This installation consists of 7 rows by 8 columns of Wallys (14 x Wally Threes lined brown + 14 Wally Ones lined brown) filled with sub-tropicals including ferns, mosses, and philodendrons. From Splendid's Flagship store in Beverly Hills

Overview

What is a Woolly Pocket?

Woolly Pockets are flexible, breathable, and modular gardening containers. You can use Woolly Pockets both indoors and out; they have built-in moisture barriers to help protect furniture, and they’re equally at home outside in the elements. They’re perfect for creating urban gardens where you have space to garden but no land to garden in. Woolly Pockets are lightweight and can be folded flat, which makes them very easy to use, move, and store just about anywhere. Just hang, plant, and water!

You can purchase a single pocket, a row of 3 pockets or a row of 5 pockets.

What are the benefits of this system?

The Woolly Pocket Vertical Gardening System is unique because it’s easy to install, completely modular, and very easy to maintain.

Why are Woolly Pockets breathable?

There are two primary benefits to container gardening in breathable containers. First, it allows the soil to aerate naturally, which reduces the need to drain the containers and also helps to conserve water. Second, when the roots sense air they do something called air pruning. This is the natural process of stopping their own growth when they sense they’ve reached the limits of their space. This keeps the roots healthy and stops plants from becoming root-bound by growing in continuing circles as they do in non-breathable containers such as clay pots. Woolly pockets are breathable.

What are Woolly Pockets made of?

Edible Vertical Garden

Woolly Pockets have two main components: the breathable felt and the built-in moisture barrier. The breathable portion is made of 100% recycled plastic bottles that have been industrially felted. The moisture barrier is made according to military standards for impermeability from 60% recycled plastic bottles. We stitch each pocket together by hand with a double lock stitch and strong, UV-resistant nylon thread.

What kind of plants should I grow in my Pockets?

Nearly any container plant should be able to grow in Woolly Pockets. Pick plants that are the right size for their new Pocket home. You can also grow some herbs, vegetables and fruits in your living wall!

How should I plant Woolly Pockets?

Planting Instructions

In general, Woolly Pockets can be planted, watered and maintained just like any traditional gardening container. However, there are methods that are specifically intended to increase plant health and lower long-term maintenance needs. See video below:

What you’ll need:

• A wall or other vertical surface
• Woolly Wallys + wall anchors, one for each Woolly Wally grommet
• An electric drill, screwdriver, tape measure, level
• Blue masking tape and a pen
• Quality soil
• Garden shovel or pail
• Plants!

Indoor Greenwall

Steps to install:

1. Using your level and measuring tape, place one piece of blue tape vertically down the center of the wall where you want to hang your Pockets.
2. Using your level and measuring tape, place a piece of blue tape horizontally along the wall where you’ll be drilling the holes to hang the Woolly Wally grommets. When hanging multiple rows space them 13″ on center vertically so that Wallys overlap a little to hide the wall behind them.
3. Using your measuring tape, mark the blue tape where the holes should be drilled and pre-drill each hole.
4. Remove the blue tape and install the wall anchors into the pre-drilled holes.
5. Hang your Woolly Wallys using the screws and washers that came with them. When you hang multiple Pockets, save the anchors that will hang two Pockets for last so you can double them up.
6. Fill each Pocket halfway with soil. Add your plants and top each pocket off with more soil, as necessary.
7. Watering Woolly Wally Systems
8. You should only use filtered water for watering your Woolly Wally System in order to maintain the natural PH balance of the soil. Carefully water each Pocket with about 5% water to soil volume. We like to water the soil closest to the wall to prevent water from running out the front. The wall is protected thanks to the impermeable moisture barrier in each Woolly Wally. Just to be safe, check your Pockets after watering. If it’s wet, you’re probably over watering. But don’t worry, just pat Woolly Wally dry with a towel and use less water next time.

Make sure there’s more soil along the sides than in the center. It’s also helpful to make wells around your plants to concentrate the water over the plants’ root balls. Optimizing the distribution of the soil will help minimize the amount that your Pockets sweat. Sweating is when water begins to pass through the breathable sides of your Woolly Pockets. Sweating doesn’t harm plants, although it might harm your furniture, but it does mean that you should cut down on the amount of water you’re giving your plants or that you should check the soil to see if it should be loosened to allow more water to reach the root ball and to be absorbed.

What is the best soil to use?

Choosing a suitable growing medium for your plants is key to your gardening success. The important thing to remember when choosing potting soil is that is should provide water retention, drainage, and nutrition. Most quality brands of all-purpose potting soil provide all of these things. You can ask at your local garden center/nursery about specific brands in your area. Maximum soil you’d want to put in is .40 cubic feet per individual pocket

How should I maintain this Living Wall?

How much and what kind of water should I use?

Flora Grubb Gardens in Shotwell San Francisco (photos by lanceshows.com)

The amount of water a plant needs depends on what type of plant and what sort of climate it’s growing in. You’ll typically want to water at a max of 3 cups per individual pocket.

If Woolly Pockets moisten on the outside after watering, try watering half as much the next time. If moisture persists, be sure the soil you’re using is a high-quality potting soil that stays loose and holds water.

Use filtered water in order to maintain the natural PH balance of the soil. If you can only use unfiltered water, you’ll want to take your Woolly Pocket outside once a year to flush it. This means thoroughly soaking it until water runs out the sides. Flushing your Pocket won’t harm your Pocket or your plant, in fact it will help it. Make sure you let it dry in the sun before bringing it inside to prevent the damp Woolly Pocket from damaging your floors or furniture. When you bring it back inside, don’t forget to replace the nutrients lost with fertilizer.

Can I use drip irrigation for watering?

Using a regular, timed watering helps insure a healthy garden. Any store bought drip irrigation system will work as well, if not better, in Woolly Pockets than in other gardening containers. We suggest using individually adjustable drip irrigation heads so that each plant gets its own adjustable water source. You’ll want to place the drip irrigation heads along the back inside wall of the pocket. See the drip irrigation video below: