Vertical Gardening Techniques For Maximum Returns...

[boggybranch]

....from Mother Earth News.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/vertical-gardening-zm0z10zhun.aspx

 

[lesa]

First of all let me say, I love Mother Earth News!! I agree with the author. The "tomato cages" are not very good for tomatoes, but they worked great for my cukes and peppers this year. My cukes really seemed to appreciate getting off the ground and it made for much cleaner cucumbers. Thanks for posting that boggy!

 

[journey11]

Oooh, I'm gonna try using twiggy branches for my peas next year. I bet that would work great! I have the most trouble trellising my peas because they eventually get heavy and pull the thing over.

I used bamboo for my cukes this year and it was the best cuke trellis I've had yet. I set two end posts straight up and down firmly in the ground, lashed a thick piece of bamboo across them at the top, then took several other bamboo poles and rested them against this at a slight angle, also lashed with twine. A couple horizontal passes with more twine, and viola! It kept my cukes up well and even gave me a shady spot beneath where I could grow lettuce and radishes as the weather got warmer.

I think I am going to try cattle panels for my tomatoes this year. I just want to be able to weave them through here and there without the hassel of tying that I have with stakes. Cages are too expensive for me anyway with as many tomatoes as I grow.

Thanks for this good article, Boggy!

 

[wifezilla]

My cuke trellis was 2 of those glass door inserts to make it look like you have a fancy 12 light door fastened at the top with bailing wire and made in to a teepee

My tomato cages were pretty useless. The tomatoes went crazy and it was hard to harvest or keep the vines contained. I was thinking of getting cattle panels for next year.