We wanted to highlight one of our Garden Tower® 2 planting system growers, Bill Land. Bill has been gardening and working toward an abundant world for most of his life. Bill worked in planning and zoning for many years and has been involved in projects that promote community-building in Illinois and Indiana. He has been gardening with the Garden Tower® 2 system nearly since the beginning of the Garden Tower Project. This year he set up his towers a bit differently. We wanted to share with you what he did, in case you are interested in trying it next time you plant your Garden Tower® 2 system.

Bill Land builds a tower.

Bill doubled up each of the pockets with lacinato kale, romaine lettuce, and rainbow chard. In the spring, he alternated these three types of plants in diagonal rows. In the top ring of each tower, there are three Bloody Butcher tomatoes, three basil, and two bush beans. This means he had nearly one hundred plants in the Garden Tower® 2 vertical planting system at any given point. Remember, you can rotate out plants and add new ones throughout the season. The plants are getting the support they need in the soil because rich, complex nutrients are available right at the root zone. This is one of the great secrets for growing healthy, nutritious fruits, flowers, and veggies.

To amend the soil, Bill tried different approaches on two towers. In the first, he added Dr. Earth and a goat/horse manure mix. The other, he placed Dr. Earth, manure mix, and azomite. He also experimented with putting copper and other metals near the tower to attract a beneficial electrical charge to encourage plant growth. Both Towers were planted on May 3, 2015. The first harvest was on day 26—and continued to go strong throughout the summer despite heavy rainfall.

For more information on the Garden Tower Project, visit our website today.