Turn your plastic bottles into self-watering planters

Most of the drinks we purchase from shopping centres and take away stores these days come in plastic bottles. Although this is a cheap and effective way for companies to store their products, it can cause catastrophic harm to the environment if they are not properly recycled.

We went searching for different ways to re-use your plastic drinking bottles that will actually be really helpful and we stumbled across this gem! This is a self-watering planter made from a few pieces of string and a plastic bottle and we think it is a fantastic idea! In a few quick and easy steps you can make your own planter for herbs or small indoor plants that won’t require constant watering.

Here is how you do it –

You will need:

• 1x 2L drink bottle
• 1x sheet of newspaper
• Cotton string
• A drill (or something else that will create holes in the lid)
• Sticky tape (optional to stick both sections of the bottle together in the end)

Method:

1. Begin by creating holes in the lid so that the water is able to drain down. You can do this by drilling small holes in a circular pattern around the edges of the cap and one bigger hole in the very middle.
2. We will use the cotton string to draw water up from the bottom of the bottle and feed the plant so we won’t have to water it so often. In order to do this cut three pieces of string, each around 40cms long (so it can reach the top of the bottle).
3. Tie the three strings together around 8cms from the bottom. Insert the strings through the bigger whole in the middle of the cap so that the knot is sitting on the inside of the cap – the shorter ends of the string will dangle into the water and draw it up to the soil via the longer ends that will be planted.
4. Cut the bottle so that you have two separate sections, these will form the cup (where the plant is) and the reservoir (where the water will be kept). Make the cut approximately 10cms down from the lid.
5. Turn the top section (with the lid), upside down into the bottom section. It is important that there is around 5cms of clearance from the bottom of the bottle to the top of the lid, so that the string will dangle in the water but the cap will not touch it.
6. Place the sheet of newspaper in the bottom of the cup section (originally the top of the bottle). Trim the paper so it is in line with the edge of the cup and not overhanging. Create a little hole in the bottom so that the string can thread through. Screw the cap on and feed the string through the newspaper.
7. Hold the string up straight and begin putting soil in the cup, after you place a section in coil one of the strings around the base of the soil and repeat until all the strings are buried and the cup is full of soil.
8. Wet the soil and place some water at the bottom of the reservoir (originally the bottom of the bottle). Place the cup into the reservoir, making sure the cap doesn’t touch the water but the string comfortably rests in it.
9. Now you are ready to plant your seeds! Follow the instructions on the individual packets.
10. Once every few weeks you might want to empty the cup and replace it with fresh water as some soil may drip down.

In the end your self-watering planter will look something like this:

Here is a video to show you the process (they do it a little differently but the idea is still the same):

Will you try it? Do you have any other uses for old plastic bottles?