Simple Vertical Grow Towers

  
     This is a pretty cool how-to video on constructing strawberry towers from 4" pvc.  It's an easy to build design that is pretty inexpensive.  If you don't already have a heat gun then that may be your biggest expense.  I've tried this out on some 4" pvc before and it isn't rocket science in the least.  Bending the pvc once it has heated up is a pretty simple process that's easy to master halfway through your first tower.
     What I really like about this design is the way that the bends form cups that are filled with a soiless medium to be planted in.  Another design I've seen simple cuts holes in a length of pvc for net pots.  The pvc is filled with expanded clay and plants are planted in the net pots with rockwool.  The problem is that when you go to change out plants expanded clay spills out all over the place.  The cups in this design make it much easier to plant without making a mess.  The only drawback is that there aren't as many plant sites as would be possible with some other designs.  But for how easy this is to set up and maintain, it's definitely worth trying out.  Even if you had just 5 plant sites per tower you're still planting 4 more plants per square foot than would be possible when growing on a horizontal plane.