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

Step 8 Maintaining a healthy hanging veg plot

- Water slowly with a gentle flow, or you may wash soil and plants out of the pocket and it will dirty the crop below.

- Add water retaining crystals to the compost. HINT... add water to some crystals in a container and allow them to swell then add that to the compost and fill your containers, otherwise when the crystals swell they can grow so much that they push the compost, seeds and plants out!!

- Plants like tomatoes will need regular Tomato fertilizer (and use slow release granules) as the fertility of the compost will soon get exhausted.

- Do not over pick salad leaves, so the plant regrows.

- It is important to keep a look out for aphids, slugs, caterpillars and other pests.

- Remove diseased , infected or damaged leaves... compost them.

- Remove unproductive plants and compost them

- When reusing pockets add some fresh compost.

Comments

[vmokoena]

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

[jessimata]

clever!
note: if you are at all considering eating the fruits of your labor; there are natural fertilizers and companion plants to aid in pest control instead of the chemical stuff.

[gardenheaven]

no chenicl stuff, very good,being organic vegetable

[anneangersbach]

so what plants would you recommend to help in pest control?
do you plant them in the same pockets or would you plant them around all the outer pockets, thereby providing a kind of barrier?

[feeorin]

marigolds, mix of herbs, things that would attract birds that like bugs, or bugs that eat other bugs. I always noticed the more mix of plants the better chemistry between everyone of them.

[Jenn_z28]

I have read that if you combine certain plants together aka companioning it is a natural way to ward of certain pests. For example you should combine 3 basil plants per one tomato plant. Not only do you keep pests down you save space in your garden and have a slight basil undertone taste in your tomatoes :) Look up companion planting as an organic solution to pesticides.

[stick0]

usually fragrants or allums (onion garlic chives) or grow some reallllly hot peppers and dry or grind them and mix(also with a glove of garlic?) let the mixsteep in the sunin a glass closable jar. like a un clasped glass flip top then strain/dilute with a drop of soap and spray it on. but label and put this stuff up. and dont use during the flowering season if you looking to have it polenated

[Sithean]

This is a lovely and informative instructable. Thank you so much for sharing!

[LaLasha]

this is totally cool thanks for posting it next growing season I will try it or I may put it in my garage this winter with a lamp

[Little Valley]

Only compost the damaged leaves, not the diseased or infected ones!