Vertical Gardening – How to Grow Vertically
What better way to make a chain link fence beautiful and useful than to grow juicy grapes vertically? Watch the vines transform the ugly industrial nature of the chain link fence as your vining plants grow…
There are no limits to what you can do, if you just think outside the box. The urban gardener’s biggest challenge is space, but that never stops me and it shouldn’t stop you, either.
Vertical gardening is a must in order to maximize your growing space, especially in the city. The plants that are the best candidates for this method of gardening are grapes, cucumbers, pumpkins, even watermelons, or any type of vining plant which can all be grown in small spaces by planting them along a fence, an arbor, or building a support yourself. In this video, I will take you on a tour of my vertical garden showing you my cucumbers and pumpkins, both of which are doing just fine. I’ll even show you how to build alternative supports.
Years ago, I started building trellises for my garden beds and implementing chain link as the perfect support for heavy crops like watermelon and pumpkin. Another creative solution that I have used is implementing a 4X4 Dog Kennel that is a chain link fence structure. The size works perfectly with my 4X4 raised beds and the vines of my crops latched on effortlessly to this type of structure. Other plants that can be grown vertically are heirloom tomatoes, beans, and garden peas.
Check out the video and see how easily I whip up an additional one-wall structure that attaches easily to the base of one of my existing 4X4 raised beds. Once you secure your mesh wiring to the wooden base, you will be able to easily move it to another raised bed when needed by simply unscrewing it.
Important Reminder for Vertical Gardening: Read your seed packet!
- The best types of watermelon plants are sugar baby or ice box varieties since they don’t grow to be too big or too heavy.
- Cucumbers, watermelon and pumpkins are all susceptible to wilt which can kill the plant before fully fruiting.
- Read your seed packets carefully, some seed farms have developed strains that are disease resistant.
What is Vertical Hydroponics Gardening?
Vertical gardens and living walls add a whole new dimension to hydroponics gardening. Apart from space constraint, vertical gardening gives an attractive alternative for unwanted views, adds interest to boring walls, and produces the same amount or even more fresh vegetables as a regular garden. Most of the fruits and veggies like tomatoes, lettuce, strawberries, herbs, pepper, pumpkin etc. can be grown in your vertical garden.
While contemplating a vertical garden, keep the following things in mind:
•Location: Make sure your plants get enough sunlight; and if you have seasonal winds, ensure the plants are well protected. If you have a balcony or patio with limited sun exposure, choose plants accordingly. Leafy vegetables like lettuce and cabbage do well in shaded areas.
•Choice of vegetables: Nearly any vegetable grown in the ground will work well as a container-grown plant in your vertical garden. Shelves work best for vertical gardening, as it gives you plenty of space for numerous types of vegetables. The best type of shelving is the kind with slats – this allows better circulation and excess water will trickle down from top to bottom. Trellises are ideal for growing trailing or vine crops, or you can also use fences, hanging baskets, tiers, or ladders.
With minimum available space you can easily prepare a vertical hydroponics system that is quite functional. It’s simple to maintain a vertical hydroponics system but the construction part requires little bit of skills.
Tools needed to prepare your own vertical hydroponics garden:
•Screw gun
•4 wood screws of size 3-inch
•Plywood of size ½-inch and 2-by-6 feet
•3 rockwool plastic slabs, of 4-by-6-by-48 inches
•12 eye hooks, ¼-inch
•8 feet long nylon string
•Water pump
•18-gallon tote
•Box cutter
•Black vinyl tubing ¼-inch, 8 feet
•2 “T” fittings, 1/4-inch
•12 rockwool plugs
•2 eye hooks, 3-inch
•Chain, 4 feet
•HPS bulb, 600-watt along with the cooling unit
•Ballast, 600-watt
Simple method to build your own vertical hydroponics garden with simple hyroponics supplies:
•Fix your plywood in a vertical position onto the wall where you have decided to set your vertical hydroponics system. Fix the 2-foot side of the bottom on the ground.
•Set the rockwool slabs opposite the plywood with equal space between them. See to it that there is 2 feet of clearance between the top of the slabs. Fix the eye hooks at the distance of 6 inches from above the slabs so that they are equally spaced and 18 inches from the edge of the plywood. Repeat this process by maintaining a distance of 18 inches from the plywood bottom and support the slabs with the help of nylon string.
•Now divide the vinyl tubing into two sections of about 4-inch each. The plastic that is placed on the top side of the slabs. Fix tubing of two inches and insert into the holes that are drilled to the left and middle of the slabs. Now fix one “T” fitting on each section. And connect tubing that travels between them. Now connect the 8-inch tubing to the middle “T”-fitting and connect the end to the last slab. Connect the remaining T-fitting to the left and run it towards the lower end of the slab.
•Set your 18-gallon tote underneath the slabs and cut the plastic at the bottom of every slab. The excess nutrient solution is drained in to the tote by the slabs. Now connect the water pump into the tote with connected ¼-inch tubing.
•Now your vertical hydroponics system is ready to use and you can commence gardening by adding seedling in the plugs that are further placed in the rockwool. Cut a 3-inch slice over the plastic slab to provide some space for the plug. Ad nutrient solution into the tote, and start your water pump.
•You can hang your HPS unit by hanging it on the 3-inch eye hook. The unit should be placed as such that the bulb is parallel with the vertical slabs and 4 ½ feet distance away. With the help of a chain you can position the cooling unit in proper angle so that the light covers all the slabs without much waste.
Portable Garden – An Excellent Alternative for Gardening
The benefit of a portable garden greenhouse is that it can actually be collapsed down, packed up and taken along wherever, which can be extremely convenient. Simply because the portable garden greenhouse is scaled-down it is nevertheless just as useful. It will still get the job done by covering factories and keeping it covered from blowing wind, ice, snowfall, insects, birds and other pests. It helps to keep critters like raccoons and rabbits far from crops so that they can not nibble on them and chew them up. If there are crops growing in a garden or fish-pond with a desire to keep it from getting destroyed, the portable garden greenhouse can be merely put over the top.
A growing number of folks find the reasonably priced and easy assembly of a portable garden greenhouse to be appealing. However space and budget are crucial considerations there are plans to purchase a starter portable garden greenhouse, or even to build one of own. These two important factors can help in making the right decision regarding the type of greenhouse to be constructed or purchased. While planning, it should be ascertained that portable garden greenhouse will have access to all the essentials such as heat, air and water. Once it is decided on size, it’s time to consider the materials to build portable garden greenhouse, and what is to be raised in it.
Portable garden is less complex than permanent gardens. It can be protected from any environmental conditions. It can also be protected from any seasonal diseases. Portable garden is best solutions for beginners looking to try their hand in bigger greenhouses without a large initial investment. Portable garden is easy to maintain. Portable gardeners can grow expensive medicinal herb plants and varieties of plants. The most important thing is that the portable garden is Indoor and it can also be called as indoor-outdoor portable garden. Because it can be moved to any location it is indoor like kitchen and outdoor as balcony.
The gardens grow right in their own wheeled container and are kept in a central geodesic community greenhouse. Building a portable garden planter allows to grow fruits and vegetables on porch or deck in the apartment or condo. Because they are portable, it can be moved to a more sunny location or pulled into the shade on a hot day.
All About Herb Gardening Plants
Herb plants can grow anywhere — in kitchen gardens or in containers. Fresh herb plants bring flavor and fragrance to even the simplest dish. And they’re easy to grow, whether planted in their own special plot or interspersed among other plants. Many thrive in containers, too, gracing a deck or patio.
Choose a planting spot that receives 6 to 8 hours of full sun each day. Well-drained soil is essential; if drainage is poor, amend the soil with plenty of organic matter or plant in raised beds. Work in a complete fertilizer before planting, following the label directions for amounts. Herb plants aren’t heavy feeders, so this will suffice for the entire growing season.
Most perennial herb plants are easier to start from purchased transplants than from seed. Nurseries offer many sorts in spring, typically in 2- or 4-inch pots; rosemary and sage are also sold in gallon containers. Annual and biennial herb plants such as basil, cilantro, dill, and parsley can be started from seed.
Water herb plants after planting to get them established. Once they’re growing steadily, though, most will need only occasional irrigation; exceptions are basil, chives, and parsley, which prefer evenly moist soil.
When perennial herb plants resume growth in early spring, feed them with a complete fertilizer or spread compost around the base of each plant.
Harvest herb plants for drying just as the first flower buds begin to open. The oils in the leaves are most concentrated at this time, and the herb plants will maintain their flavor when preserved. Cut sprigs or branches in the morning, after dew has evaporated; tie them together at the cut ends and hang them upside down in a warm, dry, well-ventilated place out of direct sunlight. When the leaves feel crisp, strip them from the stems and store in airtight jars.
Herb plants can also be dried by removing the leaves from the stems and spreading them on screens placed in a warm, dry, airy place out of direct sunlight. The leaves should be stirred in the trays every few days. When they feel crisp and crumble easily, they should be stored in airtight jars.
What Gardening Tool Is Right For You
So if you are thinking about starting a garden you will need to start with some basic gardening tools. But before you go shopping, you need to ask yourself a few simple but important questions. How big will my garden be? What am I going to plant? Do I want to plant vegetables, flowers or both? How much time am I willing to devote to my garden?
Now that you have determined the size of your garden and what you want to plant, choosing the right garden tools is not only essential, but can make gardening and yard care much easier. Many basic tools can be used for multi-purposes. But keep in mind you get what you pay for. Always buy the highest quality of tools that you can afford. Cheap tools are just that…cheap. They will not last long and you will constantly be replacing them. But high quality does not mean they can be neglected. Proper cleaning and storage of your tools is a must.
The next thing to do is know what gardening tools are essential to your garden. Every garden needs some if not all of the following tools: Shovel, digging fork, spade, rake, hoes, edger, watering can or garden hose and hand pruners.
When selecting your tools, it is important that they are comfortable for you. Check the weight of the tool. If it is too heavy chances are you will avoid using it. If it is too light you will most probably have to use more of your own energy to get the job done. Make sure the tool’s shaft is straight. High quality wood is usually straight. Do not buy tools with painted handles as they may be hiding a lower quality of wood. And when buying cutting tools, make sure to buy ones with rubber bumpers. When you make the cut, they will absorb all of the shock. And be sure to take care of your hands by purchasing a good set of garden gloves.
Also, consider your size. Short-handled tools may be very uncomfortable for a tall person to use. Longer handles tend to provide more leverage. A good rule of thumb is to try both long and short handle tools to see which works best for you.
If you are planning on a fruit or vegetable garden, there are many farming tools from which to choose. Tilling tools prepare the ground for the seeds. Tilling tools can be small, hand operated tillers. Harvesting farming tools such as a sickle is typically used for harvesting grain crop. A sickle is curved and the inside is sharp so it can draw the blade against the grain of the crop.
Keep in mind there are many gardening tools and farming tools that are Made in the USA. Before making your purchases, do some research and look for high quality tools that are made in the USA. After all, this will certainly help in bringing jobs and prosperity back to the United States of America.