How To Use Gutters To Create An Animal-Proof Vertical Garden

There's nothing more frustrating than spending hours perfecting your garden just for it to be destroyed by the local wildlife looking for a snack. If you've tried animal repellent or building a fence to keep animals out of your garden and were unsuccessful, the only way to go is up ... literally. By raising your garden off of the ground, it's less likely to become a concession stand for the animals in your neighborhood. Unless you have flying rabbits or moles in your area, a vertical garden should do the trick. 

To make your own, all you need is some dirt, your favorite plants, and a couple of gutters. These are going to act as planters, which allows you to raise them off the ground and keep the animals away. Gutters make great gardens for plants with short root systems because they aren't super deep. If the plant can thrive in a pot only 5 inches deep, it can thrive in a gutter. Produce that would do well in a vertical garden include strawberries, onions, lettuce, and radishes, to name a few.

You can find gutters at pretty much every home improvement store, like these Amerimax White Aluminum K-Style Gutters for $13 from Home Depot. Once you've gathered your gutters and desired plants, it's time to assemble the garden. Choose where you'd like to place the gutters (a wooden fence you can drill them into is ideal), then line them up one on top of the other. Each gutter needs to have end caps on either side to prevent dirt from spilling out. Next, it's time to drill holes in the bottom of the gutter. This is for drainage purposes. After that, fill each gutter with the appropriate soil. 

All that's left to do is plant your seeds or plugs. Be sure to space them out evenly within the gutters to give each an ample amount of room to grow. If you're growing strawberries, for example, keep about 6 inches between each plug. On the other hand, small onion bulbs only need 2 inches between seeds.

Vertical gardens do what in-ground ones can't — protect your plants from hungry animals. Because your garden is off of the ground, a majority of the perpetrators (i.e., rabbits, moles, and other small mammals) can't climb into the gutters. They're out of reach, giving your plants the protection they need. However, it should be noted if you have squirrels in your area, your fruit and veggies may not be protected, as these little guys can climb essentially anything.

Besides keeping animals away from your plants, vertical gardens have a ton of additional benefits. For starters, this gardening method is so much better for you physically. Think about it; you aren't bending over to tend to your garden, so you aren't subjected to back pain or injuries. Additionally, since your plants aren't in the ground, you don't have to worry about weeds or soil-borne diseases that could potentially harm them either.

On top of all that, your plants in the gutters are getting a lot more sun than those on the ground, especially if your garden is in a particularly shady area. As the sun sets, plants in the ground lose out on a ton of sun, but because the plants in the gutters are higher up, they're soaking up every last ray. Between the abundant amount of sunlight and being safe from animals, weeds, and disease, your garden will be unstoppable.