Vertical Veg – The UK’s Leading Urban Gardening Movement

Vertical Veg is one of the UK’s most successful urban gardening projects, founded in 2009 by Mark Ridsdill Smith. It is dedicated to showing the people—especially those living in small houses, flats, or apartments—how much fresh produce can be grown in small areas such as balconies, windowsills, backyards, walls, and rooftops.

The project promotes the cultivation of vegetables, herbs, and fruits vertically upwards in the shape of containers, shelves, trellises, and planters on the walls to attain high productivity using little space.

• Empowering residents in the city to grow vegetables, herbs, and fruits in their own areas, even in limited spaces.
• Creating sustainable urban living by connecting people with nature and home-grown produce.
• Making garden-low-cost, easy, and convenient for everyone, regardless of space.

• Launched Vertical Veg in 2009 following trials of balcony growing.
• Dubbed commonly as the “Urban Container Gardening Expert.”
• Recognized by organizations such as the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) for his contribution to urban food growing.
• Author of the book “The Vertical Veg Guide to Container Gardening” (2022), which provides down-to-earth advice on food growing in tight spaces.

• Space Efficiency: Allows one to grow food in small apartments or balconies.
• Fresh, Organic Food: Encourages people to eat better and less processed food.
• Sustainability: Reduces food miles, packaging waste, and carbon footprint.

Vertical Veg provides:

• Workshops & Training: Offline and online, training methods such as container gardening, composting, and vertical planting.
• Online Resources: Instructions, blogs, newsletters, and videos for both beginners and experienced growers.
• Community Support: Facilitates sharing experiences through forums and social media groups.
• Books & Publications: Mark’s book and other publications make vertical gardening accessible.

• Container Gardening – Utilizing pots, tubs, or repurposed containers.
• Vertical Gardening – Shelves, racks, and wall-mounted planters.
• Hanging Baskets & Rail Planters – Balcony space maximization.
• Windowsill Gardens – Herbs, microgreens, and small plants in the house.
• DIY Upcycling – Repurposing recycled materials such as crates, bottles, or old buckets.

• The concept of Vertical Veg came into being when Mark Ridsdill Smith relocated to London, stayed in a flat with a small balcony, and wished to cultivate his own food.
• He found out that with the proper methods, even a balcony would yield hundreds of pounds worth of food per year, which was the starting point for the Vertical Veg initiative.

• Title: “The Vertical Veg Guide to Container Gardening” (released in 2022 by Chelsea Green Publishing).
• The book provides step-by-step instructions on how to create mini gardens in tiny spaces.
• It emphasizes low-cost, simple-to-implement techniques such as utilizing recycled containers, homemade compost, and vertical planters.
• It features crop guides for strawberries, chilies, beans, tomatoes, salads, herbs, and others.

• Although Vertical Veg started in the UK, its ideas have been adopted by urban gardeners across the globe—particularly in urban environments such as New York, Tokyo, and Singapore, where space is at a premium.
• Numerous community growing movements and green-living networks now cite Vertical Veg as a model for food growing in small spaces.

Mark’s trials proved that:

• A windowsill or balcony garden can yield the equivalent of £500–£900 worth of vegetables and herbs annually.
• Crops such as herbs, salads, tomatoes, and beans are especially effective for small-space cultivation.
• Succession planting (planting new crops as soon as the old crops are picked) optimizes yields.

• Rather than concentrating on gardening method only, Vertical Veg highlights practical integration into urban lifestyles—how to incorporate growing into busy city living.
• Promotes a “grow a little and often” culture rather than trying to create a full garden overnight.
• Encourages growing for joy, flavor, and sustainability rather than purely productivity.

• Covered in BBC, The Guardian, RHS publications, and other gardening/eco-living media.
• Mark regularly organizes talks, workshops, and webinars on urban food growing.
• The project has also had an impact on policy debate on urban food security and more sustainable cities.

• Vertical Veg invites people to swap seeds, cuttings, and harvests with neighbors.
• Organizes online courses and local sessions to build networks of balcony and small-space growers.
• Is a source of inspiration for green-thinking city residents, particularly those without gardens.