• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Hungry Healthy Happy
  • Game Day Recipes
  • About
  • Recipes
  • FREE eBook
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Game Day Recipes
  • About
  • Recipes
  • FREE eBook
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Let's get social!

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
    • Twitter
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Game Day Recipes
    • About
    • Recipes
    • FREE eBook
    • Contact
    • Subscribe
  • Let's get social!

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Hungry Healthy Happy » Blog

    DIY Strawberry Gutter (Planter)

    Published: Jul 12, 2016 · Modified: Jun 20, 2022 by Dannii · This post may contain affiliate links · 121 Comments

    14736 shares
    • 9
    Jump to instructions Print instructions

    If you want to grow some strawberries this year, but you don't have a lot of space in your garden, then give this DIY Strawberry Gutter a try - it's cheap to make too.

    Tomato plants and strawberries growing in a homemade planter.

    Nothing tastes more like summer than fresh, juicy strawberries, and with Wimbledon having just finished, this wonderful little fruit is always popular.

    With over 28,000 kilos of strawberries eaten during Wimbledon fortnight alone, it’s no wonder people are always after them. Like most people that live in the city, we don't have a lot of garden space, so we choose to grow upwards.

    Jump to:
    • Why should you make it?
    • How to build strawberry gutter - step by step
    • How to grow strawberries in a small space
    • What guttering to use
    • How big to build it
    • Extra tips
    • Recipes using strawberries
    • Feedback

    Why should you make it?

    • Homegrown fruit
    • Simple to make, with only a few steps
    • Really inexpensive to make
    • Space saving

    How to build strawberry gutter - step by step

    One: Measure your space and using a hacksaw cut the gutter to the lengths you require (mine are 1 metre/39 inches long each).

    Black square line guttering cut into four lengths of one metre each.

    Two: Using a drill, make drainage holes in the base, spaced about 15cm/6 inches apart. Put the stop ends on and the gutter is ready.

    Four lengths of black square line guttering all with stop end on and holes drilled in the guttering.

    At this point, the brackets can be fixed to a vertical surface if you have a suitable one available and the gutter clipped into them.

    I constructed a simple frame from treated timber (it’s important the timber is treated as it will be resistant to the weather).  This also makes the whole gutter system portable, should it need to be relocated.

    Three: For the frame, I used two lengths of 140x22mm/6x1” timber for the uprights and two lengths of 50x38mm/2x1.5” timber for the cross supports.  I cut the uprights to 1500mm/59 inches each and the cross supports at 1100mm/43 inches each.  For the uprights, measure where you want the brackets to be and screw them at equal distances apart.  Do this for both uprights.

    Two lengths of six by one timber with four gutter brackets screwed to each one.

    Four: Position the cross supports at the back of the uprights and screw into place to make the frame.

    A timber frame with gutter brackets attached to it.

    Five: Clip in the cutter lengths and the frame will be ready to be stood up. For extra support, I fixed the frame at the bottom of the uprights to a raised bed that we already had.

    DIY Strawberry Guttering stood up against a wooden fence.

    Six: The gutter can now finally be filled with compost (leave a small space below the rim for watering) and you can plant your strawberries. This type of growing gutter is also good for microgreens, pea shoots and herbs.

    How to grow strawberries in a small space

    Growing your own strawberries is easy - there are varieties that can be grown in sunny spots as well as shady areas.  Make sure you research the type of strawberry you want to grow before planting, as a sun loving variety with not do well in a shady place.

    Strawberry plants that are grown successfully can harvest lots of fruit, but the plants can also take up quite a bit of space.  If you are limited for growing space, what can you do when you can’t grow plants out?  You grow upwards!

    What guttering to use

    Plastic guttering can be bought from most builders’ merchants or large DIY stores for a fairly reasonable price. Don't forget that you will also need brackets and stop ends.

    Choose a gutter that has a fairly deep profile, to maximise the amount of soil and space for the roots to grow.

    Once you have selected the type of gutter you want (there are many designs and colours to choose from) it’s time to get building.

    A strawberry plant in a piece of black guttering.

    How big to build it

    It completely depends on the amount of space you have and how much space you want to take up. But always plan your strawberry gutter out on paper before you start building.

    After we planted our strawberries, we decided to remove the bottom gutter as we were also growing tomatoes in the raised bed below and they are quite tall. The tomatoes grew really fast and started to take over a little bit, consider that if you are growing something under the strawberries.

    Two lengths of guttering with strawberry plants growing in them.
    heart icon

    Extra tips

    • Use a guttering with a deep profile.
    • Make sure the timber you use is treated to protect against weather.
    • Follow the builders' rule: Measure twice, cut once.
    • Don't forget stop-ends for your guttering or the soil/compost will fall out.
    • You can stain or varnish the timber, but make sure it is completely dry before planting anything.

    Recipes using strawberries

    • Strawberry Puree
    • Make Ahead Smoothie Packs
    • Frozen Yogurt Bark
    • Porridge Fingers

    If you’ve tried this strawberry guttering project then let us know how you got on in the comments below. We love hearing from you!
    Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - we love sharing photos when people make our recipes. You can use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.

    A strawberry growing from some diy strawberry guttering.
    Print Pin How-To
    4.50 from 6 votes

    DIY Strawberry Gutter

    If you want to grow some strawberries this year, but you don't have a lot of space in your garden, then give this DIY Strawberry Guttering a try - it's cheap to make too.
    Prep Time10 mins
    Active Time10 mins
    Total Time20 mins
    Yield: 1 Gutter frame
    Author: Dannii
    Cost: £45 / 55USD / 88AUD

    Equipment

    • Drill/driver or hand screwdriver
    • Saw
    • Tape measure

    Materials

    • 4 m Guttering any colour, deep profile
    • 8 Gutter stop ends to suit
    • 8 Gutter brackets to suit
    • 3 m 140x22mm/6x1” timber treated, cut to two equal lengths
    • 2.2 m 50x38mm/2x1.5” timber treated, cut to two equal lengths
    • 24 50mm/2" exterior screws

    Instructions

    • Measure your space and using a hacksaw cut the gutter to the lengths you require (mine are 1 metre/39 inches long each).
      Four 1m lengths of black guttering
    • Using a drill, make drainage holes in the base, spaced about 15cm/6 inches apart. Put the stop ends on and the gutter is ready. At this point, the brackets can be fixed to a vertical surface if you have a suitable one available and the gutter clipped into them.
      Four 1m lengths of black guttering with stop ends at each end and holes drilled in the gutter
    • For the frame, I used two lengths of 140x22mm/6x1” timber for the uprights and two lengths of 50x38mm/2x1.5” timber for the cross supports. I cut the uprights to 1500mm/59 inches each and the cross supports at 1100mm/43 inches each. For the uprights, measure where you want the brackets to be and screw them at equal distances apart. Do this for both uprights.
      Two lengths of timber with cutter brackets attached to them
    • Position the cross supports at the back of the uprights and screw into place to make the frame.
      A timber frame with gutter brackets attached to it
    • Clip in the cutter lengths and the frame will be ready to be stood up. For extra support, I fixed the frame at the bottom of the uprights to a raised bed that we already had.
      A strawberry gutter planter stood against a fence
    • The gutter can now be filled with compost (leave a small space below the rim for watering) and you can plant your strawberries.  This type of growing gutter is also good for microgreens, pea shoots and herbs.
      A strawberry hanging from a plant that is growing in a gutter

    Notes

    • Use a guttering with a deep profile.
    • The frame is made from treated timber (it’s important the timber is treated as it will be resistant to the weather). This also makes the whole gutter system portable, should it need to be relocated.
    • Follow the builders' rule: Measure twice, cut once.
    • Don't forget stop-ends for your guttering or the soil/compost will fall out.
    • You can stain or varnish the timber, but make sure it is completely dry before planting anything.

    You'll love these too...

    • 30 Healthy Summer Recipes
    • Cooking With Kids (Tips, Recipes and Tasks by Age)
    • Summer Bucket List
    • Before 40 Bucket List

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Anne

      March 02, 2021 at 9:02 pm

      Any suggestions for a way to catch the water beneath gutter am wanting to put on patio and don’t wNt it to spoil flooring.

      Reply
      • Ken Smale

        April 24, 2021 at 4:17 am

        5 stars
        You could put a second ‘ identical gutter a few Inch's below the one carrying the plants, but this on is not drilled and the drained water from the planted gutter above drips into this gutter. Seal off one end, and the other end just drips off into a watering can or bucket. When you mount this ‘water collecting gutter’, just drop one end by and inch or to to make sure it drains in the direction you wish. Hope this helps.

        Reply
      • ian

        June 17, 2021 at 5:24 am

        Tips from my experience - just put 2 x 3.6m 115mm QUAD gutters on my Sth bdry fence - gets full sun for longest period every day , to plant 8x JOY and 12x TEMPTATION strawberry plants ( winter here (NSW)).
        1) install proper down pipes in each gutter - else you will have downed strawberry plants and very wet roots ( strawberrys don't like wet feet)
        2) install some geofabric over the downpipe hole (will keep the citrus potting mix in)
        3) dont water from above , I opted to use DRIPPERpipe layed behind the plants ontop of the citrus mix and lucerne straw mulch ( will stop leaves and berries getting wet )
        4) watch the soil moisture content ( need not very damp ) , I achieve this via a tap timer set to 15min per day , an inline hose flowmeter and a nice 20mm globevalve ( I can throttle back water flow rate if needed using the gatevalve and by observing the volume of water delivered by the dripper pipe and testing soil dampness ( low teck = finger tip ).

        My setup
        https://i.postimg.cc/d1QR4WyY/IMG-1634.jpg

        low ends of my 2 parallel 3.6m gutters https://i.postimg.cc/59SdHjxQ/IMG-1598.jpg
        https://i.postimg.cc/ZKv87vCC/IMG-1636.jpg

        I used Carinya 250 x 200 x 30 x 3.5mm Galvanised Heavy Duty Stayed Twisted Brackets to support my 2 gutters mounted on the hollow square section steel fence posts using techscrews.

        Each 3.6m 115mm Quad gutter holds 25L of potting mixture .

        The dripper pipe I used delivers 3L / hour per "hole" , spaced out every 30cm , I run the timer for 15min per day ==> 40% V/V .
        My timer has a built in rain sensor, if it rains , the next programmed watering doesn't happen.
        Flow control ( 20mm globe valve and HOSELINK Inline flowmeter attached to the 13mm polypipe feeder branch to the strawberries )
        https://i.postimg.cc/sfcqj8cp/IMG-1600.jpg

        Reply
        • ian

          June 17, 2021 at 5:38 am

          PS - I opted NOT to use guttering Silastic to glue the endcaps onto my gutters .
          BECAUSE - it will make it harder to remove old potting mix and plants later.
          Instead, I opted to simply use a couple of short self drilling self tapping metal tech screws to fix the endcaps in place , when I want to replace potting mix , I can simply lift the gutters down ontop 2 work horses , unscrew an endcap and slide gutter contents straight out into a wheelbarrow - 1 minute and done .

          Reply
    2. Emmah

      June 28, 2017 at 8:31 am

      i love your passion for gardening...

      Reply
    3. Cecilia Keinapel

      July 30, 2016 at 8:24 pm

      This is such a great post we have strawberries in our garden, nothing is better than fresh tasty fruit without all the chemicals you get when you buy them in store! xx

      Reply
      • Dannii

        August 01, 2016 at 9:15 am

        I totally agree. You can't beat home grown.

        Reply
    4. Helen Costello

      July 17, 2016 at 7:52 am

      I love Dave's DIY post! I'm so unpractical that the step by step pics are a great help. Homegrown strawberries have the best flavour.

      Reply
    5. Ana De- Jesus

      July 16, 2016 at 7:05 pm

      I was lucky enough to go to the Wimbledon this year and fresh strawberries are always a good idea. This is a great hack for guttering strawberries.

      Reply
    6. Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl

      July 15, 2016 at 3:41 am

      Aww good for you guys! This is awesome, what a great job! Keep enjoying those berries!

      Reply
      • Dave Martin

        July 15, 2016 at 12:17 pm

        Thank you. Yes, we will enjoy them

        Reply
    7. Melanie @ Nutritious Eats

      July 14, 2016 at 6:57 pm

      This is awesome! We had strawberries at our old house in Washington, but we never knew what to do with them (other than eat them). ;)

      Reply
      • Dave Martin

        July 15, 2016 at 12:16 pm

        Sometimes just eating them is the best thing to do with them.

        Reply
    8. Kari @ bite-sized thoughts

      July 14, 2016 at 6:55 pm

      How impressive - they look great!

      Reply
      • Dave Martin

        July 15, 2016 at 12:15 pm

        Thanks - I'm pleased with the way they turned out

        Reply
    9. Candice Nikeia

      July 14, 2016 at 5:13 pm

      Wow! This is amazing! I wish I could have a strawberry garden at my place! So excited to see this grow more!

      xoxo, Candice
      http://www.candicenikeia.com

      Reply
      • Dave Martin

        July 14, 2016 at 5:20 pm

        Thank you. Strawberries can be grown in small pots, so even if you have no space, you can get growing!

        Reply
    10. Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy

      July 14, 2016 at 3:27 pm

      This looks interesting. I really would LOVE a herb garden...maybe this would work for it?

      Reply
      • Dave Martin

        July 14, 2016 at 5:19 pm

        Yes, this would work really well for herbs, but you may want to try using a deeper gutter.

        Reply
    11. Jessica

      July 14, 2016 at 3:00 pm

      I once tried growing strawberries in the similar gutter you made, but unfortunately was not able to maintain the planting every right season. Maybe I need to build this gutters too by modifying my current one and let the growing starts again. Haha

      Reply
      • Dave Martin

        July 14, 2016 at 3:12 pm

        Strawberries grow pretty quickly, so if you started again now, you should have some nice ones in no time at all

        Reply
    12. Julie Wright

      July 14, 2016 at 1:21 pm

      what an amazing idea! when i first saw your headline, my mind dig boggle slighty!
      I hope that you get a wonderful crop from them, if this summer decides to behave :)

      Reply
      • Dave Martin

        July 14, 2016 at 3:10 pm

        So far the crop has been pretty good, so hopefully we'll get lots more strawberries

        Reply
    13. Whitney Harries

      July 14, 2016 at 11:24 am

      This looks so fun and not to mention tasty! I love strawberries but they are getting so expensive, so maybe I should invest in growing them! Thanks for the inspo!

      Reply
      • Dave Martin

        July 14, 2016 at 11:51 am

        Glad to have provided some inspiration. Strawberries can be expensive to buy, so growing them can save you a lot.

        Reply
    14. Pauline

      July 14, 2016 at 7:56 am

      Do you have any tips on how to keep the slugs away? We have tried growing things in the past and as soon as something comes through, the slugs eat it.

      Reply
      • Dave Martin

        July 14, 2016 at 8:57 am

        Slugs can be a nightmare! A band of adhesive copper tape (available from garden centres or online) stuck completely around where you're growing can stop them as they won't crawl over copper. If you can't do that, broken egg shells on the soil can help (too sharp for slugs to crawl over), or coffee granules sprinkled around the area as slugs don't like caffeine (so don't use decaf coffee). Good luck.

        Reply
        • ian

          June 17, 2021 at 5:45 am

          Encourage the skinks, geckos, anoles and frogs to hang about , they'll feast on the snails and slugs and discourage them .

          Well that's my plan , in my (NSW) it's bluetongue skinks, water skinks , grass and tree frogs , dubia and velvet geckos in my garden , and the occasional bearded , water dragon and jacky dragon who I am counting on and encouraging to take up residence .

          Reply
    15. Lorna Kelber

      July 14, 2016 at 7:54 am

      This is such a fun idea and I think my kids would get a kick out of it too. It might be a nice little summer project for us to do.

      Reply
      • Dave Martin

        July 14, 2016 at 8:58 am

        It is a fun and easy project that kids can definitely help with.

        Reply
    16. [email protected]

      July 13, 2016 at 11:25 pm

      wow, how fun to grow your own strawberries! I am so bad at gardening! :(

      Reply
      • Dave Martin

        July 14, 2016 at 8:58 am

        This is really easy - I'm sure anyone can be successful with this

        Reply
    17. Helen Clark

      July 13, 2016 at 5:48 pm

      I've never seen vertical planters before, it's such a brilliant idea! There's nothing nicer than homegrown goodies, enjoy :)

      Reply
      • Dave Martin

        July 14, 2016 at 8:59 am

        It's so pleasing picking stuff that you've grown yourself

        Reply
    18. Bintu - Recipes From A Pantry

      July 13, 2016 at 4:23 pm

      I'm impressed with your strawberry guttering, looking forward to seeing your lovely strawberry recipes in the future.

      Reply
      • Dave Martin

        July 14, 2016 at 9:00 am

        Thank you - the strawberry recipes will be coming soon

        Reply
    19. Julie @ Running in a Skirt

      July 13, 2016 at 3:42 pm

      What a great idea! I don't grow strawberries, but this would be a great way to start. Going to show it to my DIYer tonight!

      Reply
      • Dave Martin

        July 14, 2016 at 9:02 am

        It is a really good way to get started with strawberry growing

        Reply
    20. Susanna

      July 13, 2016 at 1:22 pm

      There's very little that's better than a fresh strawberry.. Such a neat trick for space-saving!

      Reply
      • Dave Martin

        July 14, 2016 at 9:02 am

        We love fresh strawberries

        Reply
    « Older Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Dannii in hat and glasses stood on a beach.
    heart icon

    Welcome!

    My name is Dannii. Here you will find easy family recipes with a healthy twist.
    Established in 2011, Hungry Healthy Happy has become one of the UK's most popular food blogs, with two successful recipe books published.

    About HHH»

    Game Day Recipes

    • Broccoli Slaw
    • Tortilla (Spanish Omelette)
    • BBQ Baked Chicken Wings
    • Paneer Tikka
    • 10 Easy Tapas Recipes
    • Easy Sausage Rolls

    Featured in

    Collage of media outlet logos.

    Popular Recipes

    • The Best Air Fryer Chips
    • 10 Minute Chickpea and Spinach Curry
    • Easy Tomato Pasta Sauce
    • 10 Minute Sticky Ginger Beef

    Footer

    ^ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility Policy
    • Advertising
    • Blog

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates
    • See our Web Stories page

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Work with us
    • FAQ
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok

    Featured in

    A selection of publications that Hungry Healthy Happy has been featured in

    As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2011-2023 Hungry Healthy Happy • All Rights Reserved • Site Design by D Martin

    • 9
    14.7K shares