A DIY vertical garden can be the perfect addition to your porch this spring and summer. Grow vegetables, herbs, or whatever your heart desires. This one is also super easy to make and will fit beautifully in areas of all sizes.
DIY Vertical Garden
I have so many great gardening ideas and crafts. It’s always fun to spruce up the outside of your home, especially when you can get outside and enjoy it!
This DIY is a great way to keep any herbs and small fruits or vegetables off of the ground and (possibly) out of reach of the squirrels and rabbits. I’m not making any promises, but one can hope.
Supplies Needed To Make Your Own DIY Vertical Garden
- Metal containers
- Drill and drill bit
- Ladder or material to build a ladder
- Potting soil
- Plants or seeds
- S-hooks
How to Make a DIY Vertical Garden
Step 1: Build Your Ladder (optional)
Start by buying or building a rustic ladder for your DIY vertical garden. I found this gem at my local store, but you can easily build one yourself. You just want one with round rungs or rungs that are not very wide to accommodate your S-hooks. Otherwise, the size and height are up to you.
If you want to build your own ladder like the one shown, cut two 2×2 boards to the length desired. In my case, that was 64 inches. Then rip 1×4 boards in half and cut those to any length you wish. Mine are 17 inches long. Use nails to secure everything into place, and add a rustic paint treatment if desired.
Step 2: Drill Holes In The Bottom Of Metal Containers
Now for your planters. You want to choose metal containers that will fit your ladder. Drill holes in the bottom of each one with the drill and drill bit for drainage.
Step 3: Hang S-Hooks On The Ladder
Use S-hooks to hang each on the rungs of your ladder.
For the longer containers, I used two S-hooks on the rung to secure them in place.
Once all of your containers are in place, you are ready for planting.
Step 4: Add Rocks And Plants To Metal Containers
Add rocks to the bottom of each container to aid with drainage then fill with potting soil. Add in plants or even start them from seeds.
I added lettuce and my favorite herbs but you can mix it up and create the DIY vertical garden you have been dreaming of!
Just lean the ladder against your wall and your DIY vertical garden is ready to grow!
FAQs About DIY Vertical Garden
Here are the answers to some common questions I often get about this project.
How Do I Choose The Right Location For My Vertical Garden?
Choosing the right location for your garden is important for your plants to grow properly. When choosing a spot, three things should be kept in mind: sunlight, wind exposure, and access to water.
Knowing these three things can help you to determine the right location because you not only want your vertical garden to grow, but you also want it to be easy to manage.
Some garden experts have stated that plants should be in an area where they can get direct sunlight for at least 6 hours. Some spots to consider might be your front yard, backyard, or balcony.
If you are looking for more information about vertical gardens, check out this Vertical Garden Maintenance and Care Tips blog post.
What Types Of Plants Are Suitable For A Vertical Garden?
So many! Below is a short list of some of my favorites, but if you want a comprehensive list of plants suitable for your DIY vertical garden, check out this Best Plants for Vertical Gardens article by Lawn Love.
- Shallow-rooted plants – Lettuce, Spinach, Green Onions
- Plants with moderate roots – Peppers, Kale, Herbs
- Deeply rooted plants – Tomatoes, Cucumbers
- Best ornamental plants – Succulents
Do I Need To Use Special Soil For A Vertical Garden?
When picking soil, you can use organic topsoil or soil that is formulated for container gardens.
However, you should always check to see what soil works best for the plants you are growing.
How Do I Fertilize Plants In A Vertical Garden?
When it comes to fertilizing your plants, you will want to consider the specific plants in your vertical garden and their needs. This is important because not all plants are the same, and what might be helpful to one might not be great for another. Due to that, I recommend researching each plant to see if it needs a specific fertilizer.
Also, avoid chemical fertilizers, as they can be harsh on your plants.
If you want more information on fertilizing a vertical garden, check out this, Vertical Garden Maintenance and Care Tips blog post.
How Do I Prevent Pest And Diseases In A Vertical Garden?
Unfortunately, vertical gardens are not immune to pests and diseases. However, the good thing is that you don’t need to do any other type of fancy work when managing your DIY vertical garden.
So, with that in mind, to give your garden the best chance of growing and thriving you would want to follow basic garden pest/disease control methods. For example, regular monitoring and using organic pesticides or natural remedies.
How Can I Manage Weeds In A Vertical Garden?
If you are looking for a way to manage weeds in your garden, check out my Best Way to Kill Weeds blog post! In the post, I cover 5 ways to kill weeds and include links to products I like using. I also include some natural homemade recipes for killing weeds.
Can I Incorporate A Vertical Garden Into An Existing Landscape Design?
Yes! That is one of the best things about this DIY vertical garden! It’s moveable and adjustable and can easily fit into your current garden or landscape design.
The only thing to remember is the tips I shared in the first question about finding the right location for your vertical garden.
5 More Garden Projects
What will you grow this summer? Add this DIY vertical garden to your back porch, and you will be just steps away from fresh vegetables and herbs.
Also, if you loved this DIY vertical garden and want more garden projects, check out the ideas below!
- Hanging herb garden
- Garden in a jar
- Herb garden planter
- Flower Pot People: Create These for Your Garden
- DIY Metal Garden Markers Engraved on a Cricut
So pretty! The yellow contrasts nicely with the blues.
This is super cute, and makes me wish we didn’t live where it gets so hot in the summer. We have days 115+ much like Arizona. I’d make one in a heartbeat. Pinned & sharing Thanks for joining me at the Inspiration Spotlight party @DearCreatives
That is so fun and creative! I have a spot on my deck that could really use something vertical like this and it actually looks really easy, so I love that. I think my mom might really like this too. She’s what I like to call a plant-aholic, so anything to display all her flowers and get them up would be great. I’m definitely going to share the idea with her at least. Thanks for the great inspirational post just in time for the good weather here.
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Love this! I am featuring you at TFT today! I hope you will join us again this week by sharing another one of your amazing posts!
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Angie, this is the cutest garden project and is a great idea for maximizing outdoor space. Thanks so much for sharing at Happiness is Homemade.
My brain was on the same thought this week ! I made mine horizontal with lights….but I love your idea even more!!! The yellow is beautiful, what a great idea. Thanks for sharing ! I found you at snickerdoodle and wanted to say hello.
I love a fun vertical garden! This is really cute, and of course a perfect spot for growing herbs or flowers! Thanks for linking up with Merry Monday. I’ll be featuring your DIY vertical garden at our upcoming party. Hope to see you again next week!
It looks so beautiful plus space saving too! 🙂 Will definitely add this to my to-do list. Thanks for sharing!
This is genius, sometimes simple ideas like this really bring a garden to life.
So happy I stumbled across this and it was really easy to do, the wife thinks it looks great and wants me to start trying other stuff out, oh the joy lol.
Thanks for giving me my next project 🙂