No matter how small your garden or other area around the yard, you can grow more by growing vegetables vertically. Growing vegetables in a small space is much easier when you grow them vertically. There are other ways to grow vegetables in small spaces but I especially like growing them vertically if they are capable of vining.
Grow the veggies that take up a lot of ground space and are capable of vining– such as tomatoes, pole beans, peas, squash, melons, cukes, and so on.
These can be supported by trellises, fences, cages, or stakes.
Vertical vegetable growing helps the vegetable produce more abundant and straighter vegetables.
Vines grow straighter due to gravity. Less pest damage, abundant foliage protects from sunburn, takes up less space so there’s more room for other plants.
Reasons To Grow Vertically
Growing vegetables vertically also saves time and space leaving more area for other veggies that don’t do well with vining.
Harvest and maintenance go faster because you can see exactly where the veggies are.
Fungal diseases are also less likely to affect upward-bound plants because of the improved air circulation around the foliage.
We grow as many vegetables as we use that are vining plants such as cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and cantaloupes.
We even planted our cucumbers outside the house in a flower bed. We built a wooden A-shaped frame and planted five plants inside the A-frame. The cucumbers loved it!
They climbed up the A-frame and then attached their tendrils to the window screen which was right above the frame. We didn’t plan on the vine climbing to the window screen.
Here Are Some Pictures Of Our Vertical Plants
Here’s a picture looking out at the cucumber from inside. The picture looks a bit grainey but that’s
because we’re looking through the window screen.
Here the vines reached out and attached to the fence. We didn’t see one of the cukes growing between
the house and the fence where it got lodged. Here’s a picture of that poor cuke.
Here’s a picture of the A-frame we use for the cucumbers. 
My husband built the A-frame himself. It can be taken down and folded nicely for winter storage.
Types of Vertical Supports
- Tripods and teepees
- A-frames
- Posts and poles
- Trellis, netting or fence
- Wooden or wire cages
We always have abundant growth of tomatoes and peppers using wire cages. We use wire cages for these plants since we have really good luck with them using wire cages. We put black ground cover around the plants to hold the moisture in the ground.
Try some vertical planting next gardening season. I’m sure you’ll love it.
Happy gardening!
Eve