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

Step 9: Develop the idea

- NEXT I would like...
-to hang up more shoe stores and pocket organisers, to increase the harvest.
Could it become addictive??? will I end up covering every available wall?
- try out different vegetables and herbs
- add an automatic drip watering system.

Comments

[Latona38]

Thank you so much for sharing your idea! I just moved to an apartment and have a small patio and couldn't figure out how I would grow a garden without taking up all of my outdoor space! I can't wait to try this!!

[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.

[SweetCarol]

Have to be careful nothing to leach into the dirt, like from plastic and no fire retardant in it that could leach into soil for any food products. Flowers would be fine. I am like you, I like the idea of growing food. Need to find something that doesn't have flame retardant and no plastic.

[iamoma]

What about using large (or whatever size fits) Ziplock food bags inside each of the pockets?

[SweetCarol]

Might drown the plants as watrer goes in and if can't leak out then the roots will get too wet and rot.

[pippa5]

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

[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!

[SweetCarol]

Do you have a patio or balcony Why not against the apartment wall? need sun o grow light. Do have dripping on ground.
Good luck

[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!

[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

[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

[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.

[ebonyenchantress]

could you use the no dirt method for this ? not hydro. my brother used some kind of pellets and water with fertilizer

[pippa5]

 I have not tried it but I am a great believer in trying things and different methods suit different people. Good luck

[bckhor]

You mentioned about auto drip watering system. Any tips or instruction on that. I planned to do it but it would be troublesome if to water manually if I were to hang them high.

[pippa5]

 I have not added a drip watering system yet. So hope someone else can advise you. 

[starny]

I love the idea a lot, but have one concern. I once had a shoe holder like this one that tore on top, pulling the grommets out of the fabric, from just the weight of the shoes. (My feet aren't that large!) The soil and plants weigh much more. I think we should be careful when choosing which shoe organizer to buy.

[pippa5]

May be I will make a support to take some of the weight off the grommets thanks "a stitch in time saves nine" . I will then add it to the instructable.

[rhaubejoi]

What about a couple or 3 more grommets on the top?  OR stitch the pole across the whole top with some heavy-duty thread?  Such as an upholstery thread?  Just a thought...
Brilliant idea and a great job on the instructible too!

[Swampy591]

This is amazing...I am so excited to make my own in the spring!  Thanks for sharing!

[Panda.Bear]

wonderful! I can't wait to starting planting in every pot, on every wall ect. this spring. Thanks for the idea!

Very beautiful container garden, btw!

[sugar pants]

Very Creative! Can't wait to see more instructables on your garden!!

[hulaslip]

Do you think that this could be an indoor reality?

[pippa5]

It depends on the light you need for herbs and veg and if you have a sunny area you could try. But you could be more successful growing indoor ornamental plants in it succulents and cacti would not need too much watering. I do beleive in experimenting good luck

[ashtonwings]

have you had any problems with the fabric mildewing or rotting? is there enough room for the roots to grow and can you transplant a plant from this process into a bigger pot?

[pippa5]

THis is the first year. The fabric has become stained brown and green but an artist could paint on it so it looks better!! It is not rotting yet I will update the info later. I am sure it will be easy to "squeeze" out a plant from its pocket and repot if needed. I have not got to that stage yet as it is a work in progress

[Seam870]

As far as a successful fabric, why not experiment with canvas, nylon, plastic or/and heavy duty cloth. As for decoration, favorite scraps/ applications could be sewn, glued or ironed on. Thank you for your great idea.

[Claudia Moema]

By the way, how long has it been since you have gone to the green part of the supermarket? LOL This is really brilliant. Thanks for the instructable. This is great. Claudia Moema (Rio de Janeiro)

[jcurme]

What a great, original idea! And I love your yard. Can you describe what other tricks you're using in the yard? And specifically, is there something special about the 5 black plastic bins on the picnic table in the foreground?

[pippa5]

Thank you. The "Tricks" will be put on the next instructable I am writing.

[Janus Horus]

STEP 9:There is in France an architect who cover entire houses with plants of all kinds but climate is different. .Water is recycle and they don't need air condition in summer. I don't remember his name but I remember the video. He explain his technic. Worse to look for.

[pippa5]

THis is the sort of architectural vertical garden which inspired me to think small and improvise my vertical veg!!!

[tmboyd]

What an amazing idea! Do you find similar yields per square foot using this method compared to standard potting? You have definitely inspired an herb garden. Thanks

[pippa5]

Thank you for your interest. This is the first year, so yield is difficult to calculate. I replace the plants, pocket by pocket when they are finished so it is in continuous cultivation and I will see what grows in the winter... probably herbs I will update the information as time goes on.