'You say you've got no space for a salad garden?'

13 years ago

Then how about this idea?

I saw this posted elsewhere and just had to pass it along. I'm assuming it's a shoe organizer, the kind you can get at Wally world for under $10.

I also assume it's just been planted with purchased plants, and I think (small as those pockets usually are) that you'd have to really stay on top of watering during the summer.

But it's defintiely a cool way to "grow vertical" on a small budget!

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Comments (3)

Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b
13 years ago
I like that idea! I think it would be good to punch holes all through the thing with an ice pick or nail to promote drainage AND root air pruning.

The cool thing is that you could water the top and fertilize with water soluble, and when the top drains, it drains and waters the next row, and so on...

I may be tempted to make something like this out of landscape cloth and hang them on the vineyard posts and put them on the drip system. NICE!! Thanks!
jannie
13 years ago
Great idea. reminds me of those Topsy-Tyrvy things for tomatoes!
jordan_californicus
12 years ago
I planted not one but two of these in March, and am happy to say after a little tweaking with the system, they're working wonderfully. First things first: I passed on tomatoes, peppers, and any other large summer veggies & fruits because (a) I was already planning another area for them and (b) this is much better suited to what I had in mind, salad greens.

Now at first I made a couple mistakes; the mix I made up was TOO good at draining. It needed water daily, even in this moist S. Oregon spring. Secondly, I packed way too much in the containers. And third, I didn't put it where it could get enough sun. It was also a little early in the year.

So after watching my veggie seedlings die off one by one (save for the first row, the one that got the most sun), I replanted, single plant to a pocket, added a drip line over both (I wasn't going to re-soil every pocket!), and put a wooden brace that angles the bottom out from the fence I hung these contraptions on. A month later and it's doing great; spinach (LOTS of spinach :), lettuce, swiss chard, chives, parsley, mustard, bok choi ... it's a veritable salad bar.

Definitely give this a try if you're considering it. My only problem was finding the dang shoe caddies; I finally got the pair at Ross for $5 each, but haven't seen any since. They have to be the mesh-like material; plastic will rot away.