(Updated 2020): I’ve been collecting fabulous vertical gardening ideas for growing your own vegetables, herbs and flowers forever. What was a necessity, then became a hobby and now is a true passion! Hence, it’s no surprise that I constantly update this article, adding updated new ideas.
Over the last few years, vertical gardening has become such a big thing, as it’s so liberating: you can grow plants wherever you are. Even on a tiny balcony, a roof top, the shed door. You name it!
Encouraged by how well my own veggies are taking root and growing, more vertical vegetable garden ideas are needed!!! I want to grow more veggies! Which spurs on my forever browsing around for vertical vegetable gardening ideas.
Vertical Gardening – Forever Popular!
It is no wonder that Vertical gardening has become so popular:
- It maximizes your harvest.
- It maximizes the use of what is essentially a very limited space.
- By using a vertical gardening method, you avoid having to bend all the time while attending to your vegetable garden.
- These trellises keep your vegetables away from pests and rot. They are off the ground. Brilliant!Today I’m sharing another handful of vertical vegetable garden ideas with you. They are quite diverse. I am sure that one or perhaps several ideas will suit your garden/balcony gardening situation:
- If you have land, consider that cucumber trellis!!!
- If you have just a veggy garden bed, consider that tomato trellis / wall extension of your bed.
- If you lots of land consider that gorgeous gourd canopy.
- If you are a balcony healthy organic vegetable growing ‘activist’ that try out the mesh hanging basket to grow an assortment of vegetables and herbs. It is so cute and which has excellent drainage!
Now I love creating or spotting new ideas, particularly for vertical gardening for vegetables, herbs or edible flowers, such as organic geraniums.
Top 10 Vertical Vegetable Gardening Ideas
Here are my 10+ Vertical Gardening Ideas:
5. A ‘Skyscraper’ Trellis for Your Vertical Tomato Garden
This fantastic wall system helps you to grow any kind of vegetables that can climb along a trellis. And there are lots of them! Cucumbers, tomatoes, pumpkins, sweet peas and other peas, all sorts of beans, eggplant, and lots more.
Two things that are particularly nice about this garden trellis:
- It comes as a kit.
- It is sturdy enough to grow rather heavy vegetable plants.
- It saves lots of space in your vegetable garden.
- This means that many more can have a chance of having a successful vegetables garden in the first place. As it can be used on terraces and patios, of course!
- Reduced snail munching?! I am expecting, that having the veggies and fruit off the ground, you’ll have fewer snails and slugs nibbling on them. While I have no proof for this yet, I am creating a trellis like this for this reason alone.
- This kit is made in the USA. If you care to buy locally made (rather than Chinese imports) choose this kit.
6. Made with quality materials: cedar wood for the brackets; and steel rod and hardware. Despite being light-weight, Cedar is one of the most durable woods and, so I understand is resistant to both insects and rot. Steel is one of the stronger materials around for gardening accessories and, as such can handle the weight of your abundance of vegetables. So, while your box when it arrives may look ‘unassuming’, it’s actually filled with quality materials, made with American love.
If you do as good a job as the gardener in the picture, you’ll have many, many pounds of tomatoes hanging on there! Yumm!
Here’s where you get the trellis kit:
Space Saving, Vertical, Organic Vegetable, Sky Scraper Gardening System
Or just get the netting
If you just want to get heavy-duty trellis netting, also made in the USA, here you go, click this image.
Actually at $9.99, for 15 ft, this is a really good price, and if you get 30 or 60 ft, the price drops way further.
It’s tangle-free and has 60-pound breaking strength for supporting heavy crop loads. Waaohh!
2. Vertical Gardening Pockets Wall
I came across another system – a very inexpensive vertical gardening framework.
- Suitable for planting flowers, vegetables, strawberries, hanging plants and so on.
- Great decor for your indoor, outdoor walls and fences with green plants, pretty flowers, herbs and vegetables
- Each pocket can hold as much as 2kg of soil.
- Sturdy, waterproof. Recently with renewed features, and still outrageously inexpensive.
Beautiful, right?
You can even use such a pocket wall really creatively. Have a close look at the next one idea…
3. Vertical Garden in Tea Pots
When you go to up to your garage, shed or attic where you store, or soon again to that garage sale or consignment shop over the weekend: pick up any teapots you can find. Not to make more tea cozies, although that’s a great idea as well, but to hang your own geraniums, or herbs, or even draping tomatoes in a celebratory vertical vegetable garden.
4. Vertical Garden in Buckets on a Frame
These fresh herbs growing in bucket was found at an English pub’s rooftop garden and kitchen. It’s so easy.
As you can hang your buckets at all heights, this could be a great way to involve the kids in watering the plants at a young age, teach them about planting their own food.
Besides fun memories of being able to top their own pasta dish with the herbs they’ve grown themselves, you are teaching them lifelong gardening skills. This is vital, I believe in our age.
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5. Upcycled Ladder as Vertical Gardening Frame
This third idea i just spotted on Pinterest. I love this idea of upcycling an old ladder and planks, and use it to create a peekaboo wall…. wherever in my garden.
Could help to define areas in the garden, perhaps offer a bit of shade to the one plants I put on the lower shelves, or the plants behind the wall. Could be of a wind breaker too. I think it is very decorative. And could work offering some extra spacing or be purposed as a potting station.
In one word: I LOVE IT.
What do you think?
6. The Tiered Colander Kitchen Garden
Great way to recycle some unused kitchen utensils and tools. Go find your old strainers from the back of your kitchen cabinets, or do the rounds at garage sales. Fabulous in the garden as a vertical garden holder.
Well, perhaps this IS my favorite idea then….
Love it!
image credit/source: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardeningadvice/3342860/Thorny-problems.html
7. DIY Vertical (vegetable) Garden in a Vintage Window Frame
These are not vegetables but could be vegetables. It’s a gorgeous design. Of course designed by a landscape architect, Randy Raburn from Portland, Oregon. Leave it to landscape architects to take things up a notch.
And to inspire you. Could you make your garden functional and pretty with an old frame like this?
https://randyraburndesign.com/post/40188528226/vertical
Back in the ’70s, the vertical-gardening pioneer and French botanist Patrick Blanc began using synthetic materials to create walls replicating natural vertical habitats.
Randy explains that he follows the Blanc style by using a modular panel system with an array of pockets using felt made from 100% recycled plastic bottles.
8. Vertical Vegetable Gardening Trellis -An Advanced DIY
This is a DIY project plan for a vegetable garden trellis, with tutorial, wood shopping list and all. It is a rose aka vegetable garden trellis.
This gardening trellis is so pretty and luxurious. I bet that your gourds as well as here climbing roses will love this pretty trellis too.
It is also very sturdy. It has a structural look to it. What’s not to love!? Perhaps the elbow grease required to pull this project off. It might be beyond the scope of some. But, you can always ask a husband, neighbour, best friend or that handy girl of yours to come help.
Image source & instructions: https://www.lilikoijoy.com/2013/03/a-garden-trellis-and-rose.html
9. Vegetable Trellis providing shading for adjacent Vegetable Bed.
This cucumber trellis, when tilted rather than upright, can provide shade for shade-needing vegetables underneath the trellis.
10. Vertical Vegetable Garden with Pumpkins, Gourds & Kumquats
This vertical vegetable garden of gourds and pumpkins is just gorgeous! A sheer oasis, where I would love to grow my vegetables. Who would not want to have a fairy party under this exquisite canopy of healthy vegetables ??!! Perhaps hang a mosquito net under the vegetables just to avoid them falling by accident onto anyone’s head?
This awesome vertical garden with hanging pumpkins is in Taiwan.
Other Horizontal Gardening, Vertical Gardening, Garden & Outdoor DIY projects
Have a look at some of our other plant and garden projects.
- Be sure to read out other vertical vegetable garden how-to tutorial (with video) which explains how to recycle plastic bottles and make your hanging vertical vegetable garden, that’ so amazingly perfect, it can even be hung indoors.
- Recycled Bottles DIY Sub-Irrigation System
- How to Make a Topiary
- How to Make Succulent Wreaths
- How to Make a Rustic Garden Bench
- How to Landscape with Grasses (even in Pots)
- Cool DIY Fence from Recycled Corrugated Iron
- Succulent Garden in Recycled Small Kid Shoe (see photo)
- DIY Cool Outdoor Shower
- Free Sewing Pattern for a Quilted Gardeners Tote Bag
- How to Make Your Own Tire Swing
