If you have a thriving vegetable garden chances are that you would like to grow more. This is made easy with the placement of structures in your garden to allow for vertical growth.

Types of garden structures:

You may choose temporary structures that can be moved around as needed by individual plants each season, or you may install permanent fixtures as we have done in our garden. They are utilised differently each season but overall their function is to allow me to grow more vegetables in the same amount of space.

• I have used the frames of some large gates in our garden.
• I also made a permanent frame from wood we had lying around.
• I also use temporary frames that I move around each season.

Benefits of adding permanent structures:

Setting up a number of old gate frames along the edge of three of my garden beds has provided the ability for me to use them for the following:

• To hang pots that allow me to add herbs or companion plants – a wall is also a permanent structure
• Grow plants vertically
• Use the frames to provide the support for draping shade cloth over the beds during extreme heat days
• Hang string and train plants to grow up and also across various beds
• Increased air circulation – thus plant health and pollination
• Grow smaller plants at the base of these spreading, sprawling plants

Plants to grow vertically:

I grow these plants on the frames that are in our garden

• Beans
• Berries
• Grape
• Nasturtiums
• Passion fruit
• Peas
• Pumpkins
• Rhubarb
• Tomatoes

Are you using structures in your garden to increase the growing space?