Vertical vegetable gardening article on Sustainable Suburbia Australia

1. Vertical Vegetable Gardening Ideas
by Eileen O'Sullivan • March 15, 2014 • 6 Comments
Vertical gardening is just plain trendy right now, and it’s definitely a trend worth
considering. If you’re green as well as green fingered (and I’m guessing as you’re on
Sustainable Suburbia that’ll be about right!) this method of food growing will suit you (up
and) down to the ground.
The carbon footprint of this type of cultivation is comparatively small as the required
garden or allotment space is very much reduced, thus cutting down on watering,
fertilisation and plant tending, and producing a greater crop to land ratio. Basically, you
don’t need strips of land between each row of vegetables to navigate around your beds,
as you would with traditional food growing. Vegetables grown in an up and down
direction have access to greater air circulation, and particularly if you harvest the fruit
regularly, they will keep on producing healthy, abundant crops.
Vertical vegetable gardening ideas are as wide as
your own imagination. From the simple methods of training vine vegetables like
cucumbers up against a fence or trellis and growing climbing flowers like roses and
wisteria up an arch or pergola, to the more complicated construction of cages and tall,
angular frames to support your plants. You can use canes, wooden and metal
structures or willow and bamboo to make attractive and durable supports, with netting or
wire grids attached. Vertical garden design is sure to engage your creativity, produce an
abundant crop, and just be great fun!

2. How to Make a Vertical Garden
So how many ways are there to create a vertical garden: Well how long is a piece of
string? Basically a vertical garden is the method employed to cultivate trailers and
climbers in a vertical direction either from the ground up, or trailing down from hanging
baskets or in pots standing on or against a wall.
Talking of string – this can be used to form a simple web or trellis for plants to climb, or it
can be employed to tie vines around canes and supporting frames. Recycling is very on
trend right now, and you can use everything from plastic bottles and cut off lengths of
guttering to window boxes and even the kitchen sink to anchor your plants.
Vertical gardens work just as well inside as outside your home. The positioning of
containers and plant pots in a grid formed by horizontal and vertical rows is a very basic
vertical garden, and can be arranged against a window or a wall (both inside and outside
the home). A very basic indoor vertical garden can be made by placing rows of herbs on
glass shelves arranged one on top of the other against a sunny window. A kitchen
window would be ideal.
Vegetables on the Vine
You can grow your vining vegetables up a fence, up an old corn or sunflower stalk, or up a purpose builttrellis,as
in this vertical garden raised bed/trellis kit.
Traditional vine vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, squashes, peas and beans are
ideal for vertical growth, and there are more exotic climbing varieties like okra. Many of
these vegetables have very pretty flowers. Other low growing vegetables like lettuces
and herbs can be lined along the base of a vertical garden in a narrow strip of soil. You
can even place newspaper on top of the soil to cut down on weeds, then place mulch

3. formed from leaves or kitchen compost in layers on top of the paper, to a depth of about
15 to 30cm (6 to 12″). This will create sufficient depth for climbing plant roots, and also
provide a fertile medium in which to plant low growing plants, to form the base of the
vertical garden.
This growing method keeps fruit off the ground away from insects, moulds and fungi,
and makes harvesting much easier. Bending down is kept to a minimum, and the eye
level appeal of pretty fruit and flowers is typical of a vertical garden.
Vertical Indoor Garden Kits
Simple indoor vertical gardens can be bought ready to put together – with a back panel
and rows of small plant pots. Irrigation is integral to the design, with a reservoir to allow
watering to continue when you are not around. Some kits come complete with a variety
of frames, and are designed to keep water away from the wall. Wall mounted indoor
vertical gardens can employ a drip irrigation system. You can also get free-standing
vertical garden kits – The Urb Garden for example, by Australian student designer
Xavier Calluaud, is like a small cupboard. It uses an irrigation system and an integral
worm farm to fertilize the plants.
Gutter gardens
Rows of recycled guttering from builders yards or bought from DIY shops (though avoid
PVC as it may contain lead which could enter the soil) can be attached to a sunny wall
or the side of your house, one above the other. If you rent – check with your landlord
first! Salad greens, herbs and even strawberries are ideal plants for this simple type of
vertical garden and it makes great use of an otherwise unused space. Make sure you

4. source two ends – one blocked off at the left and one to the right – so the pieces can be
stuck together, creating a sealed unit.
Start by drilling drainage holes in the base of the guttering, about every yard or
so. Water will work down from the top rows to the lower levels of gutters. Irrigation is
essential for these plants, and this can be achieved the old fashioned way – with liberal
use of a watering can – so make sure the guttering is not too high. Targeted watering is
necessary with a gutter garden placed against a building, otherwise you risk water
erosion and the creation of damp on your walls. Fill the gutters with good compost, and
mulch the soil to keep it warm and deter weeds. You can also create a simple, vertical
hanging garden using rows of guttering suspended with metal wire, or build a free
standing gutter garden held up by wooden stakes.
Window Farms and Bottle Gardens
Vertical vegetable gardens placed against an indoor window are also known as window
farms. Window farms are commercially available as kits and include planters, net
frames, a reservoir and a pump. These gardens can be grown hydroponically. Grown
without soil, the plants in a hydroponic system are watered and fed by means of a pump
which forces water from the reservoir at the bottom of the garden to the top
planters. Water and nutrients are then fed down, creating a self sustaining system.
For a really good DIY version, recycled clear plastic bottles are ideal for turning into
indoor vertical window gardens. You can make your own window farm by removing the
bottoms of bottles and arranging them in rows, suspended by wires. Each bottle drains
into the one beneath. Bottles should contain good compost and an individual plant –
salad plants or herbs are ideal. Take account of temperature when planting your bottle
garden. If there is a heater beneath the window, use dry and heat loving plants. If it is
fairly cold, then use plants that thrive well in draughty conditions.
Vertical Garden Design on a Grand Scale

5. A vertical garden on the side of a building in Copenhagen, Denmark. Image by Tristan Ferne
Some modern architects are making use of building space to create vertical gardens
which blanket the external sides of large scale constructions like car parks. Many are
also making use of indoor vertical gardens to blanket walls in commercial properties with
living plants that aerate and clean the air, as well as creating a beautiful green
environment within the workplace.
Eileen O’Sullivan is an English freelance writer, who once lived in beautiful Sydney
(sigh!), where her first son was born. She passionately enjoys contributing to global
health – and grow-your-own is a perfect start to sustainable living!
For more vertical garden ideas, see Eileen’s article on growing drought tolerant herbs,
for which she suggests a vertical wooden pallet garden!