How to garden in a bottle

In this latest instalment of Star2’s monthly gardening column, Ready, Set, Grow!, we share instructions from social enterprise Eats, Shoots & Roots on how to grow herbs and vegetables in a recycled plastic bottle.

Recycle while you garden by using plastic bottles to create small grow containers like these. Photo: 123rf.com

AUGUST 31, 2017

Graphics: Eats, Shoots & Roots

INGREDIENTS

> Plastic bottle
> Cutter
> Nail punch
> Cotton wick
> Masking tape
> Potting soil
> Plant cuttings/seeds
> Light-proof material (eg: jute, felt, thick paper)

METHOD

1 Cut bottle in half.

2 Make five drainage holes (about 1cm in diameter) around the neck of the bottle from the inside. Hold the piece tightly and use the nail punch (a short metal tool used to drive home nails; also called a nail set) to make the holes.

3 Insert the cotton wick and guide it out through the bottle’s neck.

4 Place this into the bottom half of the bottle. Make an overflow hole in the bottom half of the bottle below where the neck of the top half sits (separate the halves to do this, then put them back together). This will allow excess water to flow out as too much water can rot the roots of some plants.

5 Tape the two pieces together with masking tape to secure their positions.

6 Fill the top half with potting soil and then insert the seed/cutting. To get the capillary action going, water from the top until water flows out through the overflow hole in the bottom half of the bottle.

7 Wrap the whole container in lightproof material (cloth/jute/paper); this is to prevent algae from growing within the container.

8 Keep the container away from direct rain. Keep the top moist and compost-fed.

Spend less time watering your plants by making this self-watering container, as the constant water supply keeps the plant happy enough for a few days in a row.

http://www.star2.com/living/2017/08/31/how-garden-bottle