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.
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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.
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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
- Step 1: Measure your space and using a hacksaw cut the gutter to the lengths you require (mine are 1 metre/39 inches long each).
- Step 2: 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.
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.
- Step 3: 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.
- Step 4: Position the cross supports at the back of the uprights and screw into place to make the frame.
- Step 5: 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.
- Step 6: 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.
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.
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
If you've tried this strawberry guttering project then let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
DIY Strawberry Gutter
Equipment
- Drill/driver or hand screwdriver
- Saw
- Tape measure
Materials
- 4 m of Guttering any colour, deep profile
- 8 Gutter stop ends to suit
- 8 Gutter brackets to suit
- 3 m of 140x22mm/6x1" timber treated, cut to two equal lengths
- 2.2 m of 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).
- 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.
- 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.
- Position the cross supports at the back of the uprights and screw into place to make the frame.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
Harriet from Toby & Roo says
This looks fab! I want to grow my own too :)
Dave Martin says
You should do it - it's so easy to build and look after
Florentina says
This is fabulous! I grow my own tomatoes and planted a couple of strawberries in containers as well but haven't been very successful with them, besides a couple of snacks here and there. Gotta make my husband do this asap!
Dave Martin says
Hopefully if you make this you will have more strawberry success
Anosa says
What a lovely DIY, I am so rubbish at doing DIY work but I also loving this idea.
Dave Martin says
This is so simple that anyone can make it
lisa | Garlic + Zest says
That is so cool! What a fabulous idea -- and I have a fence that could use some sprucing -- It's too hot here for strawberries right now (South Florida), but I'm sure there are other things I can come up with! Love this!
Dave Martin says
This is also perfect for herbs, micro-greens or even flowers
Karina says
Added advantage it look's pretty growing vertically, winner!
Dave Martin says
Yes - you get to see all the plants in one go!
Katie Crenshaw says
I would absolutely love this!!! I would use it for strawberries and fresh herbs!!!! I love that it is vertical and doesn't take up huge yard space. It also is very pretty with the strawberries growing out of it!
Dave Martin says
It is perfect for herbs too
Kate says
I have terrible luck growing strawberries and the birds always come eat what I manage to grow before they're ripe. But I love strawberries so I'll have to give the gutters a try!
Dave Martin says
I hope you have better luck with this method
Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes says
This is a brilliant idea if you don't have any space to grow strawberries. I grew strawberries in hanging baskets one year, but this would be even better.
Dave Martin says
Hanging baskets do work well, but I think these are easier to manage
Ali @ Home & Plate says
Such a great idea to keep the strawberries growing. They took over my garden. Growing vertically is a perfect way to keep the runner from attaching to the ground.
Dave Martin says
You will still get runners, but just move them along the gutter or even up or down a level
Jess says
Ah this looks brilliant! We're overrun with strawberries at the moment, my Dad has raised beds full of them... I'd love to do something like this for herbs, though :)
Dave Martin says
This will work well with herbs, but maybe use a deeper gutter for them
Rachelle @ Beer Girl Cooks says
What a clever way to grow strawberries! I have some in a raised bed on the side of my house and they totally took over! I was up to my eyeballs in strawberries about a month ago! I'm loving this urban DIY garden!
Dave Martin says
They can get out of hand sometimes - these gutters help to contain them a bit
Aish Padihari says
Very helpful post. Saving it.
Dave Martin says
Glad you found it helpful
Bethany Remel says
We are growing strawberries and they have taken over our garden, so I would love to see some recipes that use up a glut of strawberries.
Dave Martin says
There will be some recipes with strawberries coming up on the blog soon
Susan says
This looks like such a great idea, but I think all the birds would eat them, as we never have much luck growing things. Any tips?
Dave Martin says
Birds will always be a problem unfortunately. We have cats, so not too much of a bird issue here. If you can't (or don't want) to get a cat, then a fake bird can sometimes help - normally a fake owl works best.
LaaLaa says
What a great DIY. I don't think we've grown strawberries in my garden before, we grow quite a lot of other fruit and veg though x
Dave Martin says
Hopefully this will inspire you to grow some strawberries.