"i have selected a variety of tomato that only grows 10-12 inches tall..."

Just out of curiosity, what variety did you pick?

"let me know what you think so far though?"

I'll wait for the pictures. I'm not a fan of tiny tomatoes.

MM

the variety is called "micro tom hybrid" from the "totally tomatoes" catalog.

I dont even eat tomatos (except salsa and ketchup) but they make a good test crop becasue they are hardy and will look pretty.

eventually i want to do a "culinary herb wall" using this fiberglass-esque gardening system i'm trying to develop.

hope you have better lick than I , with micro-tom..
Did not do much in a pot
I was not at all impressed
Mary

I think that this is something like what you are considering. They don't work very well. They need careful watering with a pipe so that the top ones get as much water as the bottom ones and none get soggy. The worst is that, as the plant grows, it uses the soil so the soil level drops. The top couple of strawberry plants I grew actually popped out of the soil because it dropped underneath them after they established roots. The thing was flimsy, too -- it was basically just a small bag o soil, like you can buy at the nursery, hung on a wall.

Perhaps you can design around these flaws!

I like your idea...if you do have soil problems, have you thought about using another type of Grow Medium that may be more stable vertically?

Also one question - are you sure the resin you are planning to use is safe? I was just about to purchase some marine epoxy resin the other day until I found a warning about not using the product in aquariums or potable water sources. Didn't specifically say it will harm or kill anything, but that warning was enough for me.

Here is a link that might be useful: my website

Sorry, forgot the link.

http://www.parkseed.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=10101&catalogId=10101&langId=-1&mainPage=prod2working&ItemId=42009&scChannel=Top%20Ten%20Main

Strawberry Plants (25) & 2 Growin' Bags
Enjoy Fresh Berries without Crawling Around in the Dirt!
25 strawberry plants PLUS 2 Growin' Bags to hang them for vertical growth!

Well, we can't persuade Mother Nature to start growing Strawberries on trees, but our Growin' Bags may just be the next best thing for bringing your sweet, plump berries to eye level!

I think the design will look quite ornamental, but depending on your climate zone (which is?) may be doomed without excessive babysitting.

If you have conditions of drying winds and hot weather, the small amounts of growing medium will dry very quickly. Some of this may be mitigated if you grow groups of plants in larger containers--that way there is some method for the moisture to migrate and the larger mass will be easier to maintain.

You might also consider those moisture beads. I haven't used them yet, but if they work as advertised they should help.

Otherwise, unless you have a very small garden, lots of time to watch over your plants, and a cool climate, you would probably be far better served by growing larger tomato plants in a more traditional vertical fashion. Roots sunk deep in cool soil have less problems than roots drying in warm air.

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h47/ChristianWarlock/Area27-15-06.jpg
Well guy's I have some ideas that you might find interesting and they're alot easier. Last summer I said that where a farmer can only grow 1 stalk of corn in ground. I can grow 32. And by going vertical I can grow 128! In that same space. A space less than a foot wide and 2 feet long. These are simple structures that are made from 1" PVC pipe you buy from Lowe's. They're called The Corn Tower, the Tomato Wall. The Tomato Waterfall, The Ball & Chain pumpkin maker, The Ball and Chain watermellon maker. This is the Dark Garden Method. Everything is grown in 2 & 3 liter recycled plastic bottles.
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h47/ChristianWarlock/SectionofGarden6-10-06.jpg
Last year it was Garden Pods, Monster Pods, Nanny Pods, Potato's in a bucket. Best yet everything I build is completely moveable, lightweight, use 1/4 the water and no nutrient run off. All of the methods use no shovel, no fuel or machery, no bending over if you don't want to and no weeding. Another positive point is that it's completely organic. Thru this method of Urban Intensive gardening you can grow food by the ton in small spaces. None of the problems of hydroponics and the ease of container gardening.
Now I've already started tradeing seeds for next year's garden right here on GW and elsewhere. In fact here my seeds list if anyone's interested.
TRADE LIST 12-9-06

Carica Papaya Sunrise/Hawaiian Solo
Beaucarnia Guatemalensis
Acer Palmatum
Alstonea Scholaris "Pagoda tree"
Pritchardia pacifeca "Fiji fan palm"
Schefflera arboricola "Hawaiian schefflera"
Solanum Muricta "Pepino"
Zelkova serrata "Japanese Elm"
Musa balbisiana
Musa coccinea
Musa glaucum
Musa ornata
Musa paradisiacsa
Musa sikkimensis
Musa violacea
Musa X sikkimensis
Musa zebrina

Sorry but thereÂs only 3 or 4 seeds per pack
GSD

{{gwi:336039}}
{{gwi:8067}}
{{gwi:50429}}
Didn't post the pictures right the first time.
GSD

Are you trying to sell products in an area where selling products is expressly forbidden?

Nice looking pictures, I like the idea of growing in 2 litre bottles, what are you doing about soil?

Also theres no way to fit 32 corn plants in 2 square feet, thats 9 square inches per corn plant, radishes and corrots you can do that to, not corn.

Brendan,

"Are you trying to sell products in an area where selling products is expressly forbidden?"

I'm afraid so, based on the Are You Disabled message thread posted in the Accessible Gardening forum and the 80 plant rack-2'x4'x6' space message thread in the Small Spaces and Urban Gardening forum. A search for georgeiii in iVillage's GardenWeb yields quite a few message threads.

MM

i dont know if he's selling nyhting but he sure is proud of his pictures becasue everytime anyone post anyhting he comes in and post how his method is better.

I'm glad he is excited about building things and growing but this isn't georgeiiiWeb.com

Haahahaaa please Ladies and Gentlemen if any of you can find anywhere on any thread over the whole GW where I advertized, tried to sell or anyone who ever bought anything from me (search the whole internet) please get back with me. Now hmmmmm. I think the questions should be do those idea's work. Anybody? Because if you got angry at me last year your going to be livid this year. Oh and Brenden, look at the pictures ( I don't have to brag)it's less than 5 inches. Please stick around.

Well once again I have an idea some of you might be interested in. It's called The Tomato Waterfall. It's a vertical garden. 6.5' high by 2' wide. Holds 30 2-liter bottles. The structure itself is made of PVC pipe and fittings. Cost less than 20 dollars to build. All plants growing in it are full sized. I have three Tomato Waterfalls so far. The top 8 slots are for tomato's. The weight of the tomato are supported by a rope network attached to the top of each pole. I'm going to add 2 cantiloupes to the base slots just for interest.