water more frequently), but I was happy with my harvest, and I'm pleased with square foot gardening in general.

I didn't even have to support a single fruit--and I was all prepared with cut up pantyhose too! :) I did place square of old plywood underneath the few fruit that ended up touching the ground, just so they wouldn't rot down there.

[virginiadear]

Mother Nature comes through for her babies, giving them the stems and vines they need for the circumstances in which they grow