I made up my garden plans to fit the space and materials I had available. We rent, so putting in something permanent wasn't the best option for me. At first I wanted to sink my posts in buckets full of concrete, but even that seemed too permanent. I wanted to be able to disassemble the garden and easily transport it at any time if we decided to move on to a different location during the growing season.
Location:
I had a small patch near a tree that would get morning sun and evening sun, but not high-noon or early afternoon sunlight. It was close enough to get a hose to and level enough to set a vertical garden on without a huge slant one way or the other. I assumed there would be enough rain to supplement my watering, but I've found that the density of the leaves above the garden really blocked a lot of the rainfall. Live and learn.
Base:
For the base, I decided on two cinder blocks. The holes were large enough to put my posts into and brace tightly with spare pieces of 2x4 and shims. They were heavy enough to turn each one the opposite way and create a "foot" for each side to have a little extra balance.
Beams:
The two beams I used were 4x4x6 #2 treated posts straight from the store. They were tall enough for me to put the amount of pipes I wanted along both sides, and sturdy enough to hold the weight. I didn't want them any taller because then I wouldn't be able to reach the plants in the top pipes. As it was, the first year I had to stand on spare pieces of 4x4 blocks to reach the highest pipe for watering and picking.
Pipes:
I used 4" PVC pipe because part of the materials I had already accumulated included three leftover 4" pipe sections from my grandpa which we trimmed to the right length. *NOTE* After two years of using it, I would probably suggest not going any smaller than 6" pipe. There doesn't seem to be enough dirt to really get a good healthy plant with room for the roots to grow and spread out. My finished product included seven 5' lengths of pipe. I picked 5' length because the pipe comes in lengths of 10' and it was easiest to have the poor little guy at the store just cut the ones I purchased in half. It rode home in the car pretty easily that way too.
Attachment:
To hook the pipe to the post, I decided I would like to use galvanized hanger tape. It is malleable and has evenly spaced holes I could easily put my screws through at any point I needed to tightly secure all the pieces together. It isn't very thick, so I would suggest doubling each length of tape to help it stay strong. I haven't tried any other material for fastening, but as long as it wasn't stressed, it has worked fairly well for me. The pieces that had been stressed were easy to replace in the spring. With the 4" pipes and not doubling the tape strips, I had quite a bit left over from my 25' roll. Even with replacing about half of my strips this summer, I still have a quarter-width tight roll of tape left.
Hardware:
I used 8x1-1/4" lath screws to attach the pipe to the post with the hanger tape. They have a shallow head that's like a thick washer that keeps the hanger tape from slipping off the head of the screw, and are long enough to sink deeply into the wood. They also hold tightly through the pipe to keep the tape secured where I want it wrapped around the ends of the pipe.
Screen:
Over each open end of pipe, I covered it with charcoal fiberglass screen. I bought a piece 86"x84" and had plenty left over. It holds the dirt in without letting too much get through and water runs out easily. At times, this has posed a bit of a problem because if the soil ever dries out, water runs through the cracks and rushes out the ends instead of building up and saturating the soil. If you don't think mold would be much of a problem, perhaps trying some other material would be beneficial. I haven't tried anything yet, so I don't have any suggestions.
To fasten the screen to the pipe, I used 18" cable ties. There were 15 per package, so I needed two packages because I used two ties on each end of the pipe. I haven't had any problems with the ties or the screen, except when I tried to tighten the screen too tightly to an unevenly cut edge of the pipe and tore the screen. It hasn't posed a problem so I haven't repaired it. If you tighten the ties tight enough, I don't think you'd ever have a problem with them slipping off.
Soil:
I chose to use potting soil with fertilizer. Two cubic feet filled all seven pipes far enough for me. I didn't want them too full so the water could run across the top. If you got 6" pipe, you'd have to account for the extra diameter and purchase accordingly.
More support:
About midway through the first summer, we had a really strong storm that blew my garden over. It weakened the hanger tape and gave the whole creation quite a twist. When it happened again after another storm and I lost some of my plants, I decided the problem was that I didn't have enough support through the middle of the garden. I took a length of 2x4 off our scrap wood pile and cut a 45 degree angle off both ends of the board. (Make sure you cut your angles the same direction on each end, not toward each other. Do it like this /_/ NOT like this /_\ or this \_/). This creates a brace to slide into the middle and screw to both posts to make a capital "N" shape. It helps fix the twist and the potential to slide and collapse one way or the other.
Second Year Watering System:
After trying to water with a hose the year before, I decided I wanted a watering system. At first, it took a long time to water each hole enough to soak it in without running off. After the plants grew, it was even harder to get to the holes in the pipe (nearly impossible with plants like cabbage that grew close to the pipe and spread out wide).
We purchased 1" PVC pipe (five 10' lengths) and eight caps - seven caps to put on each far end with another cap for the end pipe. We needed seven elbows to attach the watering pipes to the end pipe and later purchased seven valves to control the water pressure. We pieced each capped watering pipe length to an elbow branching off from the end pipe that ran up the length of one post. At each junction we had a t-connector, so we had to buy seven of those as well. At the bottom of the end pipe we placed a hose connector so I could screw it on and slide it onto the open end of the pipe to force the water up and into the watering system.
We used our leftover zip ties from the year before to secure the watering lines to the pipes. If you don't have any extra, you'll need to purchase more.
Don't forget the plants!
Both years I have planted tomatillos and tomatoes in the pipe garden. I wasn't as ambitious or successful as the first year when I planted cabbage, peppers, lettuce, broccoli, spinach, and cauliflower. Note that all of those plants are NOT root vegetables. You could try to plant things like carrots or potatoes but they would be limited by the amount of space you have to grow them in and getting them out would probably take some work - you'd have to disassemble parts of the pipe garden to be able to push them out with all the dirt. I don't think it's worth it to me, but if anyone gives it a successful try, I'd love to hear about it.
Location:
I had a small patch near a tree that would get morning sun and evening sun, but not high-noon or early afternoon sunlight. It was close enough to get a hose to and level enough to set a vertical garden on without a huge slant one way or the other. I assumed there would be enough rain to supplement my watering, but I've found that the density of the leaves above the garden really blocked a lot of the rainfall. Live and learn.
Base:
For the base, I decided on two cinder blocks. The holes were large enough to put my posts into and brace tightly with spare pieces of 2x4 and shims. They were heavy enough to turn each one the opposite way and create a "foot" for each side to have a little extra balance.
Beams:
The two beams I used were 4x4x6 #2 treated posts straight from the store. They were tall enough for me to put the amount of pipes I wanted along both sides, and sturdy enough to hold the weight. I didn't want them any taller because then I wouldn't be able to reach the plants in the top pipes. As it was, the first year I had to stand on spare pieces of 4x4 blocks to reach the highest pipe for watering and picking.
Pipes:
I used 4" PVC pipe because part of the materials I had already accumulated included three leftover 4" pipe sections from my grandpa which we trimmed to the right length. *NOTE* After two years of using it, I would probably suggest not going any smaller than 6" pipe. There doesn't seem to be enough dirt to really get a good healthy plant with room for the roots to grow and spread out. My finished product included seven 5' lengths of pipe. I picked 5' length because the pipe comes in lengths of 10' and it was easiest to have the poor little guy at the store just cut the ones I purchased in half. It rode home in the car pretty easily that way too.
Attachment:
To hook the pipe to the post, I decided I would like to use galvanized hanger tape. It is malleable and has evenly spaced holes I could easily put my screws through at any point I needed to tightly secure all the pieces together. It isn't very thick, so I would suggest doubling each length of tape to help it stay strong. I haven't tried any other material for fastening, but as long as it wasn't stressed, it has worked fairly well for me. The pieces that had been stressed were easy to replace in the spring. With the 4" pipes and not doubling the tape strips, I had quite a bit left over from my 25' roll. Even with replacing about half of my strips this summer, I still have a quarter-width tight roll of tape left.
Hardware:
I used 8x1-1/4" lath screws to attach the pipe to the post with the hanger tape. They have a shallow head that's like a thick washer that keeps the hanger tape from slipping off the head of the screw, and are long enough to sink deeply into the wood. They also hold tightly through the pipe to keep the tape secured where I want it wrapped around the ends of the pipe.
Screen:
Over each open end of pipe, I covered it with charcoal fiberglass screen. I bought a piece 86"x84" and had plenty left over. It holds the dirt in without letting too much get through and water runs out easily. At times, this has posed a bit of a problem because if the soil ever dries out, water runs through the cracks and rushes out the ends instead of building up and saturating the soil. If you don't think mold would be much of a problem, perhaps trying some other material would be beneficial. I haven't tried anything yet, so I don't have any suggestions.
To fasten the screen to the pipe, I used 18" cable ties. There were 15 per package, so I needed two packages because I used two ties on each end of the pipe. I haven't had any problems with the ties or the screen, except when I tried to tighten the screen too tightly to an unevenly cut edge of the pipe and tore the screen. It hasn't posed a problem so I haven't repaired it. If you tighten the ties tight enough, I don't think you'd ever have a problem with them slipping off.
Soil:
I chose to use potting soil with fertilizer. Two cubic feet filled all seven pipes far enough for me. I didn't want them too full so the water could run across the top. If you got 6" pipe, you'd have to account for the extra diameter and purchase accordingly.
More support:
About midway through the first summer, we had a really strong storm that blew my garden over. It weakened the hanger tape and gave the whole creation quite a twist. When it happened again after another storm and I lost some of my plants, I decided the problem was that I didn't have enough support through the middle of the garden. I took a length of 2x4 off our scrap wood pile and cut a 45 degree angle off both ends of the board. (Make sure you cut your angles the same direction on each end, not toward each other. Do it like this /_/ NOT like this /_\ or this \_/). This creates a brace to slide into the middle and screw to both posts to make a capital "N" shape. It helps fix the twist and the potential to slide and collapse one way or the other.
Second Year Watering System:
After trying to water with a hose the year before, I decided I wanted a watering system. At first, it took a long time to water each hole enough to soak it in without running off. After the plants grew, it was even harder to get to the holes in the pipe (nearly impossible with plants like cabbage that grew close to the pipe and spread out wide).
We purchased 1" PVC pipe (five 10' lengths) and eight caps - seven caps to put on each far end with another cap for the end pipe. We needed seven elbows to attach the watering pipes to the end pipe and later purchased seven valves to control the water pressure. We pieced each capped watering pipe length to an elbow branching off from the end pipe that ran up the length of one post. At each junction we had a t-connector, so we had to buy seven of those as well. At the bottom of the end pipe we placed a hose connector so I could screw it on and slide it onto the open end of the pipe to force the water up and into the watering system.
We used our leftover zip ties from the year before to secure the watering lines to the pipes. If you don't have any extra, you'll need to purchase more.
Don't forget the plants!
Both years I have planted tomatillos and tomatoes in the pipe garden. I wasn't as ambitious or successful as the first year when I planted cabbage, peppers, lettuce, broccoli, spinach, and cauliflower. Note that all of those plants are NOT root vegetables. You could try to plant things like carrots or potatoes but they would be limited by the amount of space you have to grow them in and getting them out would probably take some work - you'd have to disassemble parts of the pipe garden to be able to push them out with all the dirt. I don't think it's worth it to me, but if anyone gives it a successful try, I'd love to hear about it.
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