What this should have looked like… from Birds and Blooms.
Sometimes you think an idea is nifty and the perfect solution to what your needs are. Then, through trial and error, you find out it isn’t. I knew I’d be moving soon, so I wanted something portable, light, and would allow me to grow a few herbs.
A browse through Pinterest, and the vertical shoe organiser tower seemed to fit my needs and look amazingly cute as well.
I browsed around the Internet and found a few directions. They were all straight forward and simple.
- Affix the shoe organiser to a wall or fence.
- Add potting soil and compost to the pockets
- Check for drainage and poke holes in pockets if necessary.
- Add plants and labels
- Enjoy.
You’d think that would be easy, but it’s really not as straight forward as that. You see, most of the shoe organisers you can get now are cheaply made and fall apart extremely easily. They are also sensitive to UV rays, chemicals in the soil, and the weight of the soil does them no favours whatsoever.
All this combined meant that my vertical garden failed. Epically.
This is a few months of wear and tear on a cheap $3 shoe organiser from Joann Fabrics’ holiday aisle.
OK, while a picture is worth a thousand words, let’s start at the beginning.
This shoe organiser likely came from the holiday sale rack at Joann Fabrics. We had bought it with trying this out in mind, but kept it in the closet for a year until we had the chance.
The fabric was scotch-guarded, so water beaded right off it when I tested the drainage. It held the water pretty well, so I cut a small whole in the corner of each pouch. Then, the fun began. I used a compost potting soil mix and filled up the pouches to within about an inch of the top.
I always start my plants from seed, but in this case I just tossed the seeds straight into the soil, watered it, and waited.
That’s where the trouble began, as this system is not meant for growing the seeds in. The drainage was more than adequate, so the soil just couldn’t stay moist — especially with the wind whipping by and drying out the pouches even more.
Within just a couple months, you get what you see to the right. Pretty ugly, right?
Lessons learnt:
Every failure comes with lessons. Here are the ones from this failed experiment that I’ve come up with.
- Don’t buy just any cheap shoe organiser. Make sure the fabric is strong and not as breathable to retain more moisture.
- Use a good combo of compost and soil that is heavier on the compost or all compost to help retain moisture.
- Use already partially grown plants.
- Water regularly.