Fence Gardens - 3 Types - DIY

Today at the Free Farm, we completed 3 projects that will grow on the fence. Our goal is to get some plants growing on the fence to make the space look prettier (both inside and out) and to create a noise barrier from all the street noise.

Here are three easy do-it-yourself projects that would be easy for you to complete on your own.

Our first project is the easiest. Take a plant that grows quickly like a vine, and likes to climb and train it to climb a fence. How do you train a plant? I used twine. It's as easy as gently tying it to the fence guiding it in the direction you want it to grow.

The photo to the left is of a Marsh Mallow (yup that's it's real name) that was growing wild near the fence at the Farm. So, I trained it to climb the fence and labeled the plant so that it could be read on both sides of the fence.

The second project, is also very simple. In fact all I did was fill a metal container with soil (potting soil + horse manure), plant a passion fruit and train the vine to attach to the fence. The passion fruit also has some support from some bamboo shoots to help it get to the fence and grow tall.

As you can see from the photo above, we needed the container because this section of the garden has concrete on it. If your fence is next to soil, you can plant right into the ground.

The third project is a little more complicated, but only took an hour from start to finish. I made a small pocket out of potato sacks and chicken wires. Then I filled it with dirt and planted a nasturtium and trained it to the fence.

Click here if you would like the complete instructions on how to make the vertical garden pocket on a fence.

Vertical Garden Design: Fence Pockets

Step 1: If you are planting on both sides of the fence, attach a potato sack to the fence by sewing it on with twine. If you will only plant on one side of the fence attach root barriers (like plastic sheeting) on the side you will not be planting on. Attach a potato sack to some chicken wire.

Step 2: Make a pocket on the fence by connecting the chicken wire to the fence with wire. Attach the sides and bottom, but not the top.

Step 3: Fill the pocket with soil, sphagnum moss, sphagnum moss/cactus soil mixture or a mixture of manure and compost. Then attach the top of the chicken wire pocket. Plant seedling or bigger plants with root systems, by cutting a hole in the potato sack. Using drought resistant plants will decrease the need for watering.

Vertical Garden Design: Wall Mounted Frame

Step One: Staple a root barrier over one side of a wooden frame. On the outside of the root barrier affix chicken wire to the frame.

Tip 1: We tried using large garbage bags, but found them to be very difficult. Plastic sheeting worked very well. You can see from the picture above that the cut open garbage bags made a very unusual shape that was hard to use to cover the frame. The plastic sheeting has a much more regular shape, so we used it for the rest of the frame.

Tip 2:We also decided to attached the fame to the wall after step one (rather than steep three as it is listed), because we were using an old bunk bed frame that was easier to nail or screw to the wall during before filling with dirt. Due to the large size of the frame, we were afraid the frame would be too heavy and could possibly injure someone. We decided to err on the side of the caution, even though it will be harder to fill the frame with dirt later. One advantage to affixing the frame during this step was that we did not have to put a layer of chicken wire on the wall side of the frame (since the dirt will be held in by the wall).

Tip 3: The best way to attach chicken wire to a wood frame is to use nails. Pound in the nail 2/3rds of the way in and then bend the nail towards the outside of the the chicken wire to pull it taught on the frame.

Step Two: Fill the fame with vertical gardening soil or soil/moss combo. Staple a potato sack to the outside of the frame covering the soil. Affix chicken wire on top of the potato sack.

This photo shows the frames we're working on. It looks a little different than the instructions because we attached it to the wall in step one.

Tip 1: We used manure and compost! We got free manure from a local horse stable and free compost from a local waste site.

Tip 2: Because we affixed the frame to the wall before putting the chicken wire and potato sacks on the frame, we needed to sew the sacks onto the wire with twine. This is the same process used if you are making a vertical garden pocket on a fence. The image to the right shows the seam of two sacks that we overlapped to cover the length of the chicken wire. We recommend making a knot at each end of the twine so it doesn't unravel while you're sewing the potato sack on. Note: If you're having trouble finding it in the store, remember that some hardware stores now call chicken wire "poultry wire."

Step Three: You can either plant the frame on the ground, let the roots develop for a week or two and then attach it to the wall. Or attach the frame to the wall and then plant the garden. To plant, just poke a hole in the potato sack. If needed, hold the plants in with twine.

Jan 2: Garden Work Day

We planted some succulents we got for free from the St. Francis Lutheran parsonage, where there was a succulent bush that needed some pruning. It's as easy as breaking off a branch and put it in the dirt. We'll be using the succulents for our vertical gardening (since they're very self sustaining and need little watering).

Click here to see the designs for two types of vertical gardens we started building today: wall mounted frames AND fence pockets

In other exciting news, we were given a composting worm bin today!

We also posted some signs announcing our work days, which take place every Saturday from 10am - 2pm (except for when it rains)!
Location: St. Paulus Lutheran Lot at Eddy and Gough, San Francisco, CA.