Vertical Garden

If you don't like them white, you can paint them any colour. The colour of the bamboos in the picture is not natural either!

Fascinating, can you explain a bit more about the process. Seems very little soil/compost but lots of feed and water?

Very sofisticated. How does it work?

Very interesting does the irrigation pipe run the full length inside the brown one,with I presume holes along the length.
Another thought as i have not seen this method before do you have to insert the compost from one end,that would be a bit tedious

I think, this is unclear concept, Brian. No answers. :)))

Hello BJS and Katarina.

I'm sorry the concept isn't more clear. I haven't actually built my own yet so, even for me, the concept will only be crystal clear once I do it.

However, based upon my efforts to recreate this set up, I can see that the drip lines are anchored to the U-PVC pipes from outside the pipe, not inside. (Notice the skinny black tubing that follows the length of the pipe from which the drip attachment is anchored at each hole.) That, of course, occurs after 2 1/2 inch holes have been drilled the length of the pipe as many as per my needs.

The ends of the pipe are capped with cloth to allow excess water run off and the U-PVC pipe itself is slightly bent to encourage excess run off.

And yes, the compost has to be inserted after the holes are cut out but I don't foresee it being much of a problem. I'll let you know how it actually goes.

I hope to start putting this together in about a month from now, if not sooner. In doing so, I hope to post some progression pictures so that you can see how we're doing it.

Katarina, you asked how it works. I'm not sure if I understand your intent behind the question but basically the holes are to be spaced as far apart as required by the plants of my choosing. I'll be using 8 inch pipes to get the greatest depth for the root system.

The holes are cut first and then the dirt is put inside. After this, the plants are put into place.

An external drip line is anchored to the horizontal pipes with a drip attachment at each hole. Of course, manual watering would also work.

Horizontal pipes are two per level which maximizes the space. For my plan, each length of pipe will be 16 feet long, 3 levels so 6 pipes in all for a total length of 96 feet in just 16 feet of space (by approximately 2 feet).

Now, many could get an extra 32 feet in by planting on the ground directly beneath the bottom rung of pipes. However, we have land tortoises who would be only too glad to eat them so I'm not going to use this area.

I hope this answers your question. If not, please ask again. Like I said in another post, this photo is really my only blueprint for this design and I've yet to build it. However, with others who have seen it, we all agree on the details I have shared here.

Thanks for your interest.

Thanks for the info Omanigarden, I have one thought would it not be easier and more practical to use guttering it about the same size and open right the way along (no drilling) ? Also you can fix endstops and fixing brackets to guttering.

I was joking Omanigarden :) No intention. Maybe just to provoke you to give answer to us. As this is really interesting.
And thank you very much for your detailed explanation.

Drc726
my thoughts are that an open gutter would dry out to fast in the Oman.

Thats a thought Bjs

I think that´s a correct thought :)

Open guttering.

In Oman we don't have open gutters. Our homes are built differently and the U-PVC pipes are actually what is used for our guttering needs.

I am very familiar with the gutters you have mentioned, however. Sounds like it would be a good idea, that is, if the size is cohesive with the needs of the plants being used. I don't really know how big a gutter is; I've never thought about it before!

Maybe one of you could try a vertical garden using guttering and share it with all of us! :)

One of our members used open guttering - richardpeeej his blog was 'Spare guttering idea' with a couple of photos, if you want to look.

Very clever idea, but you have to in Oman I suppose.

Drc726 - thanks, I will have a look! Maybe I could try it back in the US!

Theoldgunne - no, I don't feel we have to do this in Oman but my space is limited and because of our land tortoises, who would love to eat such things, I had to get off the ground!

The idea is fascinating and appeals to my engineering mind,but also seems to throw up a few pitfalls,Plastic tube will not stay straight when horizontal it will sag unless it has enough supports( one in the middle seems a bit mean)especially as when wet it will weigh a lot and
If water were to lay in a low point the soil would quickly become sour and the roots would rot.I appreciate you are aiming to grow salad type crops so it would have a comparative short season,what I don't know is if my comment is relevant in the temperatures you have in the Oman.
Would also be useing brackets rather than the plastic clips as support for the pipe if I were attempting to do it.
Please take some pictures as it progresses I know Katarina and myself and others would like to see them.

BJS - thank you for your input. Gardening is something I haven't done for a while and, even back then, hadn't done it for very long so I welcome suggestions!

About sagging. We intend to anchor this pipe so that it is higher in the middle than on the ends to allow excess water to flow out through the "end caps" which are merely cloth to hold the dirt in but allow the excess water out.

Our first year with this may prove our anchoring method insufficient; we may well sag anyway. Still, we will give it our best shot!

I agree, we should avoid plastic for anchoring. Plastics used for anchoring purposes are often the type of plastics that dry out and become brittle in this weather we have so I'd like to find something that is not only strong but long lasting. Metal brackets may well be the solution. Thank you!

About the weight: we are considering 4 or 5 - 4x4 wood beams to support the weight. They will be cemented into the ground.

We are still exploring our options and really appreciate the shared thoughts! Thank you, again! -everyone!!!!