Vertical gardens are also suitable for growing vegetables. But not all vegetables feel at home in the wall garden. Find out what types of vegetables and herbs you can grow in a vertical garden here.
What vegetables can be grown in a vertical garden?
Shallow-rooted and small vegetables such as lettuce, herbs, garden cress, nasturtiums and radishes are suitable for vertical gardening. Strawberries also grow well. Heavy eaters such as tomatoes, zucchini and potatoes are rather unsuitable.
Beautiful vertical garden ideas for growing vegetables
You can buy a vertical garden from specialist retailers for around €150 or you can simply build it yourself. Here are a few suggestions for homemade vertical gardens:
- Vertical PVC pipe with openings (instructions for DIY here)
- Horizontally hang PVC pipes or plastic bottles with cut-out openings
- Lay out pallets with pond liner and plant them (instructions for building your own here)
- Stack fruit crates on top of each other, line them with pond liner and plant them
- Create a tiered raised bed
What vegetables can be grown in the vertical garden?
In the vegetable garden, vegetables have significantly more space for their roots and other plant parts. Therefore, vertical gardens are more suitable for shallow-rooted and small vegetables, such as:
- all types of lettuce
- all herbs
- Garden cress
- Nasturtium
- Radish
Not a vegetable, but still delicious: strawberries grow well in the wall garden.
The following are rather unsuitable:
- Tomatoes
- Zucchini
- Cucumbers
- Potatoes
- cabbage
- all other heavy eaters
Which vegetables you can grow in the wall garden also depends on how much sun your vertical garden gets. In general, all vegetables grow better when they are in the sun.
Vegetables and herbs for the vertical garden that can survive with less sun:
- Dill
- Mint
- Chives
- Radish
- parsley
- Sorrel
How to plant your vegetables in the vertical garden
It's best to plant your vertical vegetable garden at the end of May, after the Ice Saints. Use nutrient-rich soil or mix some compost into normal potting soil. Make sure your planters have adequate drainage. This is particularly important outdoors if it rains a lot. It's best to grow the plants on the windowsill a month in advance so that you can harvest faster. Make sure there is sufficient planting distance.
How to Maintain Your Vertical Vegetable Garden
Vertically planted vegetables basically need exactly the same care as horizontally planted vegetables. Only watering can be a little more complicated, as the upper rows in particular tend to dry out quickly. To make watering easier, you can snake a hose around the different levels of your wall garden and poke numerous holes in it. Connect the hose, turn on the tap, done!
