What kind of vegetable gardener are you? Sow It Up! Try Vertical Gardening

If you are on Pinterest and you like gardening, you are aware of the newest craze – vertical gardening. It’s everywhere. Of course, old time gardeners have been doing it for years. They call it trellis gardening or growing up a tepee. No matter what you call it, vertical gardening is fun and makes great use of your available space.

Even if you have a traditional garden, there is a reason to go vertical. Our Pinterest board, Sow It Up! has tons of inspirational ideas you can bring into your garden. Get out your old ladders, bamboo poles and netting, then get ready for some new inspiration.

The Top Eight Reasons to Sow It Up!

1. Vertical gardening adds depth and interest to your garden.
2. It is a fantastic small space saver, allowing you to grow more in a small space.
3. You can use it with container gardening, giving you even more growing room.
4. Like a master gardener, you can be a master frugaler- finding creative ways to recycle and re-purpose what you already have.
5. You can increase your crop yield by growing vegetables up, not out (think melon or even pumpkin).
6. You can keep a keen eye on pests if you grow at eye level.
7. Vertical gardening helps you shade tender plants that are next to or below your crop.
8. You can create privacy where you need it- no more nosy neighbors.

Things to consider while making your vertical gardening plans

• Know how tall your plant will get at maturity, then match the support system. If you are growing 6 ft pole beans, plan accordingly.
• Are you creating any special watering conditions? Pallet and wall vegetable gardens may need extra help getting sufficient water down to the bottom.
• Is the area you’ve chosen to place your vertical garden able to handle the load? A pallet garden, fully watered, can be very heavy on your second floor balcony.
• Be sure the trellis system you’ve chosen sturdy enough to handle the load. I like to grow my tomatoes inside cages to keep them off the ground. I’ve learned the hard way that a cheap cage can buckle under the weight of a mature Mortgage Lifter tomato plant.
• Put your stakes, trellises and supports in at the same time you are planting. That way, you’ve reserved the space and mature plants will have the room they need.
• Make sure you will have access to the fruit or vegetable once the plant is mature. One year (when I was first learning, of course, because you only do it once…) I planted a bean tepee and didn’t leave a way inside to harvest the beans.
• Do you need a way to tie the plant to your support system? Not all vegetables that can be grown up have a built in “clinger” like peas do.  Use something that will let the plant continue to grow without digging into the stalk. Chenille pipe cleaners are my favorite choice and can be found at any craft store. You can also use a ball of twine or those “soft ties” from the gardening section of your store.
• Be aware of the direction of the sun – so you are not shading other plants unless you want to.

Vertical gardening books we like:

Vertical vegetable gardening ideas around the web:

Learn about Pallet Vertical Gardening from these excellent sites:
Life on the Balcony – How to Turn a Pallet into a Garden
Design Sponge – A smaller recycled pallet vertical garden project
Building a Vertical Pallet Garden with Chef Jamie – YouTube Video

Pocket Vertical Gardening | Wall Gardens
WoollyPocket | Living Walls
How to Install a Vertical Wall Garden w/ Shovel Art – YouTube Video

Recycled Pop Bottle Tower YouTube Video shows how to grow a wall of herbs and vegetables with recycled pop bottles and minimal water use. It’s pretty cool!

Other posts in the Vegetable Gardening Styles Series:

Vegetable Gardening Styles, Container Vegetable Gardening, Raised Bed Gardening, Square Foot Gardening, The Mittleider Method

Don’t miss our Gardening Boards on Pinterest!: Gardening: Sow What! – Gardening: Permaculture & Perennial Crops – Gardening: Growing & Using Herbs

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