My gutter garden grows a lot of lettuce in a little bit of space – you’ll never have to worry about sun exposure
HAVE you ever noticed how quickly weeds seem to grow and flourish in your gutters?
A green-thumbed homeowner revealed how they used this concept to elevate their garden.
Commenting under a Reddit post, user Strangewhine88 explained how they created the DIY gutter garden.
When prompted to share their “favorite gardening cost saver,” the Redditor answered: “Growing lettuce in spare pieces of gutter.”
The gardener pointed out some of the advantages of the unique set-up.
“[I can] grow a lot in a little bit of space,” they told their fellow social media users.
“[You] can pick up and move it if, like me, you live where you have sun and shade in different places depending on the time of year,” they explained.
The gardener revealed an additional benefit to growing crops in a gutter rather than a vegetable patch.
“In the ground, you may be competing with birds, rodents, and other things that like to eat the seeds,” they said.
The Reddit user explained that they mainly focused on growing lettuce in their gutter garden.
“[The] trick to lettuce is getting good germination information,” they explained.
“Generally speaking, lettuces need light to germinate though other species related to mustard do not.”
The poster recommended always growing lettuce in some form of a pot or tray.
They broke down their favorite varieties to grow and the kinds they have had the most success with.
“[It] really depends on where you live, I choose slow bolt varieties because I live in the South,” they shared.
“Red Fire, Merveille de Quartes Saisons, Jericho but I have done well with buttercrunch and all the oakleaf varieties I’ve ever tried.
“Parris Cos and Black Seeded Simpson plus, Asian greens, wild arugula, sorrel.”
Easy gardening tips to save money, maximize space, and repel pests
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- Banana peels, vinegar, and coffee grounds are often recommended as natural fertilizers.
- Dollar Tree sells four packs of seeds for $1.25.
- Try a vertical planter like Amazon’s Mr. Stacky 5 Tier Stackable Planter, $35 to make more use of a small space.
- Use netting like the Garden Netting Pest Barrier, $8, from Amazon to keep away bugs that eat your vegetables.
- Try sacrificial planting to reduce the use of pesticides and keep pests away from your garden. Deliberately growing certain plants to attract agricultural pests can keep them away from the plants you want to protect. Examples include marigolds, lavender, catnip, and chives.
- For pesky weeds in your garden, the Grampa’s Weeder – The Original Stand-Up Weed Puller Tool with Long Handles, $45, from Amazon is a helpful tool you can use without having to bend over.
Gardening experts at One Acre Vintage Home shared their tips for creating your own gutter garden.
They recommended upcycling old window screens to place around the gutters.
“This screening barrier has been working great in so many ways,” they said.
“It has kept falling nuts and obtrusive animals out but it also allows water and sunlight to get in.
“The mesh net traps the rainwater and drips slowly onto the soil.”