Are you ever faced with going away for a few days only to return to dried out, thirsty plants? Or maybe your house-sitter ‘forgot’ to water your container plants.
Well, I have the perfect solution for you using something many of you probably have lying around the house…
An empty bottle of wine makes the perfect ‘self-watering’ solution for your plants when you have to leave for a couple of days.
With holidays here, you will probably have the pleasure of enjoying a good bottle of wine, such as this one from a local winery.
To create your own plant watering bottle, the process is very easy.
First, drink and enjoy your wine. Then wash it out and bring it out to your container filled with plant(s).
Here is one of my containers that is filled with petunias, lettuce, parsley, nasturtiums and garlic. Now, I certainly don’t want it to dry out when I leave for a couple of days. But, my empty wine bottle should help me out.
I filled my wine bottle with water and then held my thumb over the top.
I turned the wine bottle upside down and inserted the mouth of the wine bottle into the soil about 2 inches deep into damp soil. (If the soil is too dry, the water will run out quickly.)
Water will slowly be released from the wine bottle, watering your plants. This can take hours or even a day or two. For a large container, such as this one, you may want to add another bottle so that all the plants receive water.
You aren’t limited to only using wine bottles – any glass bottle will do. Glass soda bottles work well for small containers.
This works not only for outdoor container plants, but for houseplants, and perennials/shrubs out in the garden. **Just make sure to bring the bottles when temperatures dip below freezing or they may burst as the water expands**.
You can also make the bottles more of a permanent fixture in your container garden. They can be decorated with colored tiles or even painted so that they add an artistic flair to your garden.
So, if you receive a gift of wine this holiday season, after you have finished enjoying your wine – be sure to save the empty bottle for your plants.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
That’s a cool idea and useful tip! Will definitely try it for my next trip.
Great idea, we’ll drink to that\1
This works great for outside potted plants.
For house plants I’ve made my own automatic watering device from a used water bottle, straw and some chopsticks.
I make a small hole in the lid of the bottle using a corkscrew, then make the hole to the exact size of the straw by poking a chopstick through the hole. Once the hole is the right size then the straw goes in, it must fit tight into the hole so there is no leaking. Then the bottle is filled with water and the straw pushed into the soil. The old chopsticks can be used to suppost the weight of the bottle and stop if from falling over. It doesn’t look great, but is useful for watering plants while you are away from home.
And here is one I made earlier: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonparry/8731128586/in/photostream