Tropaeolum majus, with a high decorative and food demand for vertical greening systems, has been utilized to revitalize urban agriculture. The effects of number of non-woven fabrics in a non-water environment and the adaptability of T. majus to this system were investigated. Planting ground composition of the container-type wall vertical greening system was made using non-woven fabric in one, two, three, or four layers. The results showed that the soil water content remained the highest when the non-woven fabric comprised 4 sheets. The morphological properties showed more growth with the 4 sheets than with 1, 2, and 3 sheets. In terms of physiological characteristics, chlorophyll content was mostly high in the 4 sheets, while shoot fresh weight value was in the order of 3 sheets > 4 sheets > 2 sheets > 1 sheet, and root fresh weight value was in the order of 4 sheets > 2 sheets > 1 sheet > 3 sheets. The dry weight of the measured values in the shoot was in the order of 4 sheets > 3 sheets > 2 sheets > 1 sheet while no clear difference was found in the root of each treatment. The difference in the flowring characteristics was not different, but in evaluating the characteristics as a whole, the growth in the three layers of non-waven fabric was the best. In addition, the soil moisture content and the growth characteristics were statistically significant as a positive correlation between the groups. Thus, greater the non-woven fabric, the higher is the adaptability of T. majus to dry stress under soil water-free conditions by maintaining soil moisture content. This showed that it represented an effective alternative as a method of vertical greening system for lower maintenance urban agriculture.

Vertical farming systems offer many advantages in urban spaces. They have also been proposed as an engineering solution to increase the productivity per unit area of cultivated land by extending crop production in the vertical dimension. However, soil water retention is a major constraint affecting the plant environment. This study analyzed the effects of growth environment of Tropaeolum majus and Fragaria spp., on the vertical farming system, by using four different types of cover material types including sphagnum moss (Control), a shading net (S.N.), multi-layered fabric (M.L.F.), and non-woven fabric (N.W.F.). The volumetric soil moisture contents and plant characteristics were investigated from May to September 2014. Plant materials were individually cultivated in hanging baskets measuring 30×17×17 cm, filled with a mixture of soil and perlite, and placed at 1.5m height. Each treatment was performed in quadruplicate and consisted of five plants, amounting to a total of 20 plants. The analysis indicated that different covers were associated with multiple functions and soil water retention improvements may have a positive impact on the vertical farming system. The difference in soil water retention increased in the following order: M.L.F. > Control > N.W.F. > S.N.. Furthermore, the differences in plant height and survival rate increased in the following order: M.L.F. > Control > N.W.F. > S.N. Therefore, M.L.F yielded satisfactory good response for the vertical farming system of cover materials. Our results clearly demonstrate that vertical spaces represent an attractive alternative to urban farming and suggest that further increases in yield may be achieved via different cover materials in vertical farming using hanging baskets.