When it comes to vertical gardening, two popular options often spark debate among urban gardeners: Greenstalk and Garden Tower. Both systems promise space-saving, easy-to-use solutions for growing fresh produce at home, but which one is right for you? Let's dive into a comprehensive comparison, backed by insights from the gardening community on Reddit.
Before we delve into the specifics, let's briefly understand each system. Greenstalk is a patented, modular vertical gardening system that allows you to grow up to 50 plants in just 2 square feet. Garden Tower, on the other hand, is a rotating, self-watering vertical garden that can grow up to 50 plants in a compact, 2-foot by 2-foot footprint.
Greenstalk: The Modular Marvel
Greenstalk's modular design is one of its standout features, praised by Reddit users for its flexibility and scalability. It allows you to start small and expand your garden as your skills and space allow.
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Reddit user u/PlantLady89 shares, "I love that I can start with just one or two Greenstalk towers and then add more as I get more confident in my gardening abilities."
Modularity and Expansion
Greenstalk's modularity enables you to create custom garden layouts, making it easy to adapt to various spaces and plant types. You can stack towers to grow tall plants like tomatoes or place them side by side for a wider garden.
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u/GardenGuru420 notes, "The modularity of Greenstalk is fantastic. I've used it to create a living wall in my balcony, and it looks amazing!"
Ease of Use and Maintenance
Greenstalk's simplicity is another selling point. It doesn't require any tools for assembly, and its drip irrigation system ensures even water distribution.
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Reddit user u/ThriftyGardener raves, "Greenstalk is so easy to use and maintain. I just fill up the reservoir, and it waters my plants perfectly. I can't ask for more!"
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Garden Tower: The Rotating Wonder
The Garden Tower's unique rotating design is its claim to fame. This feature promotes even sunlight exposure and makes it easy to access and tend to all your plants.
u/UrbanGreenThumb says, "I love the rotating feature of the Garden Tower. It ensures my plants get even sunlight, and I can reach all my plants without straining myself."
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Self-Watering System
The Garden Tower's self-watering system is another attractive feature. It uses a wicking system to draw water up to the plants, reducing water waste and making it an excellent choice for busy or forgetful gardeners.
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You'll get WAY... | By Epic Gardening | Vertical gardening is an extremely powerful way especially if you're in a small space to grow a ton of food but there are some crops that work a little better than others. So in this video, I'm going to give you three different concepts to plant in a vertical system. So first off, what do we have right here? Well, we have what are called greenstalk gardens. It's our favorite vertical tower. This is the old school one. This is the classic one. It is the five-tier system. You can see there's some deeper pockets here. So, there's six per on five levels. That means you got planting sites in about two square feet as far as the footprint goes. Over here, we have the leaf which is the seven-tier system. So, you got 42 planting spots. So, we've tested almost everything you could possibly think of in these and here's the first thing I think works really well. First up, we have strawberries. A strawberry tower, in fact, is how a lot of these strawberries are produced in commercial systems if they're grown hydroponically. We're going to be growing these in soil. The other reason I really like strawberries in a vertical system is strawberries have this tendency to throw out what are called runners and in a bed which we have a bed actually right over there you kind of have to control those runners it's going to throw one out root throw another one out root and it can get a little unruly well if you plant one in a vertical system like this so imagine we had this one right here it doesn't have anywhere to run so this one plant is just going to produce mostly strawberries you can clip the runners off very easily and manage it so let's plant this out right now to So we just planted out about five layers of strawberries. So thirty strawberry plants. Again in about four square feet of a footprint and you might be wondering okay well you know the sun's coming over here. How does it make sure that you get adequate sun coverage because wouldn't it block the light from itself being a tower. Well that's where the spinner on the bottom really comes in handy. So you can just everyday just give it a quick rotation maybe a hundred and 80 degrees. And you're totally fine. So this is going to be such a productive way to grow. In my estimation one of the best fruits you will ever eat and one of the easiest fruits you'll grow in the garden. That brings us to number two, beans. Beans were one of the first things ever that I planted in a vertical system just as an experiment because I thought if you're growing a bush bean variety, what better way to have easy access to actually picking the beans and when you grow beans, picking them as they become perfectly ripe is a great way to spur on new bean growth. So, a few years ago at the old homestead, I actually grew about 40 or 50 bean plants in a tower and I got pounds and pounds and pounds of beans reliably for an entire summer. So, you can direct sow perfectly fine in a greenstalk garden or vertical system like this. Of course, you can also transplant and what we've discovered is having two bean plants per is perfectly fine. It doesn't disrupt the growth of each bean plant and so, if you think about it, let's just say I have 42 growing sites like I do in this greenstalk leaf, I can actually growing 84 bean plants in this space. It's such a good use of vertical space especially if you're a space-constrained gardener on a balcony or all you have is a patio or a porch. That's how I started gardening and so something like this was absolutely killer for me. So, I'll do a couple layers of this and then we'll move on over to the classic five-tier system. Beans and lettuce a fantastic combination or a fantastic tower to run on its own but in this one over here, you may want to consider growing things that are a little bit more deeper rooted. This isn't my exact pick for number three as far as my favorite plants are grow in a vertical system but I did just want to show it off. It's one of my favorite peppers and it's a shashito pepper. So, what I'll show you here is because you got about, I don't know, four more inches of depth here. You can plant a plant that likes to be a deep-rooted growing plants. So, peppers work really well. You can grow tomatoes. In fact, there's a variety called tiny tim that we grew last year. It's a little tiny determinate bushing-style tomato that when you put it out of the side of a vertical system, it kind of grows to about this big or so and works absolutely wonderfully. So, just as an example, don't think that you can't grow bigger plants in a vertical system. You totally can. So, the shashitos go in. I've actually even seen some friends of mine grow new potatoes. So baby potatoes harvested young in a system like this where it's a little bit deeper. So in goes these shishhitos and then I'm going to share with you my real pick for number three. Our sushitos are in but the real secret for me in a vertical system especially if you love salads and you spend a lot of money on fresh greens and fresh herbs at the grocery store, the farmers market, doing a salad or lettuce and herb tower is probably your highest return on investment thing you'll ever grow in the garden because fresh salad ingredients like this lettuce right here or even rosemary's, basils, thyme, sages, oreganos are some of the most expensive things on a per ounce basis, you'll at a grocery store. So, let me pop this up into the system right now and I'll just show you how much produce you can really get. So, now we have a lettuce tower that you could really customize as much as you want. The whole point of this particular suggestion is to put your favorite leafy greens or expensive greens and herbs into a system like this. So, you can turn it around. Maybe you've got basil, oregano, thyme, sage, and rosemary in one of these tiers and you can do a quick little salad, maybe you throw some little tiny timed tomatoes up here, or maybe these shashitos like you like. So, it's really about which crops really are suited to a vertical system. Strawberries, beans, and greens. Works absolutely fantastically. The greenstalk garden, one of our favorite tools. We love it. Hope you like this video. Good luck in the garden and keep on growing.
Reddit user u/PlantParent101 shares, "The self-watering system in the Garden Tower is a game-changer. I can go on vacation without worrying about my plants drying out."
Composting and Vermiculture
Garden Tower also incorporates a composting system at its base, allowing you to turn food scraps into nutrient-rich fertilizer for your plants. Some users even add worms to create a vermicomposting system.
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u/CompostQueen says, "The composting feature of the Garden Tower is fantastic. It's like having a mini compost bin right in my garden."
Greenstalk vs Garden Tower: The Verdict
So, which is better: Greenstalk or Garden Tower? The answer depends on your specific needs and preferences.
If you value modularity, ease of use, and a wide range of plant types, Greenstalk might be your best bet. Its customizable design and simple maintenance make it an excellent choice for beginners and experienced gardeners alike.
On the other hand, if you appreciate the rotating design, self-watering system, and built-in composting, the Garden Tower could be your perfect match. It's ideal for those who want a low-maintenance, eco-friendly vertical garden.
Ultimately, both systems have their merits and have satisfied many Reddit users. The best way to decide is to consider your space, plant preferences, and maintenance habits. Happy gardening!
