Vertical Garden Techniques: Some Ways to Grow Your Green
When you have limited space for gardening, you can always try vertical garden techniques that are deemed suitable for urban settings. Vertical garden can be an alternative option for those living in areas with limited space, such as apartments or small houses without any lawn. With a vertical garden, you can still grow your favorite greeneries without drama. You will be surprised to see plants' ability to grow and thrive well in unusual spots. Make use of it!
About Vertical Gardening
Whereas most people think that vertical garden techniques are something new within urban settings, they actually dated way back into the ancient civilizations. If you remember Babylon Hanging Garden, then that’s one of the examples. Plus, the Egyptians and Romans had tried vertical garden techniques within their landscapes.
The idea of a vertical garden is to make use of the available space vertically because horizontal space isn’t available. instead of growing plants horizontally, you do it vertically or upwards. You can use any walls or structures. Some people specifically design special structures to max out the gardening space.
Terracing
Originally, it was done on a bigger scale. The idea is to build some progressive steps within a sloped hillside where each step would be higher from the previous one. On a smaller scale within an urban setting, terracing in a vertical garden means to arrange the plants in steps. In this way, you can be sure that every one of them gets enough light to grow. Place the shorter plants right on the front while placing the taller ones right at the back.
You can manage terracing in two ways:
- Place the shorter ones within the outer rows or rings. The taller ones should be placed on the back.
- Design your garden with layered heights so every plant of yours can get the sunlight. You can use containers, cinder block boosters, or raised beds.
In short, you can manage your plants in different heights with layered models. In this way, all of them can get the light without blocking each other.
Trellising
One of many vertical garden tips is to know the plant's varieties. Some of them have vining traits, such as beans, peas, small melons, squash, tomatoes, and cucumber. These plants would grow well with trellising. They tend to climb skyward because their root systems are limited. It’s okay to plant them close to one another and yet, you can still expect a promising outcome.
You can use almost anything for support, including bamboo pole, metal railing, fishing line, wooden fence, wire rod, or the trellis. You can learn by yourself about encouraging proper growth and support from many sources on the net.
Tumbling
In this technique, you need a hanging planter and the plants should grow downward. You can hang them from your railing, window ledge, eaves, and ceiling. Basically, the plants would ‘tumble’ down from the planters, and it’s perfect for bush beans, herbs, cherry tomatoes, or strawberries. As long as you have a solid support and the container you use can accommodate the weight, this technique is perfect for those having more free airspace (than the floor space).
These different techniques can help you grow the green without complication or fussy arrangement. With these vertical garden techniques, you can decide which one works the best for you.