How to make a space-saving salad planter

These planters are cheap and easy to make and a great way to grow fast-growing salad crops such as cut-and-come-again lettuce. They're also perfect for growing tumbling tomatoes and compact chilli peppers.

You Will Need

• PVC guttering (2m length), the deepest available
• Gutter stopends (2)
• Gutter support brackets
• Drill
• 6-8mm drill bit
• Rawlplugs, if attaching to wall
• Screws, if attaching to fence
• Multi-purpose compost
• Slow-release fertiliser
• Salad seeds, or 12 cut-and-come-again salad plants

Step 1

Guttering is made from solid PVC, so if you want to use it as a planter you'll need to add some holes for drainage. Using a 6-8mm drill bit, drill a series of holes about 20cm apart in the bottom of the gutter, along its length.

Step 2

To stop the compost falling out of the planter, push the stopends on to either end of the guttering, making sure they're securely fitted. Give them a firm push and they should click into place.

Step 3

Place the guttering on a table and fill with multi-purpose compost, mixing in some fertiliser. Firm the compost to around 1cm below the lip of the gutter. Plant with plugs 10cm apart, or sow with mixed salad leaves.

Step 4

Use a spirit level and pencil to mark the position of the gutter on the wall or fence. You need it to be accessible, so don't fix it too high. Attach the brackets to a fence with screws, or use Rawl plugs on a wall.

Step 5

Fix the gutter on to the brackets: it will make an audible click. Water the seeds or seedlings in. As they grow, thin them out (add the thinnings to a salad). Harvest from plugs while they are small to avoid a glut of large plants.