Vertical Vegetable Gardening: A Living Free Guide

by Chris McLaughlin

Vertical vegetable gardening isn't intuitive. Although some vegetables, such as tomatoes and pole beans, have been grown vertically for a very long time, it is only recently that gardeners who are short on space have looked to vertical methods and structures for growing vegetables that traditionally have been thought to require a lot of horizontal space. Vertical Vegetable Gardening provides information on growing all types of leafy, root, and other vegetables vertically, saving space, protecting from insects, and making harvesting easier. Now people living in urban areas can grow produce that used to require sizable plots of land. Also included are ideas and plans for vertical structures.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2012

Reviews

[Ligaya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a fairly thorough book on how to garden "up instead of out" with great tips on growing in smaller spaces. The author writes about the importance of fertile soil, understanding good and bad bugs, organic pest control besides just different types of containers. It took me forever to read through this book because there was so much information!

[Mel Corbett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too many plants in my etsy favorites now

A lot of practical advice and how to build supports for plants in your garden. Also lists of varietals that can be trained into trellises or it e vertical shapes. Looking forward to growing pumpkins and patio plants up next year

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author has a cute sense of humor and uses easy to understand language to teach about vertical gardening. I’m normally a slow reader, but this practical book was a quick read for me. I look forward to referencing it throughout the coming growing seasons.

[Kelsey Gauthier · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5⭐️
Useful information on how to garden vertically & lots of different ideas on structures to build to help with that.
I feel like I have seen & heard about this book so much in other books & from other people, but I was very unimpressed.

[Tiff Gibbo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a VERY good starting off point. I'll be using this next spring.

[Tiffany Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reference book, didn't read from cover to cover

[Leroy Bheki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really nice guide. Got a lot of beginner information and good tips as well.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good info for beginners.

[Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t wait to put these ideas into action! Not just your everyday vertical gardening book!

[Craig Toerpe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a not only a great beginner's gardening book, but one that every gardener would enjoy. My wife and I want to take urban gardening to the next level, but with limited space, we were trying to figure out what and how to make this all work. I found this book at Amazon, and read some favorable reviews, so decided to pick up the hardcopy. This book will not disappoint.

The author goes through the "garden basics" like weather, soil nutrients, etc...but also has an entire chapter dedicated on vertical structures to build, with solid detailed pictures to assist in your building of, but also has a chapter dedicated to container gardening.

I was also impressed with the detail given to the variety of vertical plants one can grow in their garden. As we are planning out our garden this year, I think we are going to be in for a real treat, and the hard work with be worth the reward, if not for our own pride, for the health of ourselves and our children.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great general guide to vegetable gardening in addition to a guide to vertical gardening. Vertical gardening is all about taking advantage of small spaces and maximizing your harvest by guiding plants up instead of letting them sprawl. McLaughlin covers which plants are naturally inclined to grow up and which will need help achieving height. My favorite part of the book was the section on how to build vertical supports or repurpose other materials. Her fun ideas have me looking at all kinds of curbside "trash" items and imagining how I could get my tomatoes or beans to grow up them. But even more than covering vertical gardening, McLaughlin offers a good overview of vegetable gardening which makes this a nice book for the beginning gardener.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great discussions of structures (and how to build them) for vertical gardening, and plants that would be great for this. McLaughlin also includes the basics of soil, composting, pest management, etc to get the best outcomes from one's garden. And finally, a chapter of resources for further research. This book could have used pictures when discussing the beneficial and harmful insects.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this guide to be well written and chock full of information. Also includes where to purchase items as well as how to build them. Love that he included"downers" - little snippets of possible negative results.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exactly right.
Great tone, and the perfect mix between background, instruction, and how-to-builds.

[Tracee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of helpful info

[Martha Hentz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent discussion on composting, soil amendments, pruning.