Best Practices for Vertical Gardening: Grow a Garden That Never Stops Producing! 🌿

Why Vertical Gardening?

Vertical gardening is about growing up instead of creating a multi-layered garden using trellises, stakes, or other structures to support our plants. It's perfect for small spaces, helps improve airflow, reduces pest problems, and makes harvesting easier. Plus, seeing all those plants reaching for the sky looks stunning!

Getting Started with Vertical Gardening

Let's grab a few harvests and explore our garden—a place some people thought was impossible to grow. But with some ingenuity, Tuck and I have turned this space into a vertical gardening paradise! 🌻

1. Start with Vertical-Friendly Crops

We began with crops that naturally love to climb. Here are some of our favorites:

• Tomatoes: We've trained these beauties to grow vertically on stakes and trellises. Some of our tomatoes can get as tall as 10-12 feet!
• Peas: Check out these sugar snap peas and purple magnolia peas climbing the trellises. The more you harvest, the more they produce.
• Cucumbers: We love growing cucumbers on a vertical structure. They're easier to pick and stay clean, avoiding pests and rot from contact with the soil.

2. Utilize All Layers of Your Space

In our garden, we mimic the layers of a natural forest, incorporating the seven layers of a food forest:

• Canopy Layer: We use fruit trees like cherries and hazelnuts as tall canopy trees.
• Sub-Canopy Layer: Dwarf apple trees and smaller fruit trees serve as our sub-canopy.
• Bush Layer: Blueberries and raspberries fill this layer beautifully, providing a delicious harvest.
• Herbaceous Layer: Lettuces, kale, and other greens thrive here, increasing in the lower light.
• Ground Cover Layer: Strawberries and creeping thyme cover the ground, maximizing every inch of space.
• Climber Layer: Grapes, beans, and other climbers reach the sky, growing on trellises and stakes.
• Root Layer: Crops like carrots and beets grow underground, taking up minimal surface space while producing a hefty yield.

3. Create Microclimates for Diverse Crops

Some doubted our methods, saying our trees would shade out the garden. But we use that shade to our advantage by creating microclimates that protect more delicate plants from the intense sun. For example:

• Shade-Loving Plants: Grow greens like lettuce and spinach in the cooler, shaded areas created by taller plants.
• Sun-Loving Crops: Plant sun-loving veggies like tomatoes and peppers in sunny spots.

We also used plants like asparagus, which can take over a space once a larger tree is removed, to ensure we always get something from every part of the garden.

4. Use the Right Structures for Support

Adding suitable support structures is critical to a successful vertical garden. Here are some of our go-to techniques:

• Grow with a Metal Framed String Trellis, Arched Trellis, Wall Trellis or Bamboo Stakes, which are all perfect for beans, peas, cucumbers and tomatoes. They keep plants upright, improve air circulation, and make harvesting a breeze.
• To save on more space opt for growing with a U-Shaped Keyhole Raised Beds: A unique bed design with a central path allows you to easily access every part of the bed, maximizing planting space.

5. Companion Planting for Synergy

Companion planting is essential to getting the most out of your vertical garden:

• Strawberries under Apple Trees: We grow strawberries as ground cover under our dwarf apple trees to maximize space and provide shade.
• Herbs Around the Base: Planting herbs like basil and cilantro around larger plants helps deter pests and attracts beneficial insects.

6. Keep the Harvest Flowing

To keep your garden producing all season long, stay on top of harvesting:

• Frequent Harvests: Regularly pick ripe fruits and vegetables to encourage more growth. For example, we harvest peas frequently to keep them flowering and producing.
• Succession Planting: After harvesting one crop, quickly plant another to keep your garden productive.

7. Embrace the Unexpected

Gardening is full of surprises. Sometimes, plants will grow where you least expect them, or crops will thrive in places that weren't planned. Be flexible, observe, and adapt:

• Nature as a Teacher: Let nature guide your gardening decisions. If you see plants thriving in a particular area, try planting more of that type there.
• Think Long-Term: Don't just plan for one season. Consider how your garden will evolve and plan accordingly—for example, plant perennials like asparagus or fruit trees that will continue to produce for years.

Final Thoughts: Learn from Nature and Keep Growing

When Tuck and I started this garden, some folks thought we were crazy for trying to grow so much in a small space with such unconventional methods. But we looked to nature for guidance and implemented a permaculture approach. Today, we have a garden that's a paradise for people, dogs, birds, and beneficial insects alike.

Remember, if someone tells you something that doesn't work, but they've tried it, look to nature for answers. Nature is the ultimate teacher, and the forest is the classroom. 🌳

We hope this post inspired you to try vertical gardening in your space—big or small. Experiment, observe, and adapt your garden techniques to what works best for you. Most importantly, have fun with it!

Thanks for joining us today, Grower. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and check out our merch at TeamGrow.us. Tuck and James will be back again soon with more tips to keep your garden growing strong. We out! 🌿👨‍🌾