If your taste buds yearn for home-grown tomatoes, spinach, onions, garlic, lettuce, potatoes and cukes, but your garden is the size of a postage stamp, Al Shay has an idea for you.
The instructor in OSU’s Dept. of Horticulture has built a “green tower” that creates nearly 90 square feet of usable plant growing space in a 12.5 square-foot footprint. Shay constructed the tower on the OSU campus and filled it with left-over soil from research projects, well rotted dairy manure and a commercial potting mix.
The tower can accommodate 45 to 55 plants, including those planted on top. Construction materials include rebar, landscape fabric and poultry fencing. He is hoping to find funding to complete a 100′ long row — a living wall — where he can vary the soil types and water regimes to see what is most efficient.
