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Salad TowerWith all the talk of 'vertical farming' going around, why not create a vertical farm of your own? I'm not talking the multi-story skyscraper version, but one you can create in your own yard or balcony--it will save space (especially for those of you that have space limitations) while allowing you to grow a vertical crop of your own. The salad tower is a great way to grow loose leaf varieties of lettuce, herbs, strawberries and other plant varieties that you can snip off and use all summer long! To get started, you'll need:A tall (12 inches or taller) container (with drainage holes) Some chicken wire Soil mixture Thick black plastic or coconut fiber Seeds or plants 2 1x2 pieces of wood the length of your chicken wire Wire cutters Masking (or other adhesive) tape
Assembling the Tower:1. Measure your chicken wire. To do this, place it inside the container you've selected and wrap it around to form a cylinder, overlapping it slightly in the back. Mark where this overlap happens and use wire cutters to cut your chicken wire to size. 2. Cut the black plastic to fit the cut piece of chicken wire. To do this, lay cut-to-size chicken wire flat on ground (you might need to place rocks, etc. as weights on the corners). Attach the plastic to inside of chicken wire with tape (the tape only needs to hold until the tower is filled with dirt so it doesn't have to be totally taped down. If you're using coconut fiber, no taping is required because it more easily holds its shape). 3. Re-roll the chicken wire to fit inside the container. Wrap ends of chicken wire around each other to fasten and keep in shape. 4. Take wood pieces and drop them down the inside of the cylinder, being careful not to loosen the plastic. Place them on opposite sides of each other. 5. Add soil mixture to top of cylinder, adding water occassionally so that it's moistened well throughout. 6. Poke holes in plastic from outside and plant your plants. Don't forget to leave space for your plants to grow--don't plant them too close together. Information on other not-so-typical gardening styles:
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