I am busy planning out the structure of my garden because I can’t plant yet. This year I’m working on maximizing the space I have in my garden by growing vertical. Last year my garden club pals built these obelisks but the winter really did mine in so I took them apart and used the woods to steak up my netting. i was scouring some new garden sites and I found some inexpensive options for making things grow a vertical garden.
Tomatoes – First things first. My tomatoes. I have broken countless tomato cages because as the tomatoes grow they lean to one side and bust apart the metal braces. i am going to try out these tomato clips to help spread the weight and hopefully grow my tomatoes up instead of out. Has anyone tried to grow tomatoes with the vertical cages like this how did you get them to sprout up instead of out? This year I invested in some Titan tomato towers. They were pricy but I hope they work.
Squash – Last year I planted 4 zucchini squash plants and they overtook my garden. This year I am going to try to grow them on this vertical squash tunnel. I am still going to plant at least one in the ground for comparison but i’m very curious to see how they each produce.
To read a full update on the Titan Squash Tunnels visit this review post
Cucumbers – I stated in previous posts that while the gherkin cucumbers were super fun to grow, they pretty much took up my entire garden bed. I bought a few of these obelisks on ebay for under $30 to have them grow up and out on. I might change my mind by the time it comes to planting them and use this arbor I bought via ebay (9 feet tall and under $70). stay tuned. they might work better on the arbor because the cucumbers are super fast growers and stayed pretty and green all summer long. Update: They’re trash as in, they’re in the trash. Lasted only two seasons.
Beans – My trellis was too little too late last year and a lot of my beans went out instead of up. I’m thinking of trying to make an arch out of bar with netting hanging down. I’ll have to strategize though so they don’t block my sun loving plants in a wall of bean shade. (why does bean shade sound so funny?)
There are a lot of other fun garden things I’d love to try all at once but my trick to keeping gardening affordable and enjoyable is a little bit at a time. I’ll let you know what i think of everything when it comes in!
other gardening posts
3 investments for your garden under $100
