vertical gardening

[Rockbrother]

Hi, was wondering if anyone here was doing any vertical gardening this year?

I'm going to try it out this year. I have 3 sections of fencing that measure 12' by 6'.
Was going to use it from my cucumbers, and some small melons.

I will try and get some pics up.

[Rockbrother]

Here are some Pics I have so far

[Rockbrother]

And one final pic.

[Sock Puppy]

We tried planting the cukes next to a fence last year, and they wouldn't climb the damn thing. They went everywhere else, though, but not up the fence.

Beans and peas, however love to climb stuff, so we always put something out for them to climb on.

--SP

[Rockbrother]

Thanks ImaCannin, that is what those are, dog kennel panels. least that is what my cousin used them for before he moved out.

I don't know exactly how it will work out. especially after Sock Puppys report of his non climbing Cucumbers.. Maybe I will just have to ask mine real nice like..haha.

I've been reading about Square Foot Gardening, by Mel Bartholomew. A good read with lots of information.

I also a question, for anyone out there. Have any of you ever grown a Yellow Pear Tomato? I let my son pick out a few packets of seeds this year, and this one one he pick.

[skid]

I cut down a bunch of vine maple, and saved all the stems/branches. I am building a trellis for my Kiwis and Grapes. Some of the vine maple branches are 15 feet long, so it will be a pretty high trellis. I have read that in the wild, Kiwis vines will grow 50 feet up a tree, so it will be interesting to see how they do.

[akahagar]

Hi RB,
I've never grown them either but started them from seed this year. They seem to be doing pretty well but not as impressive as the Rutgers.

A friend of mine said he loved the yellow pear tomatos so I hope we get a good batch. Until then, I guess we're both experimenting.

Good luck!

well

Thanks ImaCannin, that is what those are, dog kennel panels. least that is what my cousin used them for before he moved out.

I don't know exactly how it will work out. especially after Sock Puppys report of his non climbing Cucumbers.. Maybe I will just have to ask mine real nice like..haha.

I've been reading about Square Foot Gardening, by Mel Bartholomew. A good read with lots of information.

I also a question, for anyone out there. Have any of you ever grown a Yellow Pear Tomato? I let my son pick out a few packets of seeds this year, and this one one he pick.

[skid]

This is the trellis I made for my kiwis out of vine maple branches. The log fence is 6 feet high. Looks pretty rustic, but is plenty strong. I can climb up up the trellis like a ladder, so it should support the weight of the kiwis for a few years before it rots

[Son-of-Liberty]

I have had some success growing squash vertically. I had very limited space last year sharing a townhouse with my brother and a friend. Luckily this year I am moving out to the farm.

I had to help the plants climb though by lifting the vines and tying them on the fence.

Early in the year:

[Son-of-Liberty]

Late Summer:
The Fence is Six feet high to give you an idea of the scale.

[Rockbrother]

Hey, that looks pretty cool! Thanks for the pic and post!

[silverblood]

I made a trellis out of scrap wood and sisal twine this year for my pole beans. They didn't seem to want to grab hold of the galvanized pipe I gave them last year. Too smooth, and too hot too I suspect. Sticks, lumber, bamboo, twine, and other non-metallic rough-textured lattices are best for vines, I believe.

[Rockbrother]

Hey, Thanks for the heads up on that Silverblood. maybe I can buy sometype of wood lattice that I can hook up to the Chain link fence before these plants really start to take off.

[Gypsybiker45]

see that chain link fence your using? thats not a good idea! In the summer the chain gets VERY hot and will actually kill the vines, thats why the other poster's cukes didnt climb it, too hot. now in another photo, Son of Liberty is using a fence with a wall or board behind it closely, that helps with the heat and the plants grow on that. but a free standing wire fence will kill the vines if you try and attach them there. place it next to a shed or put a board structure behind it,or better yet, use wood.

[Rockbrother]

Hey Thanks, I'll take the fence and put up something else.

[skid]

see that chain link fence your using? thats not a good idea! In the summer the chain gets VERY hot and will actually kill the vines, thats why the other poster's cukes didnt climb it, too hot. now in another photo, Son of Liberty is using a fence with a wall or board behind it closely, that helps with the heat and the plants grow on that. but a free standing wire fence will kill the vines if you try and attach them there. place it next to a shed or put a board structure behind it,or better yet, use wood.


My grandparents used rusty old rock crusher screens for their pole beans and other climbing plants. If that didn't get too hot nothing will. They never had any problems with plants not climbing up them. Because they were rusty, it afforded the plants a good grip. I suspect the smooth galvanized pipe was too large diameter and too smooth, so the vines couldn't circle them without slipping down.

I personally use galvanized stucco wire, and have never had a problem. My grapes/peas/beans love to climb that stuff.

[greenbear]

Thanks ImaCannin, that is what those are, dog kennel panels. least that is what my cousin used them for before he moved out.

I don't know exactly how it will work out. especially after Sock Puppys report of his non climbing Cucumbers.. Maybe I will just have to ask mine real nice like..haha.

I've been reading about Square Foot Gardening, by Mel Bartholomew. A good read with lots of information.

I also a question, for anyone out there. Have any of you ever grown a Yellow Pear Tomato? I let my son pick out a few packets of seeds this year, and this one one he pick.


I grew the cherry-sized Yellow Pear Tomatoes year before last. Very, very prolific and the plant got fairly large. The problem I had was that just before they were ripe most of them would split at the top. I ended up picking them just before any trace of green was gone. It was even worse worse if they got too much water.

[StackerKen]

Thanks ImaCannin, that is what those are, dog kennel panels. least that is what my cousin used them for before he moved out.

I don't know exactly how it will work out. especially after Sock Puppys report of his non climbing Cucumbers.. Maybe I will just have to ask mine real nice like..haha.

I've been reading about Square Foot Gardening, by Mel Bartholomew. A good read with lots of information.

I also a question, for anyone out there. Have any of you ever grown a Yellow Pear Tomato? I let my son pick out a few packets of seeds this year, and this one one he pick.


I grew the cherry-sized Yellow Pear Tomatoes year before last. Very, very prolific and the plant got fairly large. The problem I had was that just before they were ripe most of them would split at the top. I ended up picking them just before any trace of green was gone. It was even worse worse if they got too much water.


I hate it when that happens..We had lots of tomato split like that last year.
Too much water?...ohhh...gonna have to look into that. Thanks

[StackerKen]

Yes..... Most of the time its too much water.


Thanks Imma. :)
I will remember that

[Korbin Dallas]

I have a section of my garden which is in a bed above a retaining wall. I built it up higher to level the bed. I grow vertically downward, allowing the plants to cascade down the side of the wall. My snow peas are just starting to "waterfall" over:

[greenbear]

Good idea, attractive, too.

[Rockbrother]

Anyone else have any Pictures they would care to share? :D

[Saul Mine]

Last year I planted some stuff. It sprouted and then the sprouts disappeared. Corn shoots looked like some bugs had eaten them. I assumed I had lousy soil, so this year I bought top soil and planted in cinder blocks. (Too cheap to buy pots.) I finally figured out what the problem was: the neighbor's chickens were coming over the fence and eating my sprouts. But they can't see over the cinder blocks, so they leave them alone.

I did get two plants out of that fiasco: a zucchini bush and a lettuce tree. Yeah, a lettuce tree. That lollipop was waist high and had a spray of flowers two feet wide. I shook the seeds all around to see what would happen, and this year I have a FOREST of lettuce. Must be a hunnert and fifty plants!

[Rockbrother]

Some updated pics of the garden :D