A Way to Garden Off the Ground
By Lynn Proctor
@ThankyouLord (698)
St. Petersburg, Florida
November 27, 2015 8:20pm CST
I love to grow stuff, but where I am presents a problem. I have a big yard, but I also have many cats. Growing food in soil that has, well, "leavings" doesn't appeal to me. I also have terrible soil. It is mostly sand. But I can deal with that, as I can mix my own without spending too much.
I got an idea a few days ago. I have bought a strong coated wire clothesline, which I have been using to start hanging out my laundry instead of buying another dryer. Clothes are smelling so much nicer now! But I hang everything on hangers when I do this, to make more space on the line. I realized that I could garden with a clothesline between the trees this way, by hanging planters along the clothesline. No cats! It would be high enough up to where they would not be encouraged to get up there. A few false attempts, and they would stop. My cats are so fat, that most of them would never get launched anyway.
So, come spring, I am going to try to have a few lines strung for a raised container garden. In the greenhouses and nurseries, we often see hung plants along a strong pipe or other structure, which frees up ground space. I should be able to get quite a few on one line since it is wire. The line I have has held a remarkably heavy line of wet clothes without even stretching.
Have you ever done this?
8 people like this
9 responses
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
28 Nov 15
I have the best way for you to do this. I have done it around my yard and it is perfect. I am even considering making a greenhouse too start all of my plants in. Look up or search for recycled plastic bottle greenhouses. They are so simple to make and won't take a lot of work to do this. In there you can also see some tiered ways to plant off the ground and have a lot of room for other stuff.
4 people like this
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
28 Nov 15
@JudyEv Here is a good site to check out they have the plans and how to do it.
Home Ideas How to Build a Plastic Bottle Greenhouse The internet is filled with DIY projects that involve the use of cheap materials, like plastic bottles. People have come a great length in the struggle for a healthier planet, in the last 20 years. Recycl
@ThankyouLord (698)
• St. Petersburg, Florida
29 Nov 15
Thank you! I do have a lot of plastic milk bottles. Not as attractive as soda bottles, but I guess they will do. I will go look at the site. Hanging them by their natural handles, modified, would save a bundle on buying pots with hangers.
@JudyEv (381971)
• Rockingham, Australia
28 Nov 15
I'll have to look into this. I haven't heard about them.
@JudyEv (381971)
• Rockingham, Australia
28 Nov 15
This sounds a really good idea. I've seen plant pots attached to a frame on a wall too. Or pockets of soil made with hessian. You would make good use of vertical areas, (although you say you have a large yard anyway) but the cats wouldn't be able to get into them.
1 person likes this
@ThankyouLord (698)
• St. Petersburg, Florida
28 Nov 15
I must go look up "hessian." I am thinking it is some kind of canvas or thick fabric used for planting pockets!
@ThankyouLord (698)
• St. Petersburg, Florida
28 Nov 15
I found it. We call it "burlap." That is certainly an option as well. I have read a lot about vertical gardening. It can be expensive, though, even using plastic bottles. Most need a frame to attach to, as they are very heavy once filled with soil. I like them, though, and think they are beautiful. Container gardening in general takes a lot of attention, as they need watering almost every day. I tried container gardening before, and it was not my best success, for sure. Maybe I will have better luck this time.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381971)
• Rockingham, Australia
28 Nov 15
@ThankyouLord If you have the pots on a string, you might be able to rig up a drip-feed system and attach it to the clothes line above.
1 person likes this
@epiffanie (11327)
• Australia
30 Nov 15
Wow! that must be a big job to have a big garden and plenty of cats ..
@boiboing (13147)
• Northampton, England
28 Nov 15
You can get some great 'pocket' systems that you hang over a fence, a bit like the shoe storage devices you used to see in the back of magazines. I attach a link so you can hopefully understand what I mean.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Instantly transform dull walls and fences into a lush, colourful vertical garden using this three tier Wall Planter. Just hang the lightweight planter using two hooks or screws (not included), fill the six large plant pocket
1 person likes this
@ThankyouLord (698)
• St. Petersburg, Florida
29 Nov 15
That's pretty! And I have a big wood fence, too. One person doesn't need a huge garden. Just enough for me, which isn't a lot. So this kind of thing would be perfect.
1 person likes this
@WilmaHenry54 (360)
• Stanton, Kentucky
27 Mar 16
I've never tried it but it sounds like a good way to garden.
@jstory07 (148731)
• Roseburg, Oregon
29 Nov 15
I have never done that but it is a good idea. I will have to try that.
@crazyhorseladycx (39503)
• United States
30 Nov 15
most interestin' 'n i wish ya great success with such. here, they'd dry out too quickly with our winds 'n arid temps durin' summer.
ick 'n eeew'n regards to the cats visitin' yer garden plots. there's many ways to keep the cats outta yer garden that're most humane. diff'rent concoctions one can mix up 'n spray'n the soil (that'll not harm what'cher growin' either), plastic snakes scattered 'bout 'n such.
@moffittjc (128832)
• Gainesville, Florida
30 Nov 15
This sounds like such a good idea! Just make sure the planters are secure on the clothes line, just in case you have squirrels that try to get into them!
