DIY Self-watering Planter

Ever feel like you don't know how much watering your plants need? The good news is that your plants do! So let's create this self watering planter and let mother nature guide your plants to their own growth!

What you will need:

1. A planter. Make sure it's deep enough to hold at least a 0,5L plastic bottle lying down and still have enough space for soil.

2. Scissors

3. Threaded fabric

4. A plastic bottle (I used a 0,5L bottle)

5. A thumbtack to pierce holes into the bottle

6. Seeds

Pierce holes into the bottle with a thumbtack (equally spaced apart). Jiggle the thumbtack into the hole to make it wider. The threaded fabric must fit into the hole.

Gently insert fabric into holes. You may want to burn the tip of the fabric a little to make it fit.

Once it's inside, drag it all the way to the top of the bottle where the cap goes and make a few knots. The knots must be bigger than the hole to ensure water doesn't spill out once you fill it. Repeat the process with all the holes.

Grab the thread that remains outside of the bottle, and drag the thread to make the knot touch the inner part of each of the holes. If you can grab the outer part of the threads and pick up the bottle and your knots are tight, you're doing it the right way!

Make knots on the thread that's outside of the bottle and remember they must be bigger than the holes you've pierced on the bottle.

Fill the bottle with water and put the cap on it. (You may want to fill it quick and lay it down horizontally so you don't get wet).

We're almost done! Put the bottle in the planter and separate the threads into different directions. These will mark the path of the water that your plants will be drinking :)

Wet the threads on the outside and make sure they are moist!

It's time to bury it up! Gently but firmly put the soil over and all around the bottle. Plant your favorite seeds, then bury them and let the fun begin. Water the top just a little so all the soil gets moist.

So now we're done. All you have to do is wait some days and spray the top with just a little water about twice a week. The magic is going on down there and you will soon see results. Eventually you will have to transplant your veggies into something bigger so don't fear the water bottle emptying!

PS: If you want to go really pro, make a hole you can cover on the side of the planter next where you place the cap of the bottle. If after some months you run out of water, you can unscrew the bottle cap and refill it with a funnel or hypodermic needle.

Enjoy your harvest!