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How to Build a Vertical Garden Using PVC Pipes
How to Build a Vertical Garden Using PVC Pipes. Vertical gardens allow for larger harvests in smaller spaces. Plants are spaced closer together and grow up PVC pipe covered with nylon netting. Cucumbers (Cucumus sativus), beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) and any other fruit or vegetable that grows on a vine is suited to...
Vertical gardens allow for larger harvests in smaller spaces. Plants are spaced closer together and grow up PVC pipe covered with nylon netting. Cucumbers (Cucumus sativus), beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) and any other fruit or vegetable that grows on a vine is suited to vertical gardening. Pipe comes in white or black or customize with special paint, available in many shades. When paired with raised beds these trellises provide more produce than an in-ground garden twice the size.
Things You'll Need
2-inch diameter PVC pipe
Hack saw
Mallet
Plumber’s brackets
Screwdriver
Shovel or pole-hole digger
Rebar
PVC connectors
PVC one- and two-way elbows
Nylon garden netting
Scissors
Staple gun and staples or twist ties
Anchor pins
Cut enough 12-inch sections of PVC pipe to place at 4-foot intervals along the long side of the garden. Use a hack saw to cut the piping.
Dig a hole for each 12-inch pipe section 4 feet apart along the boards of an existing raised bed garden. Use a mallet to make the top of the pipe flush with the top of the boards of the garden. Attach pipe to the inside of the boards with plumber’s brackets to stabilize.
Insert a 2-foot-long piece of rebar inside the pipe and force it into the ground a few inches. It will stick out taller than the pipe. This stabilizes the trellis. Wooden tomato stakes are also suitable.
Cut more PVC 6 to 7 feet long and fit over the rebar connecting to the dug-in poles with a connector so they are vertical along the edge of the bed.
Cut 4-foot lengths of PVC. Affix a one-way elbow to each end pipe and two-way elbows to the top of the other vertical pipes. Connect the 4-foot lengths to make the horizontal part of the vertical garden.
Cut netting to fit in each section of the trellis. Allow a few inches at the top to throw over the piping, and staple or secure with twist ties. Secure down the side poles for extra strength. Leave a few inches at the bottom to secure into the earth with anchor pins.
As plants grow, weave them through holes in the netting.
Tips & Warnings
Use netting with 4- to 6-inch holes to make it easy to reach fruit. Instead of using netting, hand-string with wire or twine. This will keep costs down.
If fruits get too heavy, attach to netting with pieces of cloth tied like hammocks under the fruit.
Preserve netting by taking it down, rolling it up and storing it for the winter.
