Vertical Gardening: building a vertical support

Vertical Gardening is a highly efficient growing system. It captures the sunlight of a large garden while contained within a small area. Grow vegetables intensively by growing them up, not out. Vegetables that can be grown vertically include: tomatoes, melons, pole beans, cucumbers, squash, gourds, pumpkins, and cantaloupe. The instructions below are for a 6ft plus long vertical support structure. I use bamboo poles that are about 7ft tall. Tools you need are cable ties, (12) 7ft poles, and (7) cable ties.

1. Create the end supports: Gather (3) poles and lightly cinch a cable tie close to the top (do twice, these are your end supports. ) Expand the legs so they stand alone like a tripod.












2. Lay a pole between your two end supports. Now build the center support by taking two poles, cinch a cable tie loosely at the top, expand legs, and position in center of the pole you just laid across your two end supports. Use another tie to secure to center pole.

3. Lay remaining poles either vertically or horizontally, based on what you are growing. Secure cable ties. Tighten cable ties.









There you go! You can use twine, more long poles, or chicken wire to create a wall for the plants to 'grow up'. Cucumbers do especially well with this. Note you MUST train plants to go up. Tips for Success:
1) construct sturdy supports 2) Train plants to initially climb  3) use shade from VG to grow cooler weather crops

Planning Your 2010 Food Garden

So if you have never started a garden, or are on your 50th year of gardening - planning is the one thing we all share.  A little time up front will help your gardening year begin on the right foot.  I am already writing 'to-do' lists and dreaming of the first 'frost free days'! Here we go, my 1,2,3 planning essentials.  Remember, these tips are aimed for home gardener's who need to be efficient with their time and just need to know the basics!

1. Plan out garden- this can be as simple as a sketch on some paper. It helps to draw out your beds and decide what goes where.  Keep in mind that you may want to rotate your crops so that you don't deplete your soil of certain nutrients.  Also, crop rotation help ensure you don't proliferate some types of diseases. Here is an online kitchen garden planner you may want to use: http://www.gardeners.com/Kitchen-Garden-Planner/kgp_home,default,pg.html.  Also, www.squarefootgarden.com , Mel Bartholomew's Square Foot Garden method, provides a good approach for planning and planting your garden.
 
2. Collect organic materials for beds in spring- Whether you are adding to your compost pile, or finding local sources on manure, it is important to add organic materials to your soil EVERY YEAR.  Remember, take care of your soil, and it will take care of you!  Keep in mind you can go on online sources like craigslist.com or freecycle.org to find free sources of manure, hay, leaves, etc.  I support the making of your own compost, which is as easy as 1,2,3! http://123foodgardening.blogspot.com/2009/11/building-compost.html                                                                                                           
3. Order seeds and/or decide what plants you will buy- Typically I recommend that new gardeners buy as many plants as they can when starting out.  Planting seeds can be tricky because you have to manage the threat of bugs, keep the right moisture level needed for germination etc.  Don't get me wrong, planting seeds isn't rocket science, but if this is your first year growing a food garden, give yourself a leg up and start with plants.  My master gardener's program sells a wonderful selection of plants, and I have a few local nurseries that provide very healthy plants (note selecting a nursery is important as this impact the variety of veggies you can get as well as an indicator of healthy plants).  Obviously I choose not to shop at 'big box' stores for plants- but you can. Seed sources I love include: www.southernexposure.com, www.superseeds.com. and www.seedsofchange.com