Gardening Without Breaking Your Back

As I was flipping through the channels the other day, I saw an infomercial for a product that allowed you to vertically (and upside down) grow tomatoes. I had heard about vertical as well as hydroponic gardening before, but the infomercial really peaked my interest.

Vertical Gardening

Vertical gardening is a great solution for people who have small areas, back problems or unsightly structures they would rather have covered.

Depending on the area you have to place the plants, and what you want to grow you have several options. Using trellises, nets, arbors, strings, cages, or grow poles to support growing plants constitutes vertical gardening. Another option is hanging plants (good for tomatoes).Other options for tomatoes include the Topsy Turvy, (what I saw on TV) and a tomato cage.

Fruits and Vegetables: Tomatoes, Acorn or Butternut Squash, Garden or Snap Peas, Pole Lima, Snap, or Roma Beans, Cucumbers, and Some melons.

Other plants: Morning Glory, Sweet Peas, Black Eyed Susan, English and Boston Ivy, Jasmine, Honeysuckle, Wisteria, Climbing Hydrangea, and Virginia Creeper.

Of course with some items, such as melons and some squash, they may need support to prevent from breaking off. Also, some plants intertwine themselves, and some may need to be tied to a pole or trellis.

Lastly, especially if using a trellis be sure that you are not using sun loving plants as it will cast a shadow. Vertically grown plants may also need to be watered more frequently because they are more exposed and can dry out quickly.

Hydroponic Gardening

If vertical gardening is something you want to try, but would like to go without using soil, hydroponic gardening may be for you.

Hydroponics is a method of growing plants that uses water and a nutrient solution instead of soil. This way the plant receives the nutrients easily, and directly from the nutrient solution versus having to search through the soil for them. You can buy kits that have everything you need to start your own garden.

Plants grown through hydroponics grow faster and healthier due to optimum moisture and nutrient levels. Also, no soil means no weeds to pull and no pests to get rid of.

Some stores might even have kits. I saw one the other day in-fact, but can not remember for the life of me what store it was.