BUILD YOUR OWN GUTTER GARDEN IN 10 EASY STEPS


Get in on one of the latest trends and grow your own vegetables, flowers and herbs… your gutter is your garden!


You don’t need a big yard for a gutter garden – just a wall that gets enough sun. Although the list of products might seem daunting, rest assured that once the system is up and running, there’s very little else to do. Using this system saves huge amounts of water as the hydroponic principle of planting in gravel, with food and water being transported through the system by a pump set up in an attached container, means that the same water is continually being recycled.

Related Article: How to Plant a Vegetable Garden

IF YOU WANT TO USE SOIL
For this system you’ll need to fill your gutters with gravel before planting. If you’d rather use soil, you won’t need the pump, storage box and irrigation pipes. Instead, drill holes in the bottoms of your gutters (around 1cm wide, at intervals of about 20cm) for drainage, and water by hand.

WHAT YOU NEED:
  • 4 x D-shaped PVC gutters (1 500mm)
  • 8 x D-shaped gutter stop-ends
  • 16 x D-shaped gutter brackets
  • 3 x lengths of conduit pipe (320 x 20mm)
  • 1 x length of conduit pipe (250 x 20mm)
  • 4 x conduit adapters (male – 20mm)
  • 1 x PVC bend for the
  • 250 x 20mm conduit
  • 3 x saddle straps
  • 1 x tube PVC glue
  • 2 x cans plastic spray paint (Brown)
  • 30 x Nail-Ins (4 x 45mm) – assembled plug and screw
  • 1 x Waterhouse pump
  • 2 000L/h with a head height of 3m
  • 2 x bags washed stone
  • 1 x Jolly storage box in green (40L)
  • 1 x silicone sealant
  • 3 x irrigation pipe bends (20mm)
  • 1 x control adapter (20mm)
  • 2m irrigation pipe (20mm)
  • Sandpaper
  • Hydroponic fertiliser
  • Water clearing agent
  • Insecticide (if necessary)

TOOLS
Hole saw, drill bit (20mm), hammer drill and masonry drill bit (5mm)



WHAT TO DO
(Use images as a guide)
  • Measure 45mm from the end of each gutter and drill a hole in the bottom, 20mm in diameter, with a hole saw.
  • Attach all the stop ends to the gutter lengths.
  • Spray-paint all the gutters with two coats of plastic spray paint, allowing the paint to dry thoroughly before continuing. The gutters can be left white but these were painted to blend with the wall and showcase the plants.
  • Using the Nail-Ins, fix the brackets to the wall four per gutter starting 1.5m above ground level. Allow 320mm between each row of brackets, working downwards until you have four complete rows. Make sure each row of brackets is perfectly level.
  • Assemble the system by clipping the gutters to the brackets. Then, starting at the top left-hand side, attach the 320 x 20mm conduit pipe into the predrilled hole using the 20mm conduit adapter. Make sure the end of the conduit is not blocked and allows water to flow into the next gutter. Insert the remaining two conduit lengths. Seal the joins with silicone sealer.

Related article: Make a Square Foot Garden

  • Set the storage box up as a reservoir and place for the pump to operate. Drill two holes of 20mm into the side of the box to hold the inlet and outlet pipes.
  • Use the irrigation pipe and pipe bends to connect the pump to the top of the system. Insert the control adapter along the length of the irrigation pipe. Secure it to the
  • wall using the saddle straps.
  • Insert the PVC bend at the bottom of the gutter system, attaching it to a length of conduit (250 x 20mm) to allow the water to flow back into the reservoir.
  • Plug in the pump, fill the reservoir with water and test the system to make sure that the water flows easily before filling the gutters with washed stone.
  • You are now ready to plant.

TOP TIP: HOW TO MAKE IT CHEAPER
You can use soil, and water by hand instead of using a hydroponic system with a pump.

HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR GARDEN
If using the hydroponic system, you’ll need to get a special hyproponic fertiliser. You’ll be able to get advice at your local garden centre on how often and how much to feed, based on what plants you want to grow. If you choose to go the normal route, using soil in your gutters, make sure to use a good potting soil – ask your garden expert to recommend the best type of soil for the plants you want to grow. Water by hand as necessary.



BUILD YOUR OWN GUTTER GARDEN IN 10 EASY STEPS BUILD YOUR OWN GUTTER GARDEN IN 10 EASY STEPS Reviewed by Michelle Pienaar on February 26, 2021 Rating: 5
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