Vertigrow Greenwall 101

Vertical Gardening might be a new concept for most people, but the science behind it is almost the same as how you plant on conventional pots. In fact, vertical gardening started way back in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Vertical gardening has a lot of advantages and it is listed below

• Reduces carbon footprint from air
• Helps improve air quality
• Cools and insulates the building
• Qualifies for LEED certification points
• Reduces sound pollution

Vertigrow is a vertical gardening system which makes vertical gardening easy and brings urban farming to the next level. Our main goal is to make it easy and have everyone plant their own vertical garden at work or at home. Here are some of the things you will need in order to achieve a successful vertical gardening.

Mounting Greenwall Framing

Make sure the structure can hold the weight of the greenwall. Structure can be as simple as wiremesh using Vertigrow Mesh Holder or customized framing using angular bars. The most important thing to consider is how to maintain your greenwall after you install it.

Choosing the right plants

Find the right plants for the right location. Check the location of your plants and the kind of sunlight it will have.

East Facing Wall (Morning Sun) - Shade to part shade plants
West Facing Wall (Afternoon Sun) - Full sun to part shade plants
South Facing Wall - Full sun
North Facing Wall - Full shade

Ask your local garden or gardener which plants will suite your wall.

Choosing the right medium

Pure soil is usually avoided in vertical system. Soil is heavier compared to other medium especially when wet. Studies show that soil tends to compact over time when put inside a container. This results to hardening and thus reducing the space for roots to grow properly.

Most common medium is adding some pumice, coco fiber and rice husk to the soil. Coco fiber absorbs water very well and rice hull improves the oxygen inside the container.

Irrigate your plants

Every plant has their own water requirements. Ask the plant supplier for the frequency. Make sure that you do not over water or under water the plants. Over watering plants will lead to stressed roots. Roots need air pockets in order to breathe properly. Inorder to test when you need to water your plants is to insert your fingers to the soil medium and check if it is still moisted. Moisted soil does not need to be watered.

When you have a lot of plants, we recommend the use of drip irrigation to save water and to ensure that plants are properly watered. Another advantage is that you can set timers so that your plants are watered automatically when you are not at the site. We are provide professional installation for drip irrigation.

Monitor your plants

Check your plants' health before it is too late. Check signs of unhealthy plants like wilting leaves, stems stretching and discoloration.

Fertilize your plants

After some time, your growing medium needs to be compensated with nutrients in order to provide all the nutrients for your plants. Ask your plant supplier for the duration.

On small sites, it will be easier to fertilize the plants compared to larger sites (especially tall sites) which cannot be done or very tedious to accomplish. We recommend to integrate the fertilizer system into your drip system. Make sure that you zone your plants properly so that you can specialize the nutrients needed for the certain zone.