Gutter Gardens are a small-space hero of edible gardening
When space is limited but your green thumb is itching, a gutter garden offers the perfect solution. Ideal for decks, patios, courtyards, and even balconies, this slimline setup makes the most of vertical space, transforming plain walls or fences into productive patches of greenery.
Gutter gardens remind us that we don’t need sprawling land to grow good food, just a little imagination, a few tools, and a willingness to reuse what we already have. Whether you’re growing fresh herbs for your kitchen or creating a wall of leafy greens, Sprouting Spouting makes it simple, sustainable, and satisfying.
Why Choose a Gutter Garden?
- Made for Small Spaces
Traditional garden beds aren’t always an option especially in rental properties, apartments, or homes with fully paved outdoor areas. Gutter gardens neatly sidestep this issue. With just a few lengths of guttering, you can create layers of growing space that require only a wall, railing, or freestanding frame. - Ideal for Shallow-Rooted Plants
The narrow base of a gutter is best suited to plants that don’t need deep soil. Think lettuce, rocket, spinach, radishes, coriander, thyme, and strawberries. You’ll enjoy quick-growing crops that are easy to snip and serve straight to the kitchen. - Modular & Adaptable
Cut your gutters to any length, stack them up with generous spacing, and adapt the frame or mount to suit your setting. - Encourages Upcycling
While this project can be done with new materials, it’s a great opportunity to repurpose old guttering, scrap timber, or leftover fixtures from other DIY jobs. It’s a win for your garden and for landfill reduction. - Easy to Maintain
Because your crops are raised off the ground, weeding is minimal, slugs and snails are less of a problem, and watering can be more targeted. Plus, it’s gentler on your back…no bending required.
How to Make a Gutter Garden
You’ll need
- 1 x 3m plastic spouting
- 6 gutter end caps (3 left, 3 right)
- 1 x tube gutter cement
- 6 x 1.2m (90 x18mm) dressed pine
- assorted screws
- 9 x gutter supports
- 2 x 100x100mm angle brackets
TIP: Not all 1.2m lengths are the same, often ‘out’ by a few mms. Ensure that you choose lengths of exact size for the uprights.
Method
Step 1: Measure and mark guttering into 3 x 1 metre lengths. Place a piece of wood inside the plastic guttering to help retain its shape while hack-sawing. Use a small piece of sandpaper to take off any plastic burrs (this will ensure the end caps fit well).
Step 2: Flip the guttering upside down and drill 5mm holes (approx 10cm apart) along the bottom to aid water drainage.
Step 3: Offer up the caps to each guttering end to ensure they fit. Apply cement, wipe away any excess glue, affix caps to each end, and allow to dry for 10 minutes.
TIP: When applying the gutter cement, apply to the inside of the guttering end, rather than on the end cap – making for a secure fix without excess glue mess.
Step 4: Take 2 x 1.2 lengths of dressed pine and lay vertically parallel on the ground, approx 1.2m apart. They will become the frame uprights. Insert a spare piece of wood beneath to raise the frame off the ground for easy clamping.
Take 3 x 1.2 metre lengths and lay horizontally on top of the verticals (much like a ladder), one aligned beneath the other: the first with top edge 90mm from the top of the verticals, then with a 250mm gap between the others. They will become the backboard to which the guttering is secured.
Use a set square to ensure the lengths of wood are straight and parallel then G clamp in place. Offer up a piece of guttering (1 metre guttering with end caps attached) which should fit snuggly in the gap created between the 2 vertical uprights. If a small adjustment required, now is the time to do it.
Once happy with the placement, drill pilot holes then secure 4 x 35mm screws in a square formation to secure each end of the horizontal boards to the verticals. Allow 20mm from the edges so as to not split the pine.
Step 5: Take remaining 1.2 metre length and accurately cut off 2 x 20cm and 2 x 40cm lengths. Place 40cm lengths as ‘feet’ beneath the frame, set back 13cm from the rear of the foot. Screw in brackets with 13mm screws at the rear of the foot.
Cut a triangle wedge off one corner of each of the 2 x 20cm pieces. Screw into the feet at the front of the frame (this is to help counter-balance the weight of a fully-loaded gutter garden once planted out).
Step 6: Time to attach the guttering to the frame! Take 20mm screws and attach the 3 gutter supports plates flush with the top of each horizontal – one in the centre, then two 4cm from each vertical.
Clip on the guttering – and get gardening!
As seen in NZ Lifestyle Block Magazine, written by me!
