Are y’all on
Pinterest Yet? I know, I know, it can be a major time sucker, but the ideas on there are SO GOOD! Sometimes I’m even inspired to get out of my computer chair and try one! I pinned this
“salad box” awhile back, knowing that somehow, I was going to find a place to make this gutter garden.
It was a little hard to find a space where the goats couldn’t get to it, but we do happen to have a random fence on one side of our back deck that provided just the right space. I’ve wanted to remove the fence for awhile and replace it with a railing (I mean, really, a fence? What could that possibly be useful for other than nekkid sunbathing??) but I think using it to grow delicious greens is even a better use for it!
This was a very simple project. We just bought 3 10′ sections of gutter at our local home improvement store, along with right and left end caps, and special screws for mounting. We screwed it all to the wall at a slight angle so that the water would drain, and we drilled some drainage holes on the low side of each gutter.
I filled the gutters with straight compost. OK, it would have been good to mix it with peat moss, but the compost was right there on the deck already. Sometimes we just have to work with what we have on hand!
Once it was filled with dirt, I planted Swiss Chard on the top rail. My thought was that it was hearty in most weather, but would take the longest time to really become established. The middle rail was planted with 2 types of kale seeds: Dinosaur (Lacinato) Kale and Red Russian Kale. (Trust me, if you want your kids to eat it, call it Dinosaur Kale!) Finally, I planted the bottom gutter with Romaine lettuce and a “cut and come again” salad mix.
Under the low side of the bottom rail, I added a drainage bucket to catch the wonderful “compost tea” that trickles down through the system. This can then be watered down and used to water the gutter garden, or the other nearby veggies that could use some organic fertilization!
So, how well do the plants like the gutter garden? Well, see for yourself!
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| Swiss Chard |
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| Baby Kale. Be still my heart! |
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| Romaine Lettuce |
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| Big Beautiful Lettuce Blend! |
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| I’m ready for my closeup! |
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Things are growing so well that a tomato decided to volunteer! That happens occasionally with compost. No worries, it is beautiful and healthy. I plan to transplant it into the garden and see what kind of tomatoes it produces!
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| Volunteer Tomato |
So there you go! What are you waiting for? This is an EASY way to grow your own food! Go ahead, get your mind in the gutter!!
What creative methods do you use for growing food?
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Related
We did this with strawberries this year and so far so good.
Strawberries!! What a great idea! And they’re a perennial!! Oh boy, my wheels are turning!! Are they on your blog? If you sent me a link or a picture I sure wouldn’t be sad about it! 🙂
How are those strawberries?
I sure would like to see those strawberries and hear how they did! Are they coming up this year?
Hi! This is so interesting and very doable. Thank you for this post. I’m a newbie to gardening. Just a couple of questions… my side of the fence is on the north side, is this still viable for the leafy vegetables? And how do you deal with insects and pests?
Either side of the fence should work as long as it gets at least partial sunlight. I find that the higher things are off the ground, the fewer insects I get, so I really didn’t have any pest problem with these. Unless you count my children who were using this as a snack bar, or my goats who escaped the pasture and managed to obliterate the bottom row. 🙂 If you see a grasshopper or something eating your plants, just pick it off by hand. I hope this works well for you!
Thank you so much for your response. It’s still all white here at Zone 5, but it’s never too early to plan. ☺️
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