“There are wonderful ideas for what people are doing, working with small spaces. There’s lots to get you excited about growing — anywhere.” Stephen Hindrichs shows three approaches to growing vertically in limited space in his backyard garden. One is a south-facing wall made from a wood pallet filled with soil held in with weed cloth. The second is a tower garden, an aeroponic system alternately drenching the plant roots with nutrient-filled water, and then air. Its yields are 5-6 times that of soil-based plants. The third is a DIY Barrel Garden. Stephen cut the top off a wine barrel, and drilled 40-50 holes in the sides for plants. In the middle is a mesh cylindrical tube where kitchen scraps are added, along with compost worms. Worms migrate into soil packed between the tube and the barrel sides, fertilizing and aerating. A pan below the barrel collects water so nutrients can be recycled.
Watch video | Audio | iTunes | Janaia’s journal: Gardening in a Small Space? Go Vertical!

The barrel planter in winter 2016 – bountiful!