I like this idea protible and modular. Rather than setting this in a bucket of concrete you may be able find a mount for the pipe to a perpendicular plane and juse use a sheet of plywood. Or anything like a Christmas tree stand would work. When you say use a 2x4 for the next evolution would you rip it in half or use full width? I see this working well with a hockey stick shaft or PVC, both of which I have onhand. I may adapt this for my use come summer. I have but a small balcony (4'x13') off my second floor apartment so this would hang well over the edge and only have cups/pots on three sides. How much do you find that the 32 oz cups limit the plants. Most of what I grow is in larger pots but I see that you have a flowing water/nutrient source.

Pat, Not all of my tomato plants are that big, but most of the cherries make big plants and Tess's Land Race which is a currant size is normally a huge plant. My largest plant this year is a greek tomato called Santorini, (thanks Lynn for the seed) but makes a small tomato. I am 5'6", and it is way over my head already. It seems to me that when I lived in southern Oklahoma the prevailing wind was normally from the SW and when we saw a storm brewing in Texas in Montague County we prepared for the worst because it always seemed to come straight for us. The big tornado they had there seemed to follow that same logic. In my area now, the wind seems to come from the south, although Kansas does share a few storms with us, but high wind is not the norm for us here, . I also live in a rather congested lake community and have a lot of buildings near my garden, both mine and neighbors. Since I live on a slight curve, I pretty well have a building providing protection from all directions, plus tall trees everywhere. So when I mounted my arch, my thought process went to sunshine availability rather than protection from the wind. At the time, it was the gateway to my garden so I just angled it so both sides got sunshine. After extending my garden and putting in a walkway, I decided to move it. Since nothing could be planted under it because of dense foliage, it just made sense to me to put it over the walkway. This does limit the sunshine a little, but shade doesn't seem to be a bad thing this year. It is hard to know what to plan for since my Spring weather is normally very wet. I have a few raised beds which I had planned to use for spring crops because of the excessive Spring rain keeping my garden too wet to plant, but changed my mine and planted asparagus in one and strawberries in another. The third will probably be used for onions next year, since mine had to tread water for a few weeks this Spring. However, when the rain stops and the heat is excessive those raised bed dry out too fast and require more water. I can't win. If I had a tomato henge like Diane and Steve have built, I would probably have welded a ring to the top of each post and run cable from one pole to the other across the length of the row and have those rings with a clip on them on the cables. When conditions were normal I would have nothing on the clips, but for hail threats, I would clip on a big tarp (probably many sewn together), and for excessive heat I would have fabric ready to go on. I wouldn't worry about it being shade cloth since sheets sown together from the thrift shop would serve the same purpose. I would probably hit the thrift shops all winter so I could find all white ones. Of course I don't know how I can fix mine. Maybe I need to hire Steve to weld me four posts like his for my outside rows and I can use my cages in between. LOL Diane tried to pass it off as someone elses idea, but I have compared the two and I would easily choose Diane's. I am laughing as I type this because I am trying to improve on an already great system which is always what I accuse my husband of doing. He always waits until I have finished something then tells me how I could have done it better. Even his friends ask for his advice after they finish something, then sometimes make the changes. I tell him that he is one of the best managers that I have ever known but that he never had an original idea in his life. (grin) At our house the garden is mine, but Al does seem to enjoy playing with it a little in the Spring when the weather is still cool. He will till, move trellis, pick up compost, shovel it all out of the truck and put it where I want it, all those things to get the garden ready, but each year he SUGGESTS that I put things like trellis and such in a permanent place and run irrigation to it. Maybe...some year. With old age creeping up on me (not here yet of course), I know that would be a good idea.

When I was in Taiwan, where ground space is more limited in the urban areas, there were many people who planted small pots of plants on their fences. This same idea could be used on fences or houses (just attach the small pot properly). These are not the traditional round pots but probably more like a half-circle or half-moon pot that would be flat up against the fence/house wall and then have plants in it. Climbing flower plants, like roses or clematis, could also be started at ground level and be allowed to move up the side of the house or rain gutter spout and decorate the house that way. There are also now hanging tower garden items that let you plant many plants vertically in that tower.

There are mail order places that sell cuttings by the 100 for just such a project. More of these available now because currently they are purchased to make little things for wedding favors. Wreaths/Verticals are best with more maintenance than is needed for succulents in pots. A local garden center has a big wall of this type and changes it a bit about 4 times a year. It's very successful as a WOW! display. Important to get enough depth (3-6") to the planter to support a reasonable root system. Many of the vertical units available are too small for the root systems. An automatic drip system for vertical gardens is very helpful. For best results, your willingness to do moderate amounts of regular maintenance over the long term--it's not for everyone. Some gardeners are avid maintainers--it depends on what is fun for you.