VERTICAL VEGETABLES: "Grow up" in a small garden and confound the cats!

''How to solve a problem like cats digging and toileting in the vegetable patch'''''', and growing veg in a very small garden. I needed a solution and the answer occurred to me after watching The CheIsea Flower Show on TV and seeing walls of flowers and herbs. The only thing I had to hand was a hanging pocket shoe store and I decided to use it to grow my plants in. I have included the dates I took the photographs to give readers an idea how quickly the veg grew.

Step 1 Materials needed

- Hanging pocket shoe organiser /store.
- Pole and attachments ( curtain pole or pipe fittings, screws).
- Strong metal saucepan or utensil hanging hooks
- Compost of a good quality moisture holding type.
- Selection of plants or seeds... e.g. mixed leaf salad, herbs,sorrel, peas, mini tomatoes.
- Piece of wood 2"x2" as long as the width of the pocket store to keep the base of pockets away from the wall.
- Trough planter to catch drips.

Comments

[AEHaecherlSmith]

My husband and I just installed some of these in our back yard and we love it. We just mounted it with screws to our fence. We also pre-soaked our soil and it has helped a lot.

Thanks for the great idea!

[lyeshea]

How messy is this?

In september I'm moving from a house with a yard to an apartment. I'm trying to figure out if I could modify this to be an indoor project and get some green inside my new apartment.

Thanks!

[feeorin]

Marigolds are excellent pest control, also adding a mix of different herbs help, adding flowers help birds that like buggies find the place too. Plenty of options!

I am struggling since I moved to a totally new climate than I am used to. Most of my life in a desert, new how to grow there, or in the Military, but now I am in a condo, small lanai (porch sort of) lots of shade in my area. I have one pocket of sun however the homeowners association is so terribly picky about these things, so I am pondering how to make them happy, yet provide vertical growing space for me.

I dont have much for tools, might have to borrow, however I was thinking of making a "homeowners association" read: pretty enough to make the people that have naught better to do than pick on people trying to add beauty in plants and vegi's happy. Perhaps a wooden variation of this? if I could find enough scrap wood, perhaps I can paint it with some "green" paint that wont leech into the plants, then hope that will work. Not simple, but I have no other solutions *sigh* Plenty of space in the shadow area of the lanai but the veggies wont care for that so much.

[frozenkamote]

Awesome idea, i'm an apartment dweller with not much space at home so this is a swell idea to do, thanks for sharing, I have the exact same shoe organizer that I can upcycle to this planter

[PoeDunkMae]

Does it matter what kind of shoe organizer you use?  Does it need to be "breathable" or can you use one of the kind that has the clear plastic pockets?  I am planning on doing this project this spring with my children, and I thought it would be neat if they could "see" the dirt and roots growing in the clear pockets, but I wanted to see if that would work first.

This is an AWESOME AWESOME IDEA I love it!! Now I feel dumb for tossing out our old shoe organizer! 

[femmepasseule]

The only caution I would make is that if you plan to use it for food plants, herbs, lettuce etc, be sure that the material will not leach harmful substances into the soil. If you are just using it for decorative plants, no problem whatever you want to use I would imagine.

[pippa5]

 hi You can use clear if you want but roots will tend to grow towards the dark ie into the soil. You will also get algae and other green weed seeds germinating and growing... educational perhaps. If you stick ( using duct tape) black plastic or cloth to some of the pockets then the roots are more likely to be visible when the black plastic is removed, or peeked under!! Or go creative and cut holes in the black mask and see what happens.
I used non breathable as it retained the moisture better . But have a go and experiment with what you can find and the children will be able to observe and learn . Good luck  You may not get vast crops but is a good way of saving space and sparking an interest

[andrewsvan]

How do pepper plants do in this style of planting. I was considering upside down planting this year but this is very practical if peppers do well in this.

[pippa5]

i have not tried peppers but small variety may be ok
has anyone else tried peppers?

[tprobst2]

Great idea for hot area like Texas can move in and out when to hot, also great for the kids to do, homeschooling always looking for ideas, thanks. We will be getting back to you with pics when done, on facebook.

[aliceaod]

This is an awesome idea. Thanks for posting. I see shoe racks at the thrift stores sometimes. Next time I'm picking one up. I wouldn't grow any food in containers that are not food-grade plastic, such as this, but that's just me. Flowers, sure but not food. I'd be more inclined to stick plants in pop bottles and then put the pop bottles into this for vertical gardening.

[grammaelso]

wow--what a great idea--all I have is a balcony-- but I do have a wall to hang this on--I priced some pockets but they were costly--this looks great--thanks!!!

[tincanz]

Super awesome Idea!!!

Is it alright with you if I add it to my "plants" group?

[pippa5]

yes thats ok

[teddy6]

Can i share your article into our website http://www.alagad.com.ph
here in the Philippines
attribution to you Pippa5 and instructables.com

[pippa5]

yes i am fine with that

[fulgenteft]

http://bound-less.tumblr.com/post/18413090035/shoe-organizer-planter

Thanks so much! I had no idea what to do with the one sunny corner I have on my patio, and this is my answer! I couldn't drill into my patio wall, so I had to be really creative about how I hung the organizer. For those who can't mount a curtain rod or similar mounting hardware for any reason, I've found strap ties are strong enough to hold the weight of the plants and flexible enough to be bent into most requisite shapes.

[frelnc]

Hello, Pippa. Had to sign up as a member here so I could congratulate you on your wonderful idea. I have one of those things hanging on my bathroom door with 3 pairs of shoes in it. The rest of my shoes are in a neat row in another room. Now I can use it for something useful in my postage stamp of a garden! Thanks so much for this brilliant idea - and the others that took root when I viewed your lovely little garden - ALL containers! I love that. Hope to see others posts from you. Thanks again! Fabulous idea!

M

[WUVIE]

What a wonderful idea, thanks for sharing!

[mrfoltz]

Great Ideal!!!! I'm trying this, this winter inside.. I got the shoe bag for $1 at the dollar store and I'm going to put plastic cups in them [so not to make a mess] I got 20 cups for 50 cents for 5....
I think it will come in handy to cover the outside of my brick fireplace that warms up the house in the summer too much???

THANKS for the great ideal.. I've passed it on to several people!!!!

[avaughan1]

wow pippa I just have to say your 1 smart cookie...I took your idea and ran with it... literally..I now have 6 shoebag planters hanging on my balcony wall///take a look..http://n0va59.blogspot.com/2011/06/my-shoebag-green-wall.html. Thank you so much for this "smart" green idea

[pippa5]

i had a look at your blog thank you for telling me about it. You really have gone to town with growing stuff and enjoying it too. thank you for sharing what you have done and good luck experimenting with what to grow
pippa

[LULUBUG53]

Hi pippa

Just wondering what the material is that your shoe organizer is made of ?
We have some plastic and some fabric. What would you suggest?

[kelia]

The tomatoes probably didn't work out so well since they have large roots and are deep water drinkers.. Rosemary should do well. This is a great idea. I have a gazebo who lost its canopy I hang planters filled with flowers and vegetables from it now

[Smaridge01]

I'm terribly late in finding your very excellent idea, but I wanted to add one more benefit of this vertical garden... INSULATION!  Each wall that you hang this on gets the advantage of insulation from the hot sun!

I live in Florida, and the idea of a living wall, to absorb the heat of the sun and add more green to the home, is not new.  But this is a new idea for ways to get it done.  I love it.  Good job.  

Now I am going outside to look at my hottest, most sun-exposed walls and ponder your vertical garden.

[padawanspider]

I'm in coastal MS, and curious: did you try it and if so, did your plants survive the heat? How frequently did you have to water/did you have an automatic system?

My frustration with growing in containers is that lately I have to water almost every day... you'd think the humidity would keep it from evaporating so quickly.

[octapoda]

i live on gulf coast, and i have to water mine every other day- its my herb garden, in partial sun on my patio. but even though i have to water often, i dont have to water very much, because there is no competition for the water- no weeds and so little soil in each pocket. mine has worked great for over a year now.

[Smaridge01]

I never did try it. It became part of a long list of neat ideas that I guess is waiting for me to win the lottery or retire. =D

[octapoda]

i did this as my herb garden last summer, and they have been prolific. great for small root systems, never have to weed and no bug problems either. i love the way my patio walls look covered with lavender and parsley...:)

[vmokoena]

Wow! More can be done with containers.... Wonderful concept.

[uhsnamih]

awesome job

[csantiago3]

I love the idea!!!! thanks <3

[circleofashe]

Love! Love! Love this! I can't wait to try it out this weekend!

[EmKay73]

So, I have the cover for one of those garment racks and it has pockets on 2 sides--and it's already taken apart. I can't decide whether to make 2 long hangers or a couple of saddles for over my porch railings! I could do ornamentals/flowers on one side and herbs on the other! Oh the possibilities!

[dianaw]

That is a GREAT idea! (the saddle- ornamentals on one side-)
Thanks.

[Friesenliese]

Very good Idea! I'll try it this summer with herbs :-)

[Silver Buttons]

This would be a great way to grow peppermint! As many have found out the hard way, once peppermint takes root in your yard or garden, it can grow like crazy and you'll never get rid of it. This would prevent that from happening.

You could also make a hanging flower garden on the side of your house or garage. What a fun project!

[KittyF]

my husband got rid of all my peppermint, by mowing it weekly. it took two years, and I'm sad but he did it. I'll try something like this. he can't "accidentally" mow a vertical herb garden. LOL

[agatornz]

great idea - what material is yours made from and how long does it last before the outdoors and water get to it?

[pippa5]

Glad you like the idea. I cannot say how long it will last . I moved house last summer so had to take everything out of the garden and its in storage. I have a larger patch this year and a poly tunnel so unless the cat are a problem I may not need to use this idea again.