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Vertical gardening? | (Read 526 times) |
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MJ Solaro
Administrator
Posts: 131
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February 28, 2008, 04:34:24 PM |
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Having only a *very* small urban garden to work with, it hit me the other day that perhaps I should be using my vertical space more effectively.
What does permaculture say about vertical gardening?
Do any of you have experience, or practical application in maximizing one's vertical space?
What plants work best for vertical gardening in Seattle? What structures? I was thinking strawberries might be a good choice...
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paul wheaton
Administrator
Posts: 1471
western WA
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February 28, 2008, 05:54:30 PM |
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I once built something for strawberries. About five feet tall with about ten rows. It was not the sunniest spot and the strawberries were just so/so.
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Kelda O.
Posts: 357
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February 28, 2008, 10:10:59 PM |
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This is a great topic to hit up Seattle Tilth about, I think they may even have a whole class devoted to vertical gardening!! They had this awesome setup in their demo garden one year. A trellis not straight up but leaning towards the south. I think cukes were on the trellis (?) and then under it, facing south in the 'suntrap' it created, there were more veggies (basil?).
Obviously I'm only a halfway good resource!! Hit them up at the natural lawn and garden hotline. There are operators that are paid their time to answer wonderful random questions!! and they LOVE it when they get any questions more interesting than lawn upkeep. ha!!
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MJ Solaro
Administrator
Posts: 131
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February 29, 2008, 10:42:08 AM |
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Awesome! Kelda, you always have the most fantastic advice. Thanks!
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Kelda O.
Posts: 357
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March 03, 2008, 07:44:00 PM |
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Pictures from the Tilth gardens in Wallingford 
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alexisavoire
Posts: 120
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March 15, 2008, 02:33:52 PM |
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Terraced planting has a long and successful history. There is also a "retaining wall" planting technique that combines the concept of vertical planting with tiny terraced niches in stone retaining walls, the stone creating niches, terraces and bowls to plant in. Some plants take to it well, others draw too deeply from the soil to successfully draw nutrients up - either because soil depth is limited by the size of the niche location or because the pull of gravity on a top heavy plants reduces their nutrient absorption efficiency. It is difficult to keep vertical soil arrangements adequately rich enough for all but very hardy plant varieties to thrive. Wash off from watering, limited soil "enriching" by creatures like worms and moles that prefer horizontal burrowing to vertical, natural depletion of nutrients and minerals over time and loss and weathering of niches or terraces so that shape disintegrates and nutrients escape the terraces, "bowls" or niches are all problems to consider. On the wall display pictured (w/lettuce) the plants at the top f the wall have a lot more difficulty than the plants at the bottom of the wall. The nutrients for plants at the top tends to migrate downward due to gravity and natural plant interaction with the soil.
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NWorNowhere
Posts: 5
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March 31, 2008, 08:13:21 AM |
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Have you looked into a three sisters garden. Create a few 10" across mounds a couple of feet apart - plant some corn, a week later some pole beans at the base of the corn and some squash/melon in between the mounds. The corn creates a vertical trellis for the beans to climb, the beans supply the nitrogen, and the squash/melons provide a living mulch. You can stagger planting times by a couple of weeks for a longer harvest.
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vertical 1.jpg
