How to make a vertical or air garden

Hello if you have little space, you can design a vertical garden that allows the planting in your home of some necessary vegetables.

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Plants that you can plant in a vertical garden

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Salad leaves

Lettuce
Spinach
Endive
Canons
Watercress
Rúcula

Condimentary and medicinal

Coriander
Basil
Stevia
Oregano
Parsley
Chive
Thyme
Rosemary
Mint
Peppermint
Poleo
<Salvia
Chamomile
Marjoram
Dill

flowers

Thought
Nasturtium
Tagetes
Calendula

Root Horticulture

Beet
Garlic
Onion
Rabanito

Fruits

Strawberries

Factors that guarantee the success of a vertical garden

1. The substrate

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The substrate is a key part in the vertical garden, there are many options, but all have to meet these two requirements:

-It must be light
-It must be rich in nutrients

• Options: *
  Mix of 60% coconut fiber with 40% earthworm humus
  Professional substrate enriched with blond peat or perlite
  Do not place soil, or take advantage of the first substrate you find, make this small investment and you will see how your vertical garden lasts longer.

1. Hours of light

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To grow edible vertical gardens, it is essential that they have 4 hours of direct light, so they are discarded northeastern walls and / or without direct light.

1. The material

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Use lightweight and durable materials, so you can focus on taking care of the plants, which is the most rewarding part.

• Recommended materials *

Plastic: there are many models that use it, light and durable. Opt for good quality plastics, inert and resistant to UV rays.

Felt: not any felt, non-woven polyester felt (can be recycled, like vertiflor vertical garden). It is very light and resistant to fungi and ultraviolet rays. Its maintenance is easier than with plastic, because you can change plants instead of transplanting, saving root damage (now we see what advantages this has to be able to change plants instead)

1. The design:

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Once the material and the substrate are chosen, the most fun part is left. Design it The vertical gardens admit almost everything, what happens is that we can not have the same criteria to cultivate in classic mode, than to cultivate vertically. We are turning upside down (literally) the way of life of the plants, so for them to adapt well we must take into account certain factors.

Choose the right plants is essential to ensure the success of your vertical garden, it does not matter if it is an edible or ornamental. And it is as important to choose them well as to know how to strategically place them.

The determining factor: Substrate volume needs

A fairly common mistake, which I made myself, was not to be generous with the amounts of substrate per plant. In the case of modular gardens or felt sacks, as on this occasion, each unit or sack should be treated as if they were individual pots. Generally the capacity of vertical prefabricated gardens is 2-3 liters per plant, so we are free to plant salad leaves, aromatic and small horticultural, garlic, onions and beets, ah, and strawberries, you can have a wall full of Strawberries if you want.

In this case it is better to forget about tomatoes, beans or peppers, personally, I have only seen them thrive in professional vertical hydroponic gardens, or high substrate capacity (which require a much more expensive and professional installation).

Place the plants

Placing the plants strategically is a very important part in determining the success of the vertical garden, it is of no use if we buy suitable plants but their placement is not adequate. I give you a series of keys that will let you know which plants have to go in which place.

Shape and size

Take into account the shape and size of adult plants so they do not clog each other. Does it grow up, like mint and rosemary? Does it tend to expand towards the sides, like lettuces? Does it fall down over time, like nasturtiums or chives? All this must be taken into account so that they do not cover each other.

Horas de luz

Seguramente tendrás zonas del jardín vertical que recibirán más horas de luz directa que otras, aprovéchalo. Coloca aquellas plantas más exigentes en luz en esa zona. Mira en nuestro caso como lo hemos hecho.

The demand for water

In our particular case, the irrigation system that we will place later has little pressure, we had two options, change the system or use it in our favor, placing the plants that enjoy the drier substrates in the upper part, where the water flow will be lower , and those that like the wetter substrate on the bottom. We chose this option.

This distribution of the water that is applied in all the vertical gardens, since the water goes down by gravity through the felt in contact, is only that in this case it is more aggravated. You can regulate it with valves that control the flow of water in each row, I personally prefer to take advantage of the difference to order the plants.

The advantage of interchangeable pockets

Before I mentioned that it is important to easily change the plants of place, this is because at this point it is very easy to make mistakes, and changing the place of the plant in the vertical garden can greatly improve the situation. In vertiflor vertical garden, this is possible thanks to its system of pockets, which by means of its Velcro hook, are easily removed and put on.

Common mistakes that solve pockets

Areas with more wind than the calculated, evaporates more quickly the water from one pocket than another (you will notice easily since the felt is lighter in that area). Solution: Replace it with another plant that requires less irrigation.
Do not calculate the size of the plants well: if one plant grows too much on another, it can cover the light and impede its development. A change in position time will allow everyone to grow in "peace and harmony".

It is easy to be wrong with the light areas, do not worry, it is the most usual. Also, these are not the same every season. The pocket system allows you to follow the light and get the most out of it.

If any concrete plant suffers a plague, remove it from the others until it recovers.

Put the young plants at the beginning, which always receives more water, when they are already grown and do not require as much water, they can be exchanged for others.

As you can see, this system allows you to take advantage of the garden, since we can play with the microclimates and the different needs of the plants at all times.