Let's Grow Stuff

- Greetings from the garden and welcome back to Let's Grow Stuff .

My name is Ben, and today, we are talking about growing up, or vertical gardening.

So let's jump in and get started.

[upbeat electronic music] Well, today we are at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin.

And we are in the Herb Garden with Erin Presley, who is the horticulturist who manages this special space.

Erin, thanks for joining us today.

- Thanks for coming out!

- Well, you have a lot of exciting and exceptional things growing here, including some great examples of vertical growing.

Why might gardeners want to grow vertically?

- There are tons of really good benefits to growing vertically in your own garden.

As you can see in this small patio garden around us, or if you're growing in a smaller garden space at your home, growing vertically can really help you maximize the amount of plants you're able to fit into your garden area.

Even in a larger garden, growing up keeps veggies like beans and cucumbers up off the damp ground and away from crawling insect pests.

The added air circulation around plant foliage can also help reduce diseases like powdery mildew.

One of the other great benefits to vertical gardening is that when you're ready to harvest, you don't really have to stoop over or hunt through a lot of foliage on the ground to find the vegetables that you want to eat for your dinner tonight.

- Erin, what are some things gardeners should keep in mind if they're thinking about growing up in their own space?

- So let's start by talking about what sorts of structures can help us grow vertically.

A trip to your local garden center can probably supply you with a premade climbing support like an arbor or a trellis.

However, I think the most fun of growing vertically is using items you might already have around your yard, such as these old birch twigs or like the pallets you saw before with our lettuce garden.

You just have to make sure that whatever you're using is actually strong enough to support the weight of the plants that you're growing on it.

Let's take peas, for example.

They don't grow very tall and they don't weigh very much.

So these birch twigs cut to about 4 feet will be perfectly fine to support them throughout their life.

For heavier crops like green beans or squash, you'll need something sturdy to support their weight.

Last year at Olbrich, we used this awesome, old, dead crabapple tree to grow a big crop of gourds.

Then there are also perennial crops like hops, grapes, or even fruit trees.

And for these that get bigger and heavier every year, you'll need a sturdy arbor or trellis to support them.

This is especially true for grapes, which actually get heavier as the fruit ripens over the course of the summer.

- Well, these are some awesome and creative examples, Erin.

Are there any limitations to what we can grow vertically?

- That's a good question, Ben, and the answer is, "It depends!"

You really need to look to the natural characteristics of the plants you're growing because plants can climb in different ways.

Some plants use tendrils, which are modified leaves that reach out from the plant stem, looking for something to grip on to.

Non-clinging, or vining plants, use their entire stem to climb.

They grow in a corkscrew around the closest object, whether it's a nearby plant or a trellis or fence.

And some plants are ramblers, which essentially lean more than climb.

These need human intervention through tying up and staking in order to grow vertically.

- Well, Erin, thank you so much for sharing your garden with us today.

If people wanna come and see these examples first-hand, what do they need to know?

Olbrich Botanical Gardens is open to the public and admission to the outdoor gardens is always free.

The Herb Garden is just one small area within our 16-acre campus, so there is always a lot to see.

- Well, there you have it.

Growing up or gardening vertically can help us maximize space, improve plant health, make harvesting a little easier, and it is simply beautiful.

And don't forget, there is so much more to learn online at pbswisconsin.org/letsgrowstuff.

There, we more have videos, tips, tricks, and a blog to help you grow a better garden.

So until next time, happy gardening.

– Announcer: Funding for Let's Grow Stuff is provided by American Transmission Company, Ganshert Nursery and Landscapes, Willy Street Co-Op, Focus Fund for Wisconsin Programming, and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.