Dean Simpson - Vertical Gardening: Guide On Vertical Gardening For Beginners For Homesteading

Vertical Gardening Guide

T hank you for choosing this book! This is your personal guide to vertical gardening and you can have your very own vertical garden within no time if you follow the steps that are given in this book!

Do not get intimidated by the idea of vertical gardening. Vertical gardening can be really simple like hanging planters on your porch or it could be complex like the ones that make use of trellised growing system. The idea of vertical gardening is very simple, it is about growing up and not growing out, this will help in conserving the space on ground.

Vertical gardening would be the perfect solution if you live in a city where theres a space crunch but still want to have your own garden. It requires very little space and it can add some life and color to the concrete jungle we reside in, isnt that wonderful?

So, without further ado, lets get started!

A vertical garden makes use of a container and a system that would let you place the plants in a vertical fashion. Usually vertical gardens are attached to the wall or they are created in such a manner that they would lean against the wall. Well, it really is that simple and maintaining it is as easy as maintaining a regular garden. If you are just starting out with vertical gardening should learn the basics like selecting a location, the equipment required, types of vertical gardens, selecting the plants and the maintenance of a vertical garden.

For instance, while you are selecting plants, as a gardener you will have to select the ones that would thrive in a vertical garden. Some plants tend to do better than others, like strawberries, any vines or other plants that can be grown well in a container. In the Three Sisters model of gardening, you can grow corn, beans and squash in a single pot. The vines of beans and squash would make use of the corn stalk for growing. So, you will need to think before you decide on the kind of plants that you would want to grow. Regardless of the plants that you have selected, they will all require sunlight if you want your garden to thrive. So, you will need to select a location where the plants would get ample sunlight. Vertically gardening can take on many forms. Gardeners can make use of hanging pots, containers placed at different eye levels or even vertical kits. Depending upon the location, the type of plants that you would want to grow, the type of vertical garden you would want to create, the equipment you would need would differ. You will learn about all this in the coming chapters.

It is really important that you pick the location for the vertical garden carefully. The site that you have selected will let you determine the different types of plants that you can grow. For growing fruits and vegetables you will need to pick a spot that will ensure that the plants get at least 6 hours of direct sunlight and they cannot survive if they are planted in shadier areas.

However, there are some herbs and greens that dont need much sunlight for their growth and can be grown well in containers for vertical gardening. If you want to grow your garden indoors, then you will need to opt for indoor plants that can grow well without much sunlight like spider plants or even some greens. You might not be able to grow fruit bearing plants but you will definitely be able to uplift the atmosphere and indoor air quality.

W hats really fetching about vertical gardening is that you can make use of containers of different types and sizes. The key to vertical gardening is selecting the type of garden that would be ideal for the space thats available. For instance, if its a small space then you should select a vertical planter that would be placed flat against a wall. Some vertical gardens can also act as privacy screens and you can plant on both the sides and not just one. In other situations, where you might want to add or switch plants. Then in such a case it would be ideal if you make use of removable pots for the vertical frame. Of course, there would be other factors that would influence your decision like the costs involved, types of plants, whether you want to build or buy the vertical planter, and watering needs of the plants and so on. In this chapter we will take a look at the different types of vertical gardens that are there.

T his might have attracted most of the people to vertical gardening. This type of a vertical garden is either free standing or it is attached to the wall or it can be designed for either indoor or outdoor use. The vegetation or plants that you might want to grow can either encase the entire structure or can be enclosed in a very shallow frame.

T his is another way of growing plants vertically and in this type of vertical gardening, the containers are made out of breathable felt fabric and resemble pockets in which plants can be grown. You can also make use of a fabric shoe organizer if you are running low on the budget.

T his is essentially made up of long and narrow beds that are arranged in a fashion resembling a staircase. Plants would grow up instead of growing outwards. This might seem more diagonal than vertical, but it still makes a really good use of growing space and would be fit for urban gardeners who dont have any wall space.

Y es, you guessed it right. This is a planter that is fashioned out of a normal rain gutter. This can either be arranged in horizontal rows or it can be arranged diagonally so that it facilitates in better drainage of water. Depending upon the depth of the gutter, the size of the plants that you can grow in it would vary.

R ecycled wood shipping pallets can also be fashioned into a vertical garden. They can be made to lean against a fence or a wall, they can be free standing if they have support posts or even by hanging from the wall. You can make use of them for vertical gardening provided there is some waterproofing material placed between the planter and the structure. For preventing the soil from escaping from the wooden pallets, you can staple landscaping fabric to the sides and the back of the pallet.

Y ou might have seen vines that are growing vertically from a trellis, but you might not have realized that you can cover structures of different types and shapes by making use of the vines. You could buy the regular trellis form any of your local gardening supplies store or you can create your own from either wood or wire according to your own requirements.

Y ou can design your own garden by making use of PVC pipes by making them stand up straight like a tower or by placing them in horizontal rows against the wall or a fence. In either of the cases, you will simply have to drill holes into your pipes through which your plants can grow. If you are letting the pipe simply stand vertically, then you can plant all around the pipe. Any bushy plant or vine would be ideal and eventually the plant would cover the entire PVC pipe.

T his might be the easiest method for creating a vertical garden, because you simply have to hang the ceramic or plastic garden pots to the wall. The containers should be arranged closely and in a symmetric manner that would provide a sophisticated look. With multiple individual containers, watering the pots can be easy; plants can also be removed or replaced very easily. Herbs, seasonal as well as perennial plants would be best suited for this type of a garden.