Carol | Easy Vertical Gardening

Make a Strawberry Tower or Strawberry Pyramid Planter

Strawberries are tasty to easy and easy to grow. However, many people want to know how to grow more berries in a small space and how to prevent them for being eaten by predators.

Of course my answer to this is vertical gardens – but there is more than just one solution here.

New: The Greenstalk stacking planter contains 30 separate growing compartments, so it works really well for herb gardens, lettuce, strawberries, etc.. In addition, it has a 360-degree design, so you can plant and view it from all angles.

I also like the efficient built-in watering design that this planter has. For instance, you just water the top, and water trickles down evenly to each compartment.

The Strawberry Pyramid

The first idea is a strawberry pyramid planter. This option is ideal for people who are not short on space and who also don’t have ground predators who will eat their harvest. Essentially, you start by building a raised bed and then add multiple tiers on top of it to create a pyramid.

Since the vertical design creates more soil space, you can grow more plants. It also becomes easier to reach and harvest the fruit – not to mention you’ve got this cool pyramid structure to look at in your backyard.

Click Here to See Strawberry Tower Kits
The video below explains how to build your own:

If you are looking for strawberry pyramid plans, you can get a list of the specific materials and tools needed for this project here.

Hanging Strawberry Pots

The second method is using a hanging planter. You can keep rabbits, raccoons and other creatures away from your plants this way, although you may still need to look out for birds.

According to The Fruit Gardener’s Bible by Lewis Hill and Leonard Perry, you want to choose a strawberry planting site that receives lots of sun and has well-drained soil. In certain areas, you may also need to protect your berries from frost. This makes hanging strawberry pots and movable strawberry towers a great choice for growing this plant.

Hanging containers tend to be smaller, but don’t let that stop you from growing a small harvest. Certain pots let you grow strawberries all around the pot instead of just up. Therefore, you can grow more plants, and you can also get multiple planters.

I personally have not tried the Topsy Turvy strawberry grower, since it has not had great reviews. However, the concept is a good one.

For instance, the Mr Stacky 5 Tiered Hanging & Stacking Vertical Garden is made of better quality materials and can last you several years.

Looking for a container you can use indoors? No problem – drainage dish is included.
Don’t want a hanging pot? Enjoy it freestanding on the ground or a table instead.
Need a shorter container? Just disconnect the layers to create multiple shorter planters.
You are not limited to strawberries – grow herbs or succulents as well.

Strawberry Towers

A third option is a strawberry tower. Typically this type of vertical garden is made from a 4″-6″ PVC pipe or similar. You can also use a galvanized wire mesh fence.

And, if you’re looking for the easiest way possible to build a strawberry tower, there are some pretty cool kits too. Click Here to See Them Now.

DIY Hanging Flower Pot Window Garden

Curtain Rod Hanging Planters — courtesy of https://www.bobvila.com/

Whether you want to grow an herb garden indoors or want to create a privacy screen outside a window or in your backyard, here is a simple way to do it. I saw this idea on BobVila.com and thought that this DIY window garden ideas was “genius” (not to mention that’s what the title on his site says too).

Although it has a sophisticated and modern look to it, this vertical hanging garden consists of just a curtain rod and some hanging caddys from IKEA (and some hooks). It’s not only simple, it’s cheap. It’s also movable and non-permanent (perfect for those of us living in apartments or don’t want to build a permanent structure.

You can get inexpensive curtain rods (or even shower rods) that are adjustable, so you can easily custom-fit them to a window frame, between 2 fence posts, 2 walls, etc.. You can also line up several rods lengthwise along a fence – or position several in rows above and below each other to create a cheap-and-easy privacy screen.

Keep in mind that these adjustable rods support themselves through tension and therefore can’t support heavy planters. Small metal or plastic containers work great, and spreading them out along the bar works even better to distribute the weight. Want to plant more flowers or herbs? Simply add more rods.

Shower or curtain rods can typically be found at your local home improvement or department stores in a variety of different sizes and colors. You can also get them online for under $10 apiece (not too shabby for a DIY project that doesn’t require any hardware or tools!). This Zenna Home 72″ Tension Shower Curtain Rod is shown in brushed Nickel, but it also comes in white, chrome, bronze, bone swirl, cashmere, chrome swirl and white swirl. It’s on sale right now for $9.99.

These rods hold up to 30 lbs and can fit spaces between 43″ to 72″. Very versatile, not to mention easy!

For the planters, you can use metal or plastic flower pots, office caddys, tumblers or something similar. If you want to mimic the photo with galvanized steel planters, I’ve found Ikea to be the cheapest.

You can get a set of 6 of them online for about $20 (FYI, you can also get a set of 3 for about $10). They measure 4″ tall and 4 1/4″ in diameter, so they are not too big for the project.

They don’t come with hooks, so you can purchase hooks separately for about 25 cents apiece and drill small holes in the containers (easy with a standard drill bit), or you can wrap twine or cord around the pot as shown in the picture and attach hooks that way. Either one looks pretty cool to me.

The end result is that you can make your own modern and stylish hanging flower pot window garden with 6 hanging pots for under $35 (not including plants). In addition to being cheap (without looking cheap), this is a perfect DIY vertical gardening project for those of us who don’t have a lot of time, patience or tools…

Tips:

1. Make sure that you put your planters in well-lit location if your plants require a certain amount of sunlight during the day.

2. Allow adequate drainage for plants that need it. This can be as simple as inserting a smaller pot inside each planter.

3. Check the weight of your garden if you choose plants that grow large or hold a lot of water.