Greenstalk Garden Tower Review
GreenstalkGarden.com sent out a garden tower for me to experience and review this season. Greenstalk Garden Tower is a space-saving planter that is vertical and stackable. I found a flat surface in my back garden in the garden potting room and it was easy to assemble. First I added in my favorite Espoma Organic Potting Soil Mix and Espoma Organic Garden Tone fertilizer then stacked the soil-filled tower units and planted the ornamental edible vegetables, flowers, and foliage plants.
When deciding a planting plan for this garden tower I used a mix of ornamental edibles, foliage perennials, and annuals. In order to achieve a well-balanced ornamental look for the tower, I planted every other hole with a different plant, making sure that no two holes had the same plant in it that were side-by-side.
Vegetables came from Jung Seed – Swiss Chard ‘Bright Lights’, Celery ‘Tango Hybrid’, and Dinosaur Kale ‘Black Magic Hybrid’.
Other plants included Terra Nova’s Heucherella ‘Autumn Cascade’, Asparagus Fern, Creeping Jenny, Suntory Surfinia Petunia ‘Sumo Plum’, and Proven Winners Sweet Potato Vine ‘Blackie’.
While it grew well in my shade garden, one of my concerns about the tower is its lack of stability at the base; I set it next to a supportive area to make sure a strong Chicago wind would not knock it over and if placed out in the open I would think this might be a concern. However, on a balcony or protected area, it could function very well. When trying to water the tower, the topwater reservoir did not drain quickly enough and would leave standing water – a definite problem in the mosquito haven which is the Midwest – so I removed the water reservoir and it worked fine to water each individual planting hole. Greenstalk has reassured me that the topwater reservoir is being rebuilt to improve water flow and drainage.
My review on the garden tower is that this tower worked to grow a beautiful display of organic plants in my garden, however, I would be cautious about placing it somewhere that it might be bumped and knocked over. You cannot put this system up against a wall for support because it blocks the growing plants – I wish it was more of a wall unit as I think it would be more secure. As an inexpensive, vertical solution, this garden tower would be workable in an urban environment such as a balcony or small patio.
