How to Build an Easy Vertical Garden
A plastic hanging shoe organizer designed to be hung on a closet door can be used for a vertical garden. It is quick and easy to install but make sure it is installed securely. Moist potting soil and plants will make it quite heavy. Use a plastic shoe organizer as opposed to canvas. The canvas type is generally not waterproof and will quickly stain. Small houseplants, herbs and even some vegetable plants can be grown in a shoe organizer. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Plastic hanging shoe organizer
- Stud finder
- Tape measure
- Pencil
- Level
- 3 screws or nails
- Sharp knife or fine-pointed scissors
- Wallpaper moistening tray
- Houseplant potting mix
- Plants
Instructions
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Determine where the vertical garden should be located based on what will be grown in it. Most houseplants prefer an area that receives bright indirect sunlight. Herbs and vegetable plants generally need six hours of direct sunlight each day. Do not install the shoe organizer near drafty windows, doors or heating and cooling vents.
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Use a stud finder to locate the wall studs where the organizer is to be hung. Measure 6 feet up from the floor along two studs and make a small mark with a pencil indicating where the screw or nail will be driven into the stud. Use a level to make sure the two marks are at the same height.
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Hold the shoe organizer up on the wall. Line the top of the organizer up with the pencil marks. Make sure it is centered evenly over the pencil marks. Drive two screws or nails through the organizer into the wall studs. Drive a third screw or nail in at the top center of the organizer. The organizer may also be hung from a sturdy curtain rod, screw hooks or on the back of a door if preferred.
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Puncture each shoe pouch at the bottom two or three times with the tip of a sharp knife or fine-pointed scissors for drainage. Place a wallpaper tray on the floor below the organizer as a drainage catch basin. Fill each pouch one-half to two-thirds full with a houseplant potting mix. Make sure the potting mix contains perlite, vermiculite or coarse builder's sand for improved drainage.
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Remove a plant from its container and place it in a pouch. Cover its roots with additional potting mix, making sure the top of the mix is 1/2 to 1 inch below the top edge of the pouch. Continue transplanting the plants into the pouches until they are all full.
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Water each plant. Continue to water the plants as necessary, depending on their requirements. Check the soil with a finger before watering each time to make sure the soil is not too wet.
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Tips & Warnings
Plants located toward the bottom of the organizer will most likely need to be watered less often than those at the top. Some water will naturally drain down onto the lower plants when the upper plants are watered.
You should only use filtered water for watering your Woolly Wally System in order to maintain the natural PH balance of the soil. Carefully water each Pocket with about 5% water to soil volume. We like to water the soil closest to the wall to prevent water from running out the front. The wall is protected thanks to the impermeable moisture barrier in each Woolly Wally. Just to be safe, check your Pockets after watering. If it's wet, you're probably over watering. But don't worry, just pat Woolly Wally dry with a towel and use less water next time.
References
- Time Out New York; Make a shoe-organizer planter; Lisa Freedman; August 2008
- Guide to Houseplants: Growing Thyme Herb Indoors
- Guide to Houseplants: Golden Pothos or Devil's Ivy
- Missouri Botanical Garden; Kemper Center For Home Gardening; Containers for Growing Plants
- Clemson Cooperative Extension; Container Vegetable Gardening; Polomski, Shaughnessy; March 1999
