WonderWall

I wonder what I should plant on my wall? Not a question you hear every day but an increasingly relevant question in our society's quest for a sustainable future.

If you want to grow your own food but don't have any room, consider planting a wall. The basic components involve a vertical surface, a growing media into which plants dig their roots, and a drip irrigation system to water the plants. Inka, Succulent Gardens and GreenFotune, among others, offer interesting systems.

1. Inka

Homes and day care centers around the San Francisco Bay Area showcase Inka's vertical hydroponic gardens, shown above. The system has a fish tank where the fish release nutrients into the water. A pump circulates this water up to irrigate and fertilize the plants. Excess water drips back into the fish tank and aerates the tank water. Inka's owner is currently working with international refuge relief organizations to provide these to refugee camps so they can grow their own food and generate electricity with solar panels and small wind turbines.

2. Succulent Gardens

At the West Coast Green 2008 trade show Succulent Gardens displayed several wall panels of succulents. Depending on your climate, these could go inside or outside. You can see these beautiful displays in the video above.

3. GreenFortune

This Swedish company makes indoor plant walls. Perhaps they fit best in a museum or office building foyer although if you have a huge living room (unlike me) it could work aesthetically.

Have you seen any interesting plantwalls? Where did you see them and do you think they will catch on?