Vegetables and herbs planted in containers on the ground or in the ground have become all-day all-you-can-eat buffets for bunnies in our backyard, and our dog Eggy :). So about a year ago we started to explore ideas on how to elevate our edible garden. A hanging garden idea came to mind after Ales finished building our new fence.
This idea is super easy to implement. With just a few 2-quart paint buckets, and plant hooks, you can create so much more space to plant, vertically. We have success with this vertical set up across a variety of vegetables, herbs, and fruits, including lettuce, chard, rosemary, basil, strawberry, peppers of many kinds. We place leafy vegetables on the side with morning sunlight and no direct afternoon sun. Herbs like rosemary and basil seem to like more hours of sunlight and do better with direct afternoon sun.
This set-up can accommodate your garden year-round. Cold hardy veggies in the fall and winter and a lot of peppers, strawberries, and herbs in the spring and summer.
This could work well for balconies as well, for veggies, herbs, and flowers.
Remember to drill a hole at the bottom of each bucket for drainage and you are good to go. Here are a few pictures of our vertical garden from a few past seasons. Have fun gardening!
Mi
