Let’s face it, there’s a certain type of appeal to plants in a room. When you have plants, it makes you seem eco-friendly and it just makes your house/apartment/basement- whatever shack you’re living in- feel more welcoming. But most of us have plants for about a week, then forget about them; therefore they end up dead. Watering can be a huge pain, so a nifty invention of a self-watering plant container is definitely a smart idea. Let’s get started, shall we?

The Materials/Tools You’ll Be Working With:

A 2-liter plastic bottle; clear is the one you’ll come across most often, but if you find another color, go for it.

(This may not be the most fashion-forward pot you’ve ever seen, but it’s the most practical. You can jazz it up to its fullest potential.)

A rag from a t-shirt that’s about 8″ by 8″; synthetic material like nylon will last longer than cotton, but cotton will do.

Spray paint to protect the roots of the plant. You can mess around with colors, but not too dark if it’s going to be in direct sunlight. Primer as a base will make the paint last longer.

Potting mix not “soil”; this is necessary for appropriate wicking action.

Xacto knife, sharp cutting blade, utility knife: something sharp is what we’re getting at. Whatever floats your boat.

A Sharpie or permanent marking pen to mark the filll line on the bottle; something that won’t run.

Medium to fine sand paper and a scrubbing pad to remove label glue from the bottle.

Steps:

1. Cut bottle in half.* 5.25 inches up from the bottom should do if you don’t know what “half” is. Sand down jagged edges/inside rim on both sides of the cut bottle.

*When cutting your bottle in half, you need something to prop up the blade so the line is as straight as possible. By drilling pilot holes to screw down a utility blade on a cut-down 2 by 4 that is approx. the height of half the bottle, you will acheive the perfect line. If you don’t care, all that extra work isn’t necessary. Just try to keep your hand steady and the bottle on a surface where you can spin it around.

2. Sand generally around the bottle; to both give it a frosty look, and allow the paint to grip better when you spray paint the top. Wash bottle and let dry to remove the sanded-plastic-y bits and residue from it.

3. Go ahead, unleash the spray paint. Paint the top half of the bottle to your heart’s desire. Just paint it with primer first, and then you are free to do as much spray painting as you want. Two thin top coats is recommended. Let the paint dry between coats and before you go on to the next step.

4. Paint dry? Okay. Now, look at what you have. The top piece with the neck will be the plant-holder filled with potting soil, and the bottom piece will hold the water. Got it? Flip the top piece upside down and sitck ti into the bottom piece. Now, stick your 8″x 8” rag/t-shirt scrap into the neck of the bottle, about halfway through. Wet it, don’t soak it, so wicking can begin as soon as you put in the soil.

5. Potting mix time. Put the mix into the top part and pull the wick (rag) up so it’s surrounded by the potting mix. Tap it down, moisten it, and make sure it’s filled up enough to handle the size of your plant. Get whatever size plant you want, just not too big so that the size of the bottle can handle it without falling over. Plant it into the top of the bottle, neck down. Basically it’s just re-potting it. Or just plant a few seeds in the potting mix. Make sure it’s moist; that’s important for it to thrive.

6. Add the water to the bottom piece. You want to have the water around halfway up to the neck, so it’s surrounding the wick but not touching the potting mix. Once you find the perfect spot, mark it with the Sharpie and pull the top up. Fill it with water to that fill line, and you are done.

This will provide a constant level of moisture to the plants. Check the reservoir every few days to see if it needs to be refreshed. It shouldn’t need to be refilled too frequently unless it’s in hot sun. Filling it up takes limited time and makes virtually no mess if you’re careful. This is a creative way to be original, have nice plants, and be lazy all at the same time.

From Instructables.com article by whamodyne “Self-Watering Plant Container” Aug. 2 2007. Pictures by whamodyne.