Many of us have walls and fences that could use a facelift. Additionally, many of us care to grow our own food. We can kill two birds with a single stone. From countryliving.com:
As long as you’ve got a blank wall or bare fence that needs beautifying, you can tend edibles, annuals, even perennials with these vertical gardening ideas — all of which inspire high hopes for the season ahead.
You’ve been following this blog long enough to know that I romanticize living off my land. I fantasize about raising and slaughtering my own animals and hunting in the Santa Monica mountains behind my home. I love the thought of a chicken coop with birds producing the highest quality eggs. I have a freezer behind my home that stores the remaining portions of the half cow I purchased last year. It’s nearly empty and ready for whatever animal flesh I store in it next.
I also love vegetables and have grown them somewhat successfully in the past. I have yet to try a “hanging” or “vertical” garden. I’ve been missing a no brainer. Prettying up a chain link fence with organic sustenance is too efficient for us to sleep on any longer. From bhg.com:
Vertical gardens — think living walls — are of the hottest new garden trends and yet it’s one of the oldest (have you ever grown a vine on a fence or trellis?). A vertical garden is a perfect solution for just about any garden — indoors or out.
Vertical garden elements can draw attention to an area or disguise an unattractive view. In a vertical garden, use structures or columnar trees to create vertical gardening rooms or define hidden spaces ready for discovery. Trellises, attached to the ground or to large containers, allow you to grow vines, flowers, and vegetables in a vertical garden using much less space than traditional gardening requires.
Trendy or niche, I’m ready to dive in. Taking the first step will be key. From urbanfarmonline.com:
Starting a vertical garden isn’t hard. Many garden-supply centers offer ready-made supports, including stackable containers and an assortment of trellises, tepees and netting. The most common structures are those designed to support tomatoes, such as the tomato cage and the hanging “upside-down” tomato planters.
Nice. I crush tomatoes daily. Solid.
There are a surprising number of items that can easily be put to work as garden supports: fences, old gutters, saplings, branches, other plants and even your apartment staircase. For small spaces, vertical gardens often work best in combination with containers or raised beds.
We’ve already established that we’ll be covering chain link, so we’re square here.
The plants that thrive in a vertical garden are those that are naturally vining, sending out tendrils to grasp their way along as they grow, including cucumbers, winter squash, pumpkins, melons and grapes. But tall, non-vining plants, such as tomatoes, work equally well in a vertical system, given the proper support. And believe it or not, you can even grow low-growing plants vertically.
I’m in. Not that I won’t be hunting and eating coyote (recipe below) sooner rather than later, but this vertical garden thing seems like a more manageable task today.
Strong mind,
Kap
Crock Pot Coyote
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Four lbs of coyote meat.
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One small jar of peach preserves.
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One bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce.
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3/4 of a yellow onion, chopped.
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3/4 teaspoon of salt.
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Half teaspoon of pepper.
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Half teaspoon of garlic powder.
Throw it all into a large crock pot for 8 hours, serve over brown rice.
Curtis Ippolito says
Great suggestion. In addition to tomatoes, you can grow green beans (get pole bean varieties, not bush bean), malabar spinach, peas (not in season), and cucumbers vertically quite easily.
Charlotte Marks says
I always heard that carnivore meat is unappatizing. Anyone want to chime in on this?
slappythefishman says
Toss all those fears away…many fish are carnivores…if you are talking about land animals snake or gator rock…if you are talking about mammals,wild boar eats everything and cannot be beat.
Charlotte Marks says
Pigs (and bears) are omnivores, though. I wouldn’t expect their meat to compare to carnivores.
Everybody has different tastes, of course, but carnivore meat wouldn’t be at the top of my menu.
lien says
can’t wait to see yours 🙂 … ‘I love the thought of a chicken coop with birds producing the highest quality eggs’ me too … fresh laid eggs are among the best of food!
John Lofflin says
Believe it or not, the topsy turvey works for smaller determinant tomatoes.
Chester says
PEST CONTROL – – If not growing in a container/pot, I very strongly advise people to line the bottom of your raised bed, or line the ground under your garden to keep away burrowing pests such as gophers or ground squirrels who will attack the roots. Utilize metal material to line the bottom such as: hardware cloth (best), fine-gauge chicken wire (holes small enough so rodents cannot squeeze through) or possibly even window/door screens with some heft.
On a windless weekend day at my San Diego home, I watched a healthy blooming artichoke plant shake, quiver and tip over, roots freshly chewed. They also attacked tomatoes & other plants. So dig the hole, lay the cloth (be sure to go up the sides to ground level), and then put in the good soil.
Curtis Ippolito says
Great tip, Chester. Reminds me I need to line my bed. I’m in SD too and have seen this very thing while taking a walk. A big head of lettuce shaking violently and then disappeared down a gopher hole. I also had several pepper plants upended last year.
Chester says
Sure thanks Curtis. Also advisable to add some lighter chicken wire up from the ground to thwart bunnies.
bill says
Thanks for the wake up call! Exactly what I need to do with my patio. think I’ll look into the hydroponic stuff also.