vegetable gardening | Easy Vertical Gardening

Do you live in a big city, you have a small backyard or maybe none at all? Don’t think you can’t grow fruit, vegetables and herbs at home. Check out this space-efficient hydroponic tower garden.

As the cost of food goes up, and more people are demanding organic produce, we are seeing a fast increase in urban farming – even with people who have never been gardeners.

A factor that plays a big role in growing food is space. Many of us don’t have it – at least we think we don’t. That’s where vertical farming comes in. You can grow plenty of plants using just a small footprint, plus you can keep your greens away from critters that might destroy your crop!

Vertical Farming Costs

The good news is that you can inexpensively create your own vertical farm using recycled materials or cheap items from your local home improvement store. For example, you can pick up a few basic rain gutters for less than $10 apiece.

On the flip side, there are pre-made kits you can buy that provide everything need without all of the work of building it. The Garden Tower is one of these products – and it enables gardeners to plant 50+ plants in the tower AND it is a composting bin at the same time. Check out the video below to see what I mean.

This next video gives another example of small scale farming for urban gardeners. It also includes information on an automated watering and fertilizing system that you can set up yourself.

No matter which route you decide to go, vertical farming systems do take some time, money and effort to set up. However, once established, they can be very low maintenance – especially if you have automatic watering.

Watch out though. Having fresh greens, vegetables and herbs at your fingertips (without the high cost of buying them at the store) will spoil you. You will have a hard time buying and eating store-bought tomatoes again.

Another resource you might want to check out is square foot gardening.

If you want to save time, money and work when growing your plants, vegetables and/or fruit, you may want to take a look at square foot gardening. It is a very efficient way to grow a plentiful garden without spending a ton of time or money in the process.

By using specific (yet simple) strategies from Mel Bartholomew, gardeners can waste less and avoid many common problems. For example, hand watering plant roots directly requires less water, and densely-planted vegetation will help stop weeds from growing. Check out this video to see what I mean:

To take advantage of all of the benefits that square foot gardening provides, use a garden planner or planting chart. It will show you the proper layout and spacing that you need to follow in order to get maximum growth with minimum effort.

Bartholomew includes an easy-to-follow planting chart in his instruction guide, “All New Square Foot Gardening” as well as how to build the right planting structure, create the proper soil mixture and even set up a vertical gardening system.

The step-by-step color photos are extremely helpful for beginners, as well as charts, diagrams and measurements. If you are a fan of recycling, you will also appreciate tips for re-using materials and making the most of items you already have.

Vertical Farming – Using Only 4 Square Feet

Square Foot Gardening Planner – Grow Vegetables at Home