Make This Amazing Salad Tower!

Ben's been busy sawing, drilling and planting to create this rather eye-catching salad tower. It's planted with a range of different lettuces to give a tapestry of leaves perfect for pepping up meal times and livening up the patio or balcony.
This is an easy project, and Ben will take you through each step, explaining how to make your own salad tower so you too can grow salads in the smallest of spaces.
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[@micheleolson9914]

Well done! I would definitely do this if I didn't already have vertical towers. A DIY tip that may help when cutting into something with a saw is to first drill large pilot holes at the ends. This may also keep the ends of the cut from splitting open wider than you planned. Have a great day. 💜

[@GrowVeg]

Thanks for the advice, Michele, and very good point. 😀

[@LindzandLife]

Great idea Ben just off to get the wine so I can make the holes 😂 have a great weekend

[@GrowVeg]

Haha - I like your thinking! 😀

[@superiorbean7932]

Honestly I was kind of expecting an April fools video today, anyway even then this plant tower really is a great idea and I truly appreciate him sharing this amazing idea with us.

[@SmallholdingUK]

Good idea 👍

[@dangitBobby235]

I LOVE these DIY videos the best. I finally moved onto a modest property last spring. Since last summer, I've made a compost heap, cold frame, wormery, insect netting and so many other backyard additions. I spent last year learning how to prep for planting and this year I feel confident to use my first raised garden bed. Ben, you are an inspiration to so many of us novices. You motivate us and make the work so much less intimidating. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with us.

[@GrowVeg]

You’ve achieved so much already. Great job! 😀

[@traceysallotment2506]

Wow this is a great idea 💡

[@nickthegardener.1120]

Hi Tracey I have a terracotta strawberry planter which I’m going to use for salads. Not using your strawberries in it because it drys out too quickly for strawberries. 👍🏻🤠💗🥬

[@traceysallotment2506]

@Nick The Gardener. sounds like a great plan 👌 seen this idea and is looks great 👍

[@nickthegardener.1120]

@@traceysallotment2506 I was thinking about adding worms in the middle.😆🤣👍🏻🪱😂💪💗🤠

[@roybradley3531]

Tyreese if you see this. This is so cool and what we were chatting about earlier.

[@GrowVeg]

Hey Tyreese - definitely make one! :-)

[@renestewart604]

Thank you for the inspiration.

[@MamboDogFace]

I find all of your inspiring videos absolutely draw jopping Ben! Ha ha, thanks for another brilliant idea on my to-plant list!

[@GrowVeg]

Thanks so much. Happy gardening! 😀

[@MyTube4Utoo]

A great idea!

[@k.p.1139]

Thanks, Ben! I have 2 of those commercial grow towers and, I stopped using them. The constant having to rotate them to make sure this side and that side gets sun became such a chore. But more, they dried out so fast, that I was watering 2 times a day. BUT, on a good note...The birds love them. The song birds found one of mine, a couple of years ago, and they come back each year to nest and have their babies. I make sure I leave it where they can find it. It's worth it! 😊

[@conniewojahn6445]

What a great use of your grow towers!

[@GrowVeg]

Wow, that’s incredible. 😀

[@Nona.masak14]

Thank you!

[@kellyprewitt1596]

I absolutely love this! I wanted a a growing tower and couldn't afford one. I'm for sure making this one. I saw another one made with 3 terracotta pots. I think I'm going to try both. 🤗 Thank you.

[@conniewojahn6445]

I wish you the best of luck. Enjoy!

[@GrowVeg]

Great stuff Kelly. Happy gardening!

[@LaraFabans]

I was able to buy a lot of stacking containers (with 3 per row) at dollar tree online. They were shipped to me and were in great shape. I've grown tulip bulbs, lettuces, strawberries, container peas (tom thumb) and onions in them.

[@slomo1716]

What a wonderful and brilliant idea!! I have resorted to grow bags, but this project is genius!!!! Thanks Ben!!!

[@GrowVeg]

Thanks so much - it's doing really well. Thoroughly recommended.

[@DigwellGreenfingers]

Great idea Ben! I've used a hot knife before to make the slits.

[@JennySimon206]

I've got a hot wood burner and a heat gun. Also have a drill and a dremel.

[@DigwellGreenfingers]

@@JennySimon206 The heat gun is good to warm the area of the slits before "moulding" them into shape. They stay set in place then.

[@Mialuvsveggies]

BRILLIANT!!!

[@yvonnek3695]

Genius👏 I love the compost/aeration thing in the middle.The only thing I might add to this is to create a self-wicking reservoir out of another pail underneath this tower with a drainage hole(s) on the sides of the top pail when it gets too full. I use a long piece of microfiber or cotton cut from a rag that is stuffed up into the soil in the upper pail and hangs down into the water reservoir below. This works great to keep the soil moist all the time (so long as the reservoir is full. To keep the top pail from slipping down into the bottom pail, I use a pot that sits firmly on top of the bottom one and holds the top one.

[@GrowVeg]

That would be a great idea and would definitely save time watering.

[@danyoutube7491]

A great way of growing a lot of salad in a small space. I suppose if you wanted to grow in the summer months, you could reposition it easily in a shady area (presuming you have one) to stop them bolting, and move it back to a sunny spot in autumn.

[@keananf]

This concept could be adapted to a herb garden. An herb tower would be pretty neat

[@GrowVeg]

It certainly would. :-)

[@carriecrooks419]

Brilliant! I'm going to try this because my lettuce have been devoured by slugs🙁

[@staninageric]

The best ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@Milks808]

Heating the plastic and using a wine bottle to give it permanent shape is genius!

[@ajcochrane007]

Great idea for us beginners. Thanks.

[@Pixieworksstudio]

Love that Ben, so practical, and great for small space gardening to!!

[@jiggli-Jane]

Yaaaay, you're back! 🥳 As always, great info, especially for people short on space.

[@GrowVeg]

Cheers Jane. 😀

[@everseeking60]

Brilliant!!!

[@AlexasGarden]

Thanks, Ben! I love the composting column idea.

[@priscillajoseph765]

Wow Ben, that is truly a brilliant practical idea. Doesn't take up much space at all. Thanks very much.👌 for your tip & suggestions too.

[@JennieZ42]

I'm obsessed with this idea. I've tried something similar before with a milk crate, but it didn't work as well as I'd hoped since the growing spaces were completely vertical. And adding the column in the middle is a stroke of genius! I think it would work for an herb garden also!

[@GrowVeg]

It would work really well for leafy herbs I reckon.

[@TofferJ-UK]

I was given a strawberry planter last year and put lettuce in 👍❤️ I love the composting column idea.

[@cdogallen7143]

You could also use an angle grinder with a thin metal cutting blade to make your slots. The blade heats up so it would make smoother and cleaner cuts with much less shavings because it melts it a bit.

[@ogdenag]

That’s what I’ve been doing 😁

[@simplifygardening]

A great planter ben for people with small spaces to grow. It would be great on a patio or balcony. Time for a new sprayer pal. Great video mate

[@GrowVeg]

Haha, yes, I think I definitely need a new one! Hope spring is progressing nicely for you Tony. 😀

[@celineamuzie3933]

Double tomsup to you

[@beautifulabstractions755]

Thanks again for all the garden inspiration. Always appreciated.

[@sharonpacker7186]

This is amazing. They sell the towers like this for a couple hundred dollars and this is a cheap and easy project and you’re doing restaurants a favor by carting away their used buckets. Thanks again BEN. Can’t wait to read your new book.

[@GrowVeg]

Thanks Sharon. Hope you enjoy the book. Happy gardening! 😀

[@capbin146]

Absolutely brilliant idea. Thanks

[@ninclarke1357]

Love it 😊

[@chaddamp2894]

superb thanks ben x

[@xXScissorHandsXx]

Absolutely grand! 👍👍

[@Amarie1961]

Awesome. I just bought some food grade buckets. I have a new use for them now.

[@elizabethpirie5050]

Brilliant I am definitely doing this and one for my mum , really good for anyone who has limited space , think I will add parsley ,just a great idea Thankyou Ben

[@UpthePottingShed]

Great idea! I've got a lovely strawberry planter that strawberries don't seem to like. Think I'll plant lettuce in it!

[@conniewojahn6445]

Good luck with your lettuce! Maybe try something else after the lettuce is all eaten? Peas?

[@UpthePottingShed]

@@conniewojahn6445 Nice Idea, thank you 🙂

[@bowtielife]

I have always really liked all your projects but this one is particularly ingenious especially with the way you made the slots stand out!! Very cool!!

[@samatronn]

I was going to import a greenstalk from USA for around £250 hah. Maybe i'll try this instead

[@jan1babs]

I co-run a community garden where we try to get people to grow more at home. This idea is perfect. Thank you.

[@GrowVeg]

So pleased. 😀

[@jackieo8693]

Looks great!

[@liamcoote6178]

Brilliant Idea. Going to try this for the patio.

[@lynnrushton7458]

Genius ‼️👏 thank you!

[@amymacbeth7714]

Amaze!

[@jeanthornton2107]

What a good idea 💡😊

[@timwerner7769]

I’m making one of these tomorrow. I have about 30 lettuce starts that i grew from seeds so I’m going to connect 2 buckets together and make it taller. Thanks for the info.

[@GrowVeg]

Great idea Tim. Hope it's gone well.

[@josiebridges3583]

Oh, thank you, Ben. I bought a fabric tower years ago ad I put it on top of a brick stand with a lazy susan with holes and now I know what to do with it. I may plant succulents, lettuce or strawberries. I do have a vinyl pipe in it drilled with holes for composting and watering. Thank you for the reminder.

[@loujobar1974]

On Fridays I look forward to Gardeners’ World, on Monday mornings I look forward to my Growveg email and KZbin video. Thank you Ben! 👍

[@GrowVeg]

So pleased to be part of your week Louise. 😀

[@donnag7095]

What a great idea, you could also plant strawberries that way too. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful idea.

[@GrowVeg]

You certainly could Donna. That would look great.

[@nickthegardener.1120]

Hi Ben you could even put a plant in the pot on top. 👍🏻

[@GrowVeg]

Good point Nick!

[@petertowns2012]

Great idea

[@sandrajohnson9926]

Love it!! Good idea for herbs, as well.

[@kellyprewitt1596]

Excellent idea. Now I'm making 2.

[@indigenousandexoticflora8000]

Wonderful, your innovative idea is good for balconies ...

[@LaraFabans]

I love stacking containers. You can grow so much in them. And what...no rocket!!

[@GrowVeg]

Next time Lara!

[@tabs5375]

This is such a good idea! 😊. I'm glad it's not just my hosepipe that thinks it's a water feature 😂.

[@GrowVeg]

Definitely need to replace mine I think! 😂

[@JennySimon206]

Cool. I like the slits! Much better idea.

[@andrewmcgleish61]

I've just bought a Strawberry bucket from Lidl which would be great for this.

[@sajadahmed1269]

Very good idea I think I will make one.

[@lauranewbie8765]

Thank you Ben! 🤗 Can we use this for planting other things, such as strawberries? 🤔 Really appreciate you teaching us this method. 👍👏

[@GrowVeg]

Hi Laura. Yes, I reckon this would look really attractive with strawberries on it instead. Perhaps lots of leafy herbs.

[@lauranewbie8765]

@@GrowVeg Thank you! I have lots strawberry plants, but not enough room for all of them. I will definitely try this. I think it will look attractive as well.

[@Kitchenlabofficial]

Good work my dear brother

[@imflying2752]

Well, in my humble opinion, that Veggie Tower is brilliant! Thank you!

[@marcrenato3484]

That is good1

[@davemansell9309]

I love this, brilliant idea composting through the middle. Conveniently I've got a couple of home brew buckets I've been looking at replacing as well 👌😊

[@GrowVeg]

That is convenient Dave. 😀

[@NanasWorms]

Definitely going to do this, except I'm going to add WORMS down that centre column along with the food scraps! ~ Sandra

[@GrowVeg]

I have seen this done a lot. Great idea! :-)

[@stephenhope7319]

Ben that is a great take on a vertical growing method and looks very inexpensive. I also like the chicken wire central tower, that is something I do in my larger beds. I take chicken wire and wrap it around 1 gallon paint cans for a size guide ( 7 inch diameter) or around a 5 gallon paint bucket for a 14 inch diameter cage and place them in my planters and start the fill process and cover with black trash bags. Keeps the rodents and flies out.Thanks for that.

[@GrowVeg]

You are very welcome Stephen. So pleased you enjoyed the video. :-)

[@valoriegriego5212]

Howdy Ben! 👋 That is a great idea and easy to put together. It would also make a great gift.😃

[@GrowVeg]

Absolutely Valorie. 😀

[@sophiescyclingandwalkingch4294]

It’s a great idea we’ll done! An oscillating multi tool would work too on the cuts.

[@getyerspn]

I really like this idea I have some 10 inch drainage pipe , I'm gonna make a bigger version ...thanks mate.

[@grahameveritt8950]

Brilliant, I have a lovely man in the kitchen at the district hospital who collects the empty 10 or 15l food buckets for me, they are ideal for this if a little smaller.

[@quietspacearts]

if you dont use lid and have it lid on then u can stack 3 or 4 of these happily then top one more lettuces, i do tower hydroponics and works

[@GrowVeg]

Yes, smart move!

[@matthewkurt2246]

Great idea, but won't the lettuce be done growing before the kitchen scraps break down enough to do any good?

[@GrowVeg]

They should be well on their way when the lettuces are a few weeks older. In the meantime, there should be more than enough nutrients within the potting mix itself to keep on going till then.

[@laggywarden2915]

Been waiting for a video:) you should do a video on cantaloupe, I don’t think you’ve done any

[@GrowVeg]

Not yet, and a great idea. :-)

[@SharonKerr-jb6jx]

I love the idea of the central cylinder for kitchen scraps. Could I use that idea in my raised beds too?

[@GrowVeg]

You could do this. Something a bit like a keyhole garden: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyhole_garden

[@pobo6113]

What an excellent idea! I made a flower tower before, but I really like the lettuce tower as well. That would work well for herbs that you want close to your door. Thanks for sharing.

[@staninageric]

❤

[@beargillium2369]

Could probably create the slits with a soldering iron

[@thefutureofgardening5912]

Sir, well done!! Very well done!! The only thing I would recommend as a tool to help you cut the slits in the bucket would be what's called an "oscillator saw." It will help you immensely, and not break the bank! I love your compost idea in the middle. I would totally do a stack of these, one on top of another, cutting holes in the lid of each level to keep the screen in the middle going and water to transfer all the way down. This would work so well for strawberries and leafy greens like you have. I'm a hydroponic nerd, but I still have mad respect for soil, and I may also make one of these very soon. Thank you very much!!!

[@GrowVeg]

So pleased you enjoyed the video. Very curious about hydroponic gardening and would love to try that one day. 😀

[@thefutureofgardening5912]

@@GrowVeg It's so simple and would be a breeze for you! I use Kratky mainly, aside from my DIY aeroponics tower. Buy a 27 gallon container or even a 5 gallon bucket to start, use a 2-3" hole with net pot, and by using the kratky method, air roots form in the areas where there's oxygen below the bucket line above the water, and the rest is golden!

[@cuznclive2236]

Perfect! I really wanted to try a GreenStalk, but the cost doesn't fit my budget. Additionally, when I asked about using a living soil-type process (worms and such), their response was that they had not tried it. This system should make perfect use of red wigglers and provide a micro-system for the Soil Food Web to function properly. As an addition to the build, I plan to use untreated/brown craft paper on the top 2/3rds of the wire mesh to minimize erosion; soil falling from the bed into the "pit". I will also add carbon layers in the form of shredded cardboard, coir, with grain or inoculated wood chips in favor of producing mushroom clusters. My head is racing atm with all the possibilities of this simplest of growing solutions for people with limited space!!!... and who doesn't have limited space? Much appreciated!

[@GrowVeg]

You are very welcome. This simple setup has so many options. Happy gardening!

[@657449]

Drill a hole or two on the side near the bottom.

[@danielmountain1720]

Handy. Would still want to develop a wicking variant, but it's a good setup.

[@danhopkins5783]

Nice, I might try this with some other plants too. Looks like your sprayer head froze and busted! I can't tell you how many times that's happened to me.

[@GrowVeg]

Definitely needs fixing Dan! Happy gardening to you! 😀

[@CardsbyMaaike]

looks fab, but my slugs aren't as domicle as yours apparently ;-) they won't be stopped!

[@GrowVeg]

Oh no - what a pain!

[@rosalindhb]

I think I'm going to try this with a fabric grow bag. 🤔

[@homegrowngarden]

Greta project for limited space! What’s the saw/knife thing you used? I’ve never seen one before!

[@GrowVeg]

It’s called a plasterer’s saw. I’m guessing it’s used for cutting plasterboard?

[@kristinagal7481]

👍

[@GLJosh]

Two thirds gardening video one third wet shirt video. Very informative!

[@GrowVeg]

Haha, cheers Josh!

[@The_GlassCannon]

Off-topic silly question - What did you use to do before GrowVeg? I feel like you have a very well-honed and practiced "Investigative reporter/journalist" voice

[@GrowVeg]

Thanks so much! I’ve always been involved in gardening magazines, editing them.

[@ShawnRyan916]

Cool as shit

[@fionawallner9099]

Hi, another great video. Love the compost in the tower tip. Would this work if you put a layer of kitchen scraps in a tomato or cucumber pot when you plant them.? Greetings from snowy Sweden …. Still waiting to be able to put a fork in the ground 😂

[@GrowVeg]

Hi Fiona. I have put leaves and kitchen scraps on the bottom of large containers for courgette, so I am sure that would work for tomatoes and cucumbers too. Hope spring arrives soon for you!

[@katb.5859]

I guess it's not just salads that you can grow in there. I could imagine strawberries too. Or bushbeans.

[@GrowVeg]

Definitely. 😀

[@lifestapestry2968]

Great for space saving, was wondering if the container colour makes a difference to the growing speed, considering the darker the more heat it absorbs....

[@GrowVeg]

I guess it depends on your climate. But I chose white because it looks good with the leaves and also it won’t overheat in the summer.

[@StrataChalup]

I'm thinking that a 3-in hole saw on a drill base would make easy holes as well.

[@johanneswerner1140]

Put in some onions as well. Slugs don't seem to like them (mostly...).

[@aceufos47]

Lived this although I would end up cutting my fingers off. My kids want to do giant sunflowers this year which I'm awful at growing. Wish us luck.

[@GrowVeg]

Very best of luck, I am sure you will succeed in growing superb sunflowers. :-)

[@deanwatt]

Seems odd that some people insist on food grade buckets for some growing projects and yet grow plenty of food plants in regular old pots, even second hand ones with no worries at all! Although, that is a nice looken bucket 🤣