Why can't you grow things in your gutters?

[Greenblades]

I was looking up at a neighbors gutters and it had a plant growing in it. It made me think, why can't you have a gutter system where you grow something...like peppermint or other herbs in it. It can still has downspouts to drain extra water. I know it might need some extra engineering to ensure the water drains, but why can't we do this on our homes?

 

[KennyV]

I suppose if you do not keep them clean and functional you could end up growing things in them... But that would not mean you could expect your planters to drain water from your roof..:smile:

 

[Bessy]

I suppose if it was engineered right you could put a trough below the plant and set it up so it would run and still water the plant, if it drains into a rain bar ell or something of the like it would not matter if it watered something on it's way down.

 

[bret]

I wonder if you could set up a little hydroponic thing in your gutters, I know there are some plants such as lettuce that will do fantastic in a hydroponic operation.

 

[Mickie2]

It would take a willingness to get up on a ladder but I bet someone, somewhere...probably in a big city has done it.You'd have to convince your town's beautifying board it was on the up and up.

 

[rekees]

I spend a lot of time removing things from gutters, not putting stuff in them. They need to be clean in order to drain water effectively. Clogged gutters can cause considerable damage to the roof.