Green Wall is go!
A green wall indicates a vertical growing space. Green walls are a great way to maximise your available space. Especially in urban environments. If in doubt, go vertical.
At the moment I am trying to maximise our 'Zone 1'. In permaculture, Zone 1 is the area nearest your house, that receives the most human interaction and visits. By leveraging this human attention we are able to maximise the growing potential here. It also makes it the most convenient area for food production and maintenance. It's way easier to look after a garden if it's just out the kitchen door.
OBSERVATIONS Our Zone 1 includes our back deck. It is next to the kitchen and we spend a lot of time there playing, eating, and hanging out. It is North-East facing so receives fair sun and is protected from the westerly wind we get at our place.
CONSTRUCTION I bought some simple plastic guttering from the hardware shop and cut it to required length. Then it was just a matter of screwing the brackets to the wall and the deck railing, drilling some drainage holes, filling with dirt and voila! A mini garden bed.
PLANTING In this space I've planted lettuce, coriander, parsley, and silverbeet. Not only do we use these guys all the time, they are easy to grow and don't need the strong westerly sun that the deck doesn't receive.
START SMALL In permaculture there is an idea of start small and expand on succeses. I've only put up 2 sections of wall to see whether the plants acrtually like this area. I haven't spent a lot of time or money. I can continue to observe and expand on what works and address what doesn't.
I'm really happy with how this turned out. And the potential to bring more herb production closer to the kitchen!
Now to sit back with a cuppa and continue observing.