Utilizing Vertical Gardening to Save Space & Grow Healthier Veggies

Many would-be gardeners never get started because they think they don’t have enough space for it. If you fall into this category, you may be pleasantly surprised to learn how much you can actually grow in a very small area!

All it takes is a little creative thinking.

Unfortunately, many gardeners focus only on the area under their feet. Given that most plants are grown in soil, this line of thinking makes sense. However, you can break free from this limited line of thinking once you decide to “look up.”

Did you realize that for every square foot of ground space in your garden, you actually have another 6 feet of valuable gardening space above it? It’s true! If you take advantage of all that untapped vertical space, you can grow so much more than you ever thought possible.

Save Space with Vertical Gardening

Use an old ladder as a trellis. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Plants trained to grow up take up a lot less ground space than those that are left to their own devices. In fact, a single climbing vine only needs a couple square inches of dirt to thrive. If that same vine is not offered vertical support, however, it would quickly cover several feet of your valuable – and limited - growing area.

There are many ways you can provide vertical support for your plants. Some of the most common examples include trellises, tepees, arbors, hanging baskets, stacked containers, and fences. You can also take advantage of unused wall space along your house or garden shed by adding wood shelves, hanging planting pockets or repurposing old gutters into plant containers.

Often you can train your plants up existing structures on your property without needing to build or buy anything new. Split rail and chain link fencing are particularly effective for this purpose. For an inexpensive option that offers a lot of rustic charm, you can wire 3 long wooden poles or bamboo stalks together to form a tripod “tepee” that is ideal for growing pole beans or other vining vegetables. 

If you want to add an artistic focal point to your garden, there is a huge selection of ready-made decorative vertical support structures available. For example, you can find decorative wrought iron trellises embellished with glass crystals or beautiful cedar hanging wall units you can add to an unused stretch of sunny wall space.

Ideal Plants for Vertical Gardening

There are a lot of fruits, vegetables and culinary herbs you can grow in your newfound vertical gardening space. In addition to pole beans, you can also grow other vining vegetables such as cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, squash and gourds. Smaller, more compact plants like herbs and edible flowers do well in smaller spaces like hanging baskets or wall-mounted units. By “suckering” or removing side stems from tomato plants, you can train them to grow in a more upright fashion. In addition to saving space, this process can also help your tomato plants stay healthy and become more productive.

My cucumbers climbing a rope trellis.

Grow Healthier Plants with Vertical Gardening

In fact, many gardeners find that vertical gardening leads to healthier plants in general. There are a number of reasons for this. For starters, plants grown vertically have a lot less direct contact with soil, which translates to fewer problems caused by soil-dwelling pests and diseases. If garden pests do attack your plants, the problem will be easier to see and treat if the plant is elevated off the ground.

In addition, vertically grown plants have better exposure to light and air than those allowed to grow freely along the ground. This, in turn, leads to better ventilation and food absorption. The end result is a healthier plant that is more resistant to disease and better able to produce at peak capacity.

For some more really cool ideas on vertical and small-space organic gardening, be sure to check out this resource too!

Video: How To Plant A Hanging Basket

This short how-to video will show you how to plant a hanging basket with flowers such as petunias. He also gives several tips for feeding, watering, and caring for your hanging basket to keep it beautiful and blooming throughout the summer. For some helpful supplies for planting your hanging basket, see resources listed below the video.

How to Plant a Hanging Basket - Armstrong Garden Centers
Learn how to make the most out of your hanging baskets by learning...
 

Things You'll Need to Plant a Hanging Basket:
   

Container Gardening: Growing In Baskets

Gardening in baskets can be a lovely way to have a small container garden. Flowers look especially beautiful in baskets, and if you have a small garden space, you can make use of vertical space by hanging the baskets at different levels. Not only will this maximize your available space, but it also gives a lovely multi-layered look to your garden!

If you are growing plants in baskets there are a few things that you will need to take care of if the plants are to survive. Obviously you will need to start with the best and healthiest seeds or plants. It is important that you choose good quality container mix too. There are proprietary hanging basket mixes that you really should use as they have been developed to provide the best growing conditions in these unique situations - when the soil is often hotter and dries out more quickly.

A hanging flower basket in Victoria, British Columbia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For aesthetics you will probably want to get the basket looking as 'full' as possible so you will be cramming the plants in. It is best to put the larger plants in the middle of the basket with smaller plants trailing out to the edges and the sides.

The larger the basket the better chance your plants will have to survive and they will also require less maintenance. To prevent the plants from drying out in the sun and the wind, aim to get maximum foliage coverage over any exposed soil.

As with all plants no matter where they are growing, water will be essential, and with baskets more care is required than normal. You can place a water trough between the plants and the liner to maintain a place to hold water that would normally seep through the liner.

In warmer weather you will need to water the plants more often and this is best handled with a long watering wand, which makes reaching the plants easier.

Occasionally, where you have baskets that are easily moved, you can soak the entire basket in a tub of water. If the basket has been quite dry you will need to soak it until the bubbles stop rising.

Always use quality organic liquid plant feed to ensure your plants are getting all the nutrients that they require. You can also add compost to the potting mix when planting your baskets.

If you take the time to give your basket plants the additional care that they need, you will be rewarded with a pleasant addition to any living area - either indoors or outdoors.