DIY Gutter Garden

"Mommy, when can we start a garden?"
"Now?"
"Is it time yet?"
"Now?"
"Are we ready yet?"

My five-year old has been asking for a garden since last year, so I thought it was time to dig in.  But there really wasn't anywhere to dig in our yard.  No worries.  If you are looking to start a garden with limited space, just start one on a wall or fence.

If you search "gutter garden" on the web, you will find endless examples.  Just know you will be limited with the kinds of plants you grow, as you need ones with a shallow root system.  Strawberries, lettuce, and herbs are great choices.

I decided on two 10' sections of vinyl gutters.  I also purchased the end caps and gutter hangers which I thought would help keep the shape of the gutter after it was filled with soil.

Our fence is kind of ancient, and I felt we needed to reinforce where the gutters would hang, so we screwed in a few pressure treated 2 X4's.  Tom's getting it done with the screw gun.  :)

Then it was pretty simple to hang by putting screws into the hanger.

And I almost forgot to drill in drainage holes.

We mixed some nice top soil with compost and filled our gutters and flower pots.  The little lady was thrilled to finally be getting her hands dirty.

We settled on some flowers . . . 

 . . . strawberries . . .

 . . . herbs and lettuce.

I think our little lady is happy.

Now if I can just get her to stop asking when we can pick the strawberries.

I'll keep you posted on how well the gutter produces our bountiful harvest.  :)

NOTE:  (8/20/14): You can find the gutter garden update here.

I hope you have a fruitful day,

Debbie

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