When there is not enough on a plot of land, but you want your own vegetables and greens, the housewives use the third dimension - height. Its parameters are not limited, and you can create at least five-story structures for growing garden crops. It is because of the scarcity of land that an intelligent man once invented vertical beds. True, at first they were designed exclusively for flowers and were used by citizens on balconies and loggias. But the quick-witted summer residents quickly picked up the idea, having figured out that vegetables can also grow in such designs. In addition, the unusual appearance of the beds gives the landscape a piquancy, attracts the attention of neighbors and people passing by. Let’s try to figure out what ways you can quickly and easily create a vertical bed, and which cultures get along in such conditions.
Features of plant care in vertical beds
It is not difficult to create vertical beds with your own hands, but you must understand what conditions await the plants in such structures.
Positive points:
- For housewives, vertical structures are a great way to relieve arms and back, because weeds will not grow in containers (they just don't have enough space there).
- Due to the lack of contact with the ground, plants will be less likely to get sick with fungal infections, which means less chemicals will be needed.
- During the period of frosts or hurricanes, many vertical beds can be temporarily transferred to the outbuildings, thereby preserving the future crop.
- With the help of containers, you can decorate an ugly fence or a wall of a barn, thereby improving the aesthetics of the site.
- Save space: if you move part of the garden to vertical beds, then there will be room for arranging a recreation area or flower beds.
Disadvantages of a vertical garden:
- In containers, the root system of plants is limited in nutrition, since it contains a small amount of soil. Therefore, top dressing with this method of growing is carried out more often.
- The earth dries faster, so plants are often watered, and if they visit the dacha only on weekends, they create a drip irrigation system. It is recommended to dilute the soil with hydrogel, which retains moisture longer than the soil.
- Perennial crops with this method of cultivation can freeze in harsh winters. Therefore, they create mobile structures to hide the garden for the winter in the outbuilding.
Caring for a vertical bed, mistresses do not need to weed and fight pests, because due to the lack of contact with the soil they become much less
The darker the material of the containers for the vertical bed, the faster it dries under the sun, which means that frequent watering is required
Options for creating vertical beds for different crops
During the existence of the idea of vertical beds, gardeners invented a lot of interesting designs, many of which require the most simple supplies.
Method # 1 - container growing
The most accessible way for summer residents is fixing on containers support. They are bought ready-made in stores or made from boards. And you can even collect it to create vertical beds of empty plastic bottles and make containers from them. If you use bottles, then close the neck with a cork, and cut an oval hole about 5 cm in length from above, beat the containers in an artistic order against a wall or fence, fill them with soil and plant seedlings.
All options with containers do not provide drip irrigation, so the addition of hydrogel to the soil is a prerequisite for a comfortable life for plants.
An old chest of drawers can be an excellent container if you pull out its drawers to a different level, and white coloring will reduce the heating of wood
Method # 2 - vertically placed pipes
When creating vertical beds for growing strawberries, they most often construct a structure of barrels or plastic pipes, which will last several seasons. Consider how to create a similar "hostel" for strawberries.
When creating a vertical bed for strawberries, it is important to think through drip irrigation, because during the ripening period the berries require a lot of moisture
Progress of work:
- To create one vertical structure, you will need two plastic pipes of the same length and different diameters. One is thin, to create drip irrigation, the second is the thickest one you will find.
- In a thin pipe with a drill, we drill many holes through which water will enter the ground. The lower part (about 10 cm) is left intact.
- In a thick pipe, we mark in a staggered manner future holes for seedlings. Usually they are placed in three rows: the central and two side (the back wall will be attached to the support). Bottom (10 cm) holes do not need to.
- We drill holes using a drill with a nozzle and a chisel. The diameter of each is about 5 cm (taking into account the thickness of the pipe).
- From below we put a cap on a wide pipe and attach the workpiece to the support (fence, wall, mesh, etc.).
- To protect the soil from getting into a thin pipe, wrap it with burlap or non-woven material and rewind it with twine.
- We wrap the bottom end of the pipe with tape or rubber so that the water does not leave the structure.
- We insert a thin pipe into a thick one, hold it so that the inner one stands exactly in the center, and fill the inner space to the first holes with gravel or expanded clay.
- We mix the finished or do-it-yourself soil with hydrogel and crushed polystyrene. Foam balls will not allow the soil to be compacted and will provide free air access.
- We plant prepared seedlings, the roots of which are preferably dipped in clay-dung mash, so that they better keep moisture.
- We fill the inner pipe with water.
In the conditions of the northern regions, it is possible to make such beds in the form of stand-alone racks, combining three or four pipes into one frame. Then for the winter you can clean the garden bed in the barn so as not to freeze the roots.
Having mounted such a vertical bed of plastic pipes fixed by a house, you can always move the structure to another place or hide it for the winter
Method # 3 - pocket garden
A very profitable idea is to create a pocket garden, i.e. vertical beds resembling a piece of fabric with many pockets. Agronomists invented this technology and demonstrated it at one of the exhibitions. The material for creating pockets is a thin foilized insulation. Due to the shiny surface, it reflects the sun's rays and does not overheat the soil, and on cold days the polystyrene layer will additionally retain heat, warming the roots. Such vertical beds are suitable for cucumbers, beans, greens and the same strawberries.
The technology of creating a “pocket garden”:
- We buy a double length insulation. That is, if you want to create a bed 2 meters high, then you need to take 4 meters of material.
- We fold the insulation in half and sew a horizontal line at a distance of 5-7 cm from the top. This drawstring is needed to hang the bed.
- Next, we cover all the edges and bottom of the insulation, creating something like a bag. The top 5-7 cm along the edges do not need to be built up.
- We draw the surface into rectangles from which we will create pockets. It is advisable to make no more than 3 pockets per meter of insulation so that more soil is placed in them.
- Stitch all the markup.
- In each resulting rectangle we cut a hole at the top, leaving 3-4 cm from the seam. It is advisable to cut not in a straight line, but in a semicircle, so that a peculiar valve is obtained from above. During watering, water will flow down it in your pocket.
- When all the pockets are cut, we hang the bed on the support. To do this, insert a plastic tube with twine inside into the upper drawstring.
- Outside, we twine into a knot, making a loop. We suspend the entire structure for it to the support.
- We fill each pocket with nutrient soil mixed with hydrogel.
- We spill the soil with water and plant seeds or seedlings.
The mobility of the fabric bed allows you to place it on any support, even when entering your own cottage, fixing it to the door with a few hooks
The pockets in the heater bed should not be too small, otherwise the plants will lack nutrition and dry out quickly
In foil pockets, not only cucumbers and strawberries grow perfectly, but also indoor flowers that can be taken outside in the summer
If you water vertical beds in time, then you can achieve not only a good harvest, but also lush vegetation, which will decorate your site.
