We love a good small-space garden design challenge, especially when it involves finding new and creative ways to grow your own food. Suzanne Forsling of Juneau, Alaska, wanted to grow vegetables, but only a tiny sliver of her outdoor space—an alleyway between her house and the neighbors'—gets any kind of sun. Wanting to save money, maximize heat and protect her plants from wildlife, she came up with the idea of using rain gutters as planters along the wood siding. Details, and more small-space kitchen garden inspiration, after the jump...
Suzanne's solution is inexpensive and practical, of course, but we actually think it's got aesthetic appeal too. We love the look of the long, narrow planter boxes lined up under the window. She shared her solution in the Juneau Empire; you can click over there for the whole story and detailed instructions, but here are a few tips we gleaned:
• Drill plenty of holes in the gutters for drainage.
• The first time you water, allow water to drip between the gutters and the siding (this time only!) in order to wash out any soil that might be trapped against the siding.
• Each time afterwards, water cautiously, with a watering wand or can, to prevent water from becoming trapped against the siding, and to avoid excess drainage... you don't want water pooling up so close to the foundation of the house. (You could also use drip irrigation for even better control.)
We'd love to know if anyone else has tried this. Here's some more inspiration from Apartment Therapy for those looking to grow this year's vegetables in a small space:
• 10 Inspiring Gardens for Growing Food in Small Spaces (from The Kitchn)
• The Small Space Raised Garden
• Vegetable Garden Using Repurposed Furniture
• Planning the Garden: Vegetables (and the Occasional Strawberry!)
• Food Map Containers: Portable Vegetable Gardening
(Via NotCot)
Photos: Suzanne Forsling
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That is a pretty cool idea.
Keeps the bunnies out of the greens too.
great idea. it's like walking down the aisle at the grocery store.
This is pretty clever, and so simple. Genius. I sort of want to try it
pretty GREAT idea!
I love this idea completely. It's also a great way to salvage building materials. :)
Wow that's smart.
Very clever. Hmmm. I may add it to my project list.
this is really cool i could see it working well on an apartment balcony.
You could probably improve the drainage situation by doubling up the bottom row with another gutter with no drainage holes. The ones above would just drain into the lower ones and with careful watering and drainage hole placement any excess water would just end up in the bottom doubled up gutter, which could drain int a bucket or other reservoir if tilted slightly.
brilliant.
adamwa's idea to collect the runoff is clever too!
wow. so beautiful in its simplicity.
Thanks for sharing this very clever idea!
This is too cool.
This is also good for a window flower box on a small window. Thanks.
I really like this idea and the look of it could even rival some of those living walls. I think if I were going to try this I would first build a simple wooden grid and then attach the gutters to that instead of directly to the house. Might alleviate some of the drainage concerns around the siding and foundation.
I haven't put anything into my windowboxes yet. Lettuce! I love it! Let me add to the chorus of praise for this idea.
she must use some intensely rich soil to get plants to grow in such a tiny amount! i wonder if they'd blow right out of the gutter in a strong gust.
WOW. I love this so much.
I love this too. But I'd rather see it on a fence than attached to the house siding. In fact you could make a "living fence," with the gutters just attached to posts. On the house, I'd be a bit worried about toxic runoff into the soil, from the siding's paint. Attaching the gutters to brackets that held them a little away from the wall might get around that.
That looks fantastic. But, I can't help but wonder - won't it make a perfect buffet for neighborhood deer?
Combine this with gray water drip irrigation and viola! Its perfect!
Love the look of this too....but my worry is insects. I know you're supposed to trim any tree branches that brush your house or touch your roof because they are a prime source of arts (destructive carpenter ants and others)... would fear that house-affixed gardening would have the same risk. Anyone have opinions on that?
peekay, you have it all wrong. This is the perfect way to grow veggies FOR my bunnnies! (Arthur and Lyta. Mini lops. HUNGRY mini lops!) ;^)
This is perfect. I've been trying to figure a way to use the vertical space on my fireescape- a little chicken wire and I'll almost have a full garden. Thanks!
wow, this is great! applause!
I love this idea, but my first question with such small planters was how hard is it for her to keep these watered, especially if they're on the sunny side of her house? At my house in the dead of summer we have a hard time keeping 30 gallon pots moist enough (depending on the plants inside), much less things this small--sometimes we had to water 2 times a day just to keep things alive, and that's neither easy nor green. I wonder if she has problems with that? Otherwise, I'd love to give this a try--very clever.
This woman is a complete genius.
I LOVE that idea!
I have plenty of space in my garden, but I might give this a whirl when the season for lettuce spins around here in the southern hemisphere. The soil in my garden is not great, plus, I am a terrible gardener - I always forget about things and don't take care of them like I should. Maybe it's wishful thinking but I think that having plants in such a gorgeous installation, and at eye level, might help with that!
I'm renting, so I wouldn't be able to attach them to the house, but there are plenty of fences in my garden, or maybe I could even make a free-standing frame for them. Should't be too hard!
Can I second Hyzen's question, though? Maybe having them off the grouns would mean being able to do an earlier crop, since frost wouldn't be as big a problem?
Yeah, I love this idea, but I'm with Hyzen - this wouldn't work in my area - I have to water my hanging baskets 2x a day in the summer. And I'm in Ottawa, Canada. If I lived in a climate like Vancouver or Seattle, I would be all over this idea.
Ah... she's in Alaska. I'm guessing they don't get quite the same baking heat in the summer that I get.
I too am thinking about this for a balcony railing. It is rather shallow though--would have to be the right kind of crop.
This is brilliant. I hope you don't mind if I take the idea and run with it.
http://www.abraingutters.com/
see my blog on rain gardens at;
http://abraingutters.blogspot.com/2011/04/rain-water-harvesting-math.html
( you have to scroll down to see our raised food beds that use rain water )
This gutter planter idea is an easy way for me to have yet another way to sell gutters! Thank you.