Vertical Gardening… or does gardening drive you up the wall?

The allotment is largely the domain of the man of the house – accommodating a constant supply of seedlings generated back home in conservatory, guttering or greenhouse. The small veg plot chez nous and the adjoining greenhouse are largely my preserve. BUT there is never enough room especially for those salad crops best picked minutes before consumption.

In 2007 I came across an excellent RHS publication entitled “Vegetables in a small garden”. Overall a very common sense book but one page in particular intrigued me, entitled “Vertical vegetable garden”. Our small garden veg plot is south facing but a high wall on the south side keeps some parts in the shade much of the day. However the house wall faces south and here our vertical garden has thrived, shown above in May 2011. A well established rose covers much of the wall but an old mini greenhouse, minus its polythene that tore long ago, and a piece of cheap trellising provide new potential for veg growth.

The old metal shelving houses cordon tomatoes in gro-bags, tumbling toms in a large containers, and pepper “Gypsy” high against the hot wall. Purple climbing beans love the trellising, reaching so high that we sometimes are picking beans from amongst the yellow roses! Cucumbers in gro-bags or a “new potato” gro-sack love to climb up through the beans, producing generously slightly shaded by the bean foliage. Old flower troughs nailed to the trellis hold yet more toms such as “Tumbling Tom” or “Balconi” as well as Pepperones and Pepper “Gourmet” whilst the beans scramble round them.

Do you have a vertical space in the garden? South facing shed on the allotment which is strong enough to hold trellising? Think vertical – it’s fun and rewarding! Enjoy!!

Photos from July 2011 shown below.

Christine