Even People Without a Backyard Can Grow Herbs and Veggies — You Just Have to Think ‘Vertically’

As unfair as it may sound, space doesn’t come for free, no matter how much you pray to the gods of heaven. 8 billion humans today live stuffed within quagmires of tiny houses, clumped like toy towns in the urban cities. The UN projected 10.8 billion humans by 2100, which means more and more people will be squeezed into dainty coffin-or-cake-sized houses, unless Earth balloons into a bigger size. The secret code to resolve this grappling dilemma is what many personal development speakers ask their clients to do: change your thinking. Vertical thinking, to be specific, as horticulturalist Belinda Thackeray from Sydney told RNZ.

What is 'Vertical Gardening'?

In the context of gardening, vertical thinking refers to a style of gardening that utilizes vertical space to grow plants instead of the typical horizontal space. If you are constantly worried that your balcony or outdoors doesn’t have sufficient horizontal space to fulfil your gardening dream, take a deep breath. You can still materialize your dream garden with a little adjustment to your space’s mathematics. All you need to do is replace the dimension of breadth with the dimension of height. As people continue to face housing space limitations, many of them are choosing to go the way of “vertical gardens.” 

Not just individuals or families, even governments are harnessing this aesthetic to add more plants, to purify the air, and to add visual appeal to their cities. Take the example of “Tiger Wings,” India’s largest vertical garden, unveiled last year. Installed at Bengaluru International Airport, the garden was dedicated to the tiger, the country’s national animal. French botanist Patrick Blanc, who has been carving vertical gardens for decades, used the lush variety of Western Ghats plants to bring this garden to life. Thackeray spilled several tips for gardeners who are interested in designing a vertical garden for themselves. 

Scope out your space

"If you want to grow edible plants, you need as much sun as you can get, you can sometimes get away with four hours' sun, but ideally we go for six hours," Thackeray told RNZ. A real-life example of her suggestion can be seen in a vertical garden photo shared by the Reddit user u/Hilo-Omaha. The gardener glued vertical slats to a concrete wall and tucked the space with bursting flowers in white, purple, yellow, and crimson colors. They said the white and purple ones outperformed others in growth just because they were planted under direct sunlight.

However, there’s a thing called too much light, as urban gardener Kia Codd pointed out. Codd advised gardeners to avoid exposing their plants to too much of unwanted light. The idea is to go with the seasonal demands of the plants.

How to design a vertical garden?

"It's really worth doing your research before buying or constructing a vertical garden because there are a lot of options,” Thackeray said. Think long-term, she added. You can use items like fabric pockets, wooden pallets, and other recycled materials to set up the towering garden. @fitmomsblog purchased dozens of planting pots from Dollar Tree and stacked them vertically while cutting up holes for drainage. According to Codd, wire frames, hanging planters, and modular plant stands are also great options.

Check the watering system

Thackery urged gardeners to pay careful attention to the watering and drainage system while planning a vertical garden. She recommended trying a tap timer or drip feed watering system to prevent the plants from getting too dry or too wet. This is exactly what @plantedinthegarden did for the vertical garden they set up on an empty fence in a semi-shaded area to grow tomatoes.