Vertical Gardening on the Cheap

Last year, I posted an entry about Vertical Gardening using common products like gutters and canvas shoe holders. Inspired, I decided to create one an herb garden using a canvas shoe holder this spring. And it is really cute! As the herbs are getting bigger, they are starting to cover their little pouches (which I like).Last night at the meeting of the Charleston Horticultural Society, Jim Martin did an amazing job demonstrating some different ways to incorporate vertical gardens into our landscapes. If you missed the lecture, you missed a lot.
The canvas shoe holder is a good way to introduce yourself to the concept of vertical gardening because it is inexpensive ($10 plus soil and plants) and simple. I cut the bottom two rows off the bottom of mine so that it would work on my porch railing.

TIPS

• Leave a 1-inch gap between the soil and the lip of each pouch. This will make watering easier because otherwise the water will just run over the edge without being absorbed.
• Fill every pouch and water it well before you plant the first plant. I didn't do this and it caused me to get dirt all over the herbs I had planted at the bottom of of the holder.
• Put plants that need more water at the bottom of the holder and those that need less at the top. The herbs on my top row dry out constantly, but the ones at the bottom stay hydrated.
• Choose plants that like similar types of conditions and that stay the right size. Vegetables would be too big for this, so stick with smaller herbs or bedding plants. Ferns and other shady perennials would be beautiful if you have a shady spot.

What I love about this simple trick is that it only takes about an hour to make it complete. It's easy to put off the creation of a new garden because of the work it involves. But this is a fun Sunday afternoon project that even your kids would love to help create.