How to Make A Self Watering Plant Container

Self watering plant containers are a brilliant gardening innovation. Not only do they save gardeners time and effort, but they save water as well. By reducing the amount of wasted water from over watering, and preventing evaporation they are an excellent tool for the drought bound or water conscious gardener. Unfortunately, they can be quite expensive, and are often made of environmentally damaging petrochemical products. There is a way of making self watering plant containers from mostly recycled materials from your home though. They are so easy, that I make them with my kids for their plants.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Empty Plastic Drink Bottle, 2L
• Cotton String
• Sharp Cutting Tool
• Hot Wire

1. Make sure your empty soda bottle is well cleaned and dry. Take your sharp knife or scissors and cut the top off the bottle, just below where the bottle stops sloping.

2. Take your hot wire and make a small hole in the bottle lid. It should be around the same size as your string. If you make it too large you won't be able to secure your string, too small and it won't pass through.

3. Take the string and pass it through the hole you made in the lid. Tie a knot on the underside, or inside, of the lid to secure the string in place. Place the bottle lid back on the part of the bottle you cut off.

4. Place the lid back on the top section of bottle. Now place it inverted in the bottom of the bottle. All that is left to do is to fill the top half with your preferred potting soil, plant your plants and water them.

Tips & Warnings

• Mixing absorbent materials, such as clay hydroponics mediums, into your potting soil can help to provide a better wicking medium.
• Don't use synthetic strings as they won't wick the water properly.