Gardening in the Northwest is a wonderful and rewarding pastime. When you’re ready to take your hobby to the next level, it could be time to take it vertical. Whether you have plenty of room for raise beds and trellises, or are limited by space and sun, we have some pointers to help you add another dimension to your garden.
Typical Vertical Support
There are a host of vertical options that you can either buy pre-made or build yourself. Each option supports a rather specific set of crops. Look for your favorite in the chart below and add any of these tresses to your garden area for added bounty and beauty. Just be sure your trellis doesn’t shade other parts of your garden.
Coastal Tip: Use single stakes and twine to create almost any kind of trellis.
Going Vertical in Small Spaces
If you have a small back yard or just want to try something new in your garden or on the patio, give these alternative vertical garden ideas a try.
Pallet Gardens: Have an old pallet or two? Put them to good use by turning them into a garden. First, add a board to the bottom of the pallet so the soil doesn’t just slide out when you fill it up. (Optional: add garden cloth to the inside of the pallet for extra support and to help hold moisture.) Next, prop or secure your pallet to a wall or fence with the pallet boards running horizontally. Finally, fill it with soil. Then plant tomatoes or other plants in the spaces between the boards.
Hog Wire (cattle panels) Garden: Buy a 5’x16’ panel and cut it to size to fit along a fence, alongside your garden, or run it up the side of a shed or your home. These amazing panels are perfect for climbing plants and veggies. You can even bend hog wire to create an arch in your garden.
Gutter Garden: Go whimsical. Cut to size and attach rows of old gutters to a piece of plywood. Add garden cloth to any of the down spouts and add barriers (metal or wood) to the open ends. Then fill each of the gutters with dirt and plant anything you wish.
Extra Support
Melons can be grown vertically. The only issue is the weight of the melons. To help them out, create hammocks out of twine and old bits of cloth. The goal is to cradle the melon in a hammock that is big enough to handle the eventual size of the melon and strong enough to support the weight. To create yours, cut a rectangular piece of cloth and add holes to either end. Next, add the twine to the holes. Now, simply tie the hammock in place on your trellis and support the mellow from underneath.
Follow Your Green Thumb to Coastal
We have everything you need for your garden, including seeds, starts, soil, Miracle Gro, trellises, and gardening tools. Stop by today and tell us what you want to grow and we’ll share some ideas to make your garden the best it can be.