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.

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
One: Measure your space and using a hacksaw cut the gutter to the lengths you require (mine are 1 metre/39 inches long 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.
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.
Four: Position the cross supports at the back of the uprights and screw into place to make the frame.
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.
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.
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.
Recipes using strawberries
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.
DIY Strawberry Gutter
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).
- 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.
Marianela
This is a great way to grown your own strawberries when you have less space. Thanks for sharing such a great resource =)
Dave Martin
Glad you found it helpful
Camilla
Aren't you lucky having such a handy hubby, I'd love a unit like this:-)
Dave Martin
Thanks! It's easy to make - you can do it yourself
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
What a great idea! I need to try this!
Dave Martin
Let me know how it turns out
Fashion and Style Police
Working on our garden at the moment so this post is very timely. Love the finished look.
Dave Martin
I hope your garden turns out well
Rachel
This looks just fantastic and it is so satisfying picking your own home grown strawberries x
Dave Martin
Yes, it is very satisfying. They taste better knowing that you've grown them yourself!
Tandy | Lavender and Lime
This is such a great idea. I've also seen hanging baskets for strawberries. I will have to start thinking about this for our garden
Dave Martin
Hanging baskets work well, but you can get more plants in the guttering
Kelly
I love this idea for growing strawberries! It's perfect if you have limited garden space! Such a great idea!
Dave Martin
It is ideal for those with little space
Sarah Bailey
What a great idea - I would love to have something like this in my garden I wonder if I could convince my other half to make some. x
Dave Martin
It is really easy - I'm sure you could do it yourself
Harriet from Toby & Roo
This looks fab! I want to grow my own too :)
Dave Martin
You should do it - it's so easy to build and look after
Florentina
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
Hopefully if you make this you will have more strawberry success
Anosa
What a lovely DIY, I am so rubbish at doing DIY work but I also loving this idea.
Dave Martin
This is so simple that anyone can make it
lisa | Garlic + Zest
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
This is also perfect for herbs, micro-greens or even flowers
Karina
Added advantage it look's pretty growing vertically, winner!
Dave Martin
Yes - you get to see all the plants in one go!
Karina
This is brilliant, will have to keep this for future reference, thank-you Danni and Dave(love home-grown strawberries:-);
Dave Martin
You're welcome - glad you like it
Katie Crenshaw
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
It is perfect for herbs too
Kate
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
I hope you have better luck with this method
Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes
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
Hanging baskets do work well, but I think these are easier to manage
Ali @ Home & Plate
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
You will still get runners, but just move them along the gutter or even up or down a level
Jess
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
This will work well with herbs, but maybe use a deeper gutter for them
Rachelle @ Beer Girl Cooks
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
They can get out of hand sometimes - these gutters help to contain them a bit