GIVE VERTICAL GARDEN A TRY

Growing upward a whole new approach when you’re short on space and time

Are you a gardener who is short on space or time? Take your plants vertical.

Ben Friton founded Can YA Love, a Washington, D.C.-based company that gives vertical-gardening classes around the world.

During Friton’s travels through East Africa, he saw upright growing systems made from burlap sacks in areas with barren or contaminated soil or little space or water. These sack gardens feature bags filled with soil, with holes cut for plants such as kale and chard.

Taking plants above ground makes it possible to grow herbs, flowers and produce in places where soil is nonexistent, such as on a city balcony the size of a postage stamp.

Less apparent advantages include portability. When Friton realized the sun wasn’t hitting the plants in his backyard, he built a vertical garden and moved it to where it could get proper sun. Vertical gardens require less irrigation than in-ground plots and — perhaps the best part — little or no weeding. Esthetically, they can lend beauty to blank or uninspired walls and surfaces.

The patent-pending structures Friton works with through Can YA Love are made from fencing and straw. Gardeners can make more rudimentary vertical beds using wooden shipping pallets.

Friton says just about any plant is a good candidate for vertical gardens, though non-climbing plants and those with shallow roots perform best. He advises that you place plants that don’t need a lot of water at the top and those that love moist soil at the bottom.

Because the pallet will be heavy, this project is best for two people. In an ideal world, you’ll let your plants take root for a week before flipping the pallet upright. But if you don’t have that kind of time, you can gingerly lift it and lean it at an angle to prevent the soil from spilling out.

KING/THE WASHINGTON POST PHOTOS: AMY Step 8: Slowly prop the pallet up against a wall that gets partial sun, keeping it at a slight angle.

Step 6: Using your hands or a garden hoe, form trenches in the soil.

Step 4: Flip the pallet over so that the fabric side is on the ground. If you wish to stain the wood or paint it, now is the time. Allow it to dry.

Step 7: Work plants into each trench, the more tightly packed the better.

Step 5: Fill the pallet nearly to the brim with potting soil.

Step 2: Cut three pieces of landscape fabric: Two to fit the pallet horizontally and one vertically.

Step 3: Pull the fabric tight and staple the horizontal and vertical pieces of fabric to the pallet.

Step 1: Lay your pallet flat, with the side you want facing front on the ground.