These are planters made from 1, 2 and 3-liter pop bottles. Use them and you will be reading a Rosetta stone of sub-irrigation (known incorrectly as "self-watering" in the consumer market).
Use them and you will soon be growing superior plants while learning more about capillary action and how plants function. Use them to teach your children too. What they will learn is about science, not just gardening.
Capillary action is the basic function behind all so called "self-watering" planters whether they be for decorative house plants or vegetable growing. Learn about capillary action by observing it at work in these clear bottle planters. What you will observe and learn is applicable when growing all terrestrial plants whether indoor or outdoor.
Think I'm over dramatizing? You will discover that I'm not when you try them yourself. Remember that they are FREE! In fact, you get some extra points for doing some social good by keeping them out of the waste stream.
I have been studying sub-irrigation watering methods for more than 30 years. It started in my interior plantscaping business back in the '70's. Sub-irrigation revolutionized the way we did business. Our quality went up along with customer satisfaction, while our replacement rate went down. It was a lot easier to train new employees too.
I have tested most of the commercial products on the market and have made many homemade versions over the years. One thing that all of this has proven beyond any doubt is that sub-irrigation is a superior method of watering.
Drench and drain (top watering) may seem intuitive and the natural thing to do but it isn't. If your plants could talk, they would tell you so. The two most benign things you can do for your plants (either edible or decorative) are to provide them with adequate light and water them by capillary action.
Use these planters and you will prove it to yourself.
There are step-by-step instructions for making recycled pop bottle planters on Flickr. Just click on the photo above or click here.
For more information about pop bottle planters click here.
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