Growing Gutter

Get down to your nearest Hardware store this weekend to invest in the latest gardening trend of GYO in a gutter. From vegetables to flowers – they will all grow in a gutter, using hydroponic principles

The team couldn’t resist sharing with you some of the fantastic ideas some of our readers have sent us for growing herbs, vegetables and flowers in gutters. Although the list of products may seem daunting, rest assured that once the system is up and running, there’s very little else to do.

Using this system saves huge amounts of water as the hydroponic principle of planting in gravel, with food and water being transported through the system by a pump set up in attached container, means that the same water is continually being recycled.

What You Need for your GYO Gutter

4 x D-shaped PVC gutters (1 500mm)
8 x D-shaped gutter stop-ends
16 x D-shaped gutter brackets
3 x lengths of conduit pipe (320 x 20mm)
1 x length of conduit pipe (250 x 20mm)
4 x conduit adapters (male – 20mm)
1 x PVC bend for the 250 x 20mm conduit
3 x saddle straps
1 x tube Tangit PVC glue
2 x cans Rust-Oleum Plastic Spray Paint (Brown)
30 x Eureka Nail-Ins (4 x 45mm) – assembled plug and screw
1 x Waterhouse pump 2 000L/h with a head height of 3m
2 x bags washed stone
1 x Jolly storage box in green (40L)
1 x silicone sealant
3 x irrigation pipe bends (20mm)
1 x control adapter (20mm)
2m irrigation pipe (20mm)
Sandpaper
Starke Ayres Nutrifeed
Efekto Pond Clear
Talborne Organics Pyrol insecticide

Tools

Hole saw, drill bit (20mm), hammer drill and masonry drill bit (5mm)

(Use the drawing as a guide)

Step 1: Measure 45mm from the end of each gutter and drill a hole in the bottom, 20mm in diameter, with a hole saw.

Step 2: Attach all the stop ends to the gutter lengths.

Step 3: Spray-paint all the gutters with two coats of Rust-Oleum Plastic Spray Paint, allowing for drying time between coats. Allow the paint to dry thoroughly before continuing. The gutters can be left white but these were painted to blend with the wall and showcase the plants.

Step 4: Using the Nail-Ins, fix the brackets to the wall – four per gutter – starting 1.5m above ground level (see drawing). Allow 320mm between each row of brackets working downwards until you have four complete rows. Ensure each row of brackets is perfectly level.

Step 5: Assemble the system by clipping the gutters to the brackets. Then, starting at the top left hand side, attach the 320 x 20mm conduit pipe into the predrilled hole using the 20mm conduit adapter. Make sure the end of the conduit is not blocked and allows water to flow into the next gutter. Insert the remaining two conduit lengths as per (A) on the drawing. Seal the joins with silicone sealer.

Step 6: Set the storage box up as a reservoir and place for the pump to operate. Drill two holes of 20mm into the side of the box to hold the inlet and outlet pipes.

Step 7: Use the irrigation pipe and pipe bends (B) to connect the pump to the top of the system. Insert the control adapter along the length of the irrigation pipe. Secure it to the wall using the saddle straps.

Step 8: Insert the PVC bend (C) at the bottom of the gutter system, attaching it to a length of conduit (250 x 20 mm) to allow the water to flow back into the reservoir.

Step 9: Plug in the pump, fill the reservoir with water and test the system to make sure that the water flows easily before filling the gutter with washed stone.