Maximize Your Garden Space | Vertical And Container Gardening
There is a common misconception that you need to have acres of land to be able to be successful growing your own food for you and your family. But what happens if you live in an apartment, only have a back porch, or just a small window ledge? Or what if your dedicated garden is already full of rows and rows of vegetables and you just don't have any more room to spare or don't want to add more growing plots, thus creating more work for yourself? The answer is simple - vertical and container gardening.
The Benefits Of Growing Vegetables In Containers
Small space gardening has become so popular in recent years that the art of growing your own food in containers has been all but perfected. There have been varieties that have been specifically bred to be able to thrive in containers. With that and taking a plant's natural growth habit into account, container gardening is an excellent way to maximize your garden space or utilize whatever space you have available to you. Aside from maximizing your space, growing food in containers gives you the benefit of protecting your plants during inclement or unexpected weather. If a late Spring freeze comes through, simply bring the containers inside until the threat of frost has passed. The main things to remember when you're choosing container gardening is that it is always important to knowwhat size container to use (roots need room to grow) and to make sure you have the right soil mix (nutrients are key).
What Vegetables Can You Grow In Containers?
Tomatoes are by and large the most popular vegetable to grow in containers. However, there are so many other vegetables that you can add to the mix and produce plenty of food to harvest. Below are some of our favorite vegetables that will thrive in a container garden.
What Is Vertical Gardening?
Vertical gardening is just what it sounds like - growing vegetables using vertical space as opposed to planting in the ground. There are a lot of ways to utilize extra vertical space to grow more food. Regardless of how much extra space you have, be it an extra window, a spare wall, you can maximize your indoor and outdoor space with trellises, hanging gardens, or a wall garden. Below are some DIY vertical gardens that we love. These ideas are just a few of the ways you can use simple materials to make an attractive vertical vegetable or herb garden.
Best Vegetables For A Trellis Vertical Garden
Using a plant's natural growth habit is an excellent way to plan on using your extra space to create your vertical garden. Adding a trellis to a spare wall or at the end of your garden plot can increase your food supply greatly. Vegetables that have a climbing or vining growth habit like cucumbers, peppers, and pole beans are the perfect candidates to climb up those places that would otherwise go to waste in an everyday garden. We've selected our favorite vegetables that will grow well on a trellis.