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The Kitchen Table

Cool ideas for space-saving gardening!

12 years ago

I love container gardening, and especially vertical gardening. (Many of you have put up with my bragging about my bean arch--and we're erecting a second one this year.) I clicked on the "vertical gardening" link at the top of our opening page and found this great thread full of innovative ideas. Lots of pictures--check it out:

Growing lettuce in hanging shoe organizers, and other interesting ideas

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Comments (9)

OklaMoni
12 years ago
Right, good ideas... but only for people that stay home, and can water... :)

Moni
alisande
Original Author
12 years ago
He said he was inventing an irrigation system. I didn't read through the whole thread, so I don't know if he described one. Yes, I imagine the shoe compartments would dry up quickly--especially in the Oklahoma sun, but even here in PA.
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> Thinking abt this for indoors? I'd be afraid it'd drip all over the floors, otherwise, it's a cool look! Yeah, the thought occurred to me. Also, the bottom pots will be overwatered and/or the top ones under-watered because the water will be dripping down. Really fast draining mix is a must. Plus, if you hang this on a wall, I suspect mold will develop because of constant moisture and zero air circulation on the wall. I won't go for the idea in practice, but I do like how it looks. > The easy answer of course is to put the containers in plastic bags and then slip them into the "holsters". :) Asleep, what about drainage? Blasphemy! :-) > Joni at SRQ has 4" hanging pots that work remarkably! Teisa, I don't see that she sells them. Does she? I'd love to find a supplier, a wholesale supplier in fact, as I'd buy a couple dozen probably. Small hanging pots are totally in my future, but for now I want the young plants on heat and so grouped is the best I think, so the mix does not dry out.
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Y'all are so sweet. My goodness and what cool photos! I love putting old stuff in my garden. Its a container garden in a little fenced in courtyard. I have old tarnished silver oval platters hung on the wall like mirrors, and I buy old salt and pepper shakers for cheap at antique or thrift stores or on vacation and put a wooden skewer with a paint chip stapled to it in one of the holes and use them as plant markers (Go Sharpie!). They're nifty and some can become pretty cool little garden statues with a purpose. And they're two for one technically! Plus they're cuter than plastic sticks and gives you something to do with all those pretty, colorful (and often waterproof) paint chips you have leftover from that one project. I think putting different items in your garden or among your plants is kind of like jewelry for your garden. Gives it character and makes it fun to look at while you're waiting patiently (or not so patiently...)for the seedlings to really fill in and become plants. Like the post Marcia! Thanks, Sarah
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Cateyanne....you might want to look at the modular units similar to Targets. They have options for drawers, doors, etc. which can be stacked or set side by side. The ones at target look a bit cheap, but know there are others available from closet stores and places selling storage items. If you are handy, screw them together and into back wall for stability. Adding wood trim to edges meeting stairs would make them look like they were built in. You are right about the lack of search for plans. I did find an interesting site and added it below. Your other option is library or searching books on storage solutions. My space saving tip is vacuums. The last few years I have gone through far too many that cost me far too much money. Figuring the best was worth 200 or more, which just hasn't been the case. They don't seem to be built as well as past remembered, constantly changing belts and hoses getting clogged. My son suggested that I quit dumping money into them and gave me his tiny upright which is a hepa, bagless and cost him 40 dollars. This thing won't go away and just keeps working like new at 2 years old. It picks up even better than the larger like units, much easier to use weight wise. For the price I could buy a new one every year and not feel bad about it. Space saving....takes up half the room and store it in my coat closet. And a hint....I like bagless because I don't have to buy bags. But they sure plug up the filters and got tired of tring to keep them clean. Decided to try my shopvac in garage to vacuum out the filter and hoses, they are like new doing this. Here is a link that might be useful: stair storage
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nanny98
12 years ago
Thanks for the trip. Just the kind of thing that can keep me 'off the streets' all afternoon. (LOL) What an interesting man he is and he has made several folks put on their thinking caps and come up with some creative ideas. I'm familiar with drip systems (the only way to go for any gardening) and further along in the thread he advises to figure out a drip system before getting it going. Probably need separate timers too, if you are gone a lot. We have our whole yard and garden area on timers so we can be gone for weeks at a time (The weeds love that!).
party_music50
12 years ago
alisande, I want to see your bean arch! :)
alisande
Original Author
12 years ago
PartyMusic, here's the bean arch when we first put it up in the spring of 2010.

Bean arch on Flickr

And here's a thread I posted on the Beans forum when it was producing, that summer:

Cattle panel with bean plants

The cattle panel is 16' long, so when you bend it in half it makes an 8' tall arch. It's 5' wide, and you can plant beans on either side of it, giving you 20' of row.
party_music50
12 years ago
Thanks for posting... I've never heard of cattle panel. lol! Your arch looks neat!
joyfulguy
12 years ago
I imagine that they'd grow better, produce bigger beans, and more of them, were one to add some of the by-product produced by the cattle, as well.

o j
sjerin
12 years ago
Your arch looks very interesting! Was it difficult picking the beans that grew on top? Maybe it's the pic, but the arch looks rather tall. I suppose a ladder would do the job?
alisande
Original Author
12 years ago
The arch is 8 feet tall. I envisioned the beans hanging down inside the top, just waiting for me to come along and pluck them off the vines. Ha!

You're right--although some grew inside, many grew on top of the arch. I didn't actually need a ladder, but I dragged a Rubbermaid stepstool out there more than once during the growing season.

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