Vertically aligned multi-walled carbon nanotube turfs (VACNTs) have been synthesized onto commercially available aluminum foil without the use of a pre-deposited catalyst. We used ferrocene as a precursor powder catalyst and acetylene as a carbon source to grow VACNTs using three-temperature-zone chemical vapor deposition at 550–950 °C. The greatest average height of the VACNTs was 124.5 ± 1.7 μm, attained with heating at 750 °C for 10 min. The diameters of the VACNTs were in the range of 5.25–11.85 nm with growth at temperatures of 600–850 °C. The scalable deposition method allows large area coverage on flexible metal foils, which is well suited for integration of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes into plastic electronics.