Tip of the Week: Vertical Gardening
Posted in Gardening Tips on July 13th, 2009 by Sonia Uyterhoeven – Be the first to comment |
Sonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education. Join her each weekend for home gardening demonstrations on a variety of topics in the Home Gardening Center. |
The best way to handle life’s ups and downs is to make a commitment to vertical gardening. I have, and it has always led me to new ideas and creative ways of growing my vegetables. Why garden vertically? With an annual vine, a clematis, or a climbing rose, it seems pretty obvious. So why not, then, bring this gardening technique into your vegetable garden?
Saving space is an obvious reason for growing vertically, but vertical crops are also easier to harvest and are less susceptible to diseases. The crop is lifted from its usual place on the ground where it fights for sunlight and good air circulation. I notice a big different in my cucumbers when I grow them up a tepee or a trellis versus letting them sprawl on the ground.
This year I will be experimenting with A-frames that have a grid or wire mesh on either one or both sides. I will be growing cucumbers up these structures, but I could just as well be trying melons, squashes, gourds, or tomatoes. (If you are growing a vegetable that will eventually produce heavy fruit, give the fruit extra support by either cradling them with an old pair of panty hose or a nylon or mesh support.)
I am more of a practical woman. What I like so much about these vertical frames is that there is space underneath that can be used to plant lettuce, beets, or any fast-growing crop that will capitalize on the good light while the vine is young and then adapt graciously to the part-shade that the vine eventually casts. read more »