Self Watering Glass Bottle Planter
by Spaceman Spiff in Craft > Reuse
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Self Watering Glass Bottle Planter
Going green doesn't mean you have to dig up your yard, if you have a yard at all. Create a little upcycled green-thumb herb garden on your windowsill with only a few cheap materials and a little how-to know-how. Grow your favorite herbs from seed, or buy them fresh and transplant them. Going green doesn't mean you have to dig up your yard, if you have a yard at all.
Materials and Tools
Here's what you need to make your self watering glass planter:
Materials
- Glass Bottle
- Small Piece of Screen or Hardware Cloth (cut in a square)
- String (used for wicking)
- Landscape Fabric or small piece of Unprimed Canvas
- Potting Soil
- Plants
Cutting the Glass with Twine
- String
- Acetone
- Cold Water Bath
- Sandpaper
Cut the Bottle
There are several methods to cut bottles. In this instructable we will be using a string. To do this you will need string, acetone, and a cold water bath.
First cut a length of string long enough to wrap several times around the bottle. Then wrap the bottle with the string at the point where you want to cut the bottle and tie a knot. Remove the string and let it soak in acetone (you can use nail polish remover). Then wrap the bottle with the string again. For this next step make sure you have your cold water bath prepared and near the bottle. Light the string on fire and rotate the bottle making sure you focus enough heat around the entire circumference of the bottle. Let it burn until the flame starts to die down and quickly drop it into the cold water bath. The rapid change in temperature will crack the bottle where it was wrapped in string.
If you're having a hard time getting the bottle to crack it may help if you score the bottle first. I scored mine using a Dremel and a Cutting Wheel.
The bottle will now be in two pieces. Be careful with the cracked edge as it will be sharp. Take a piece of sandpaper and sand the edges down until they are smooth. The bottle is now ready for soil and your plant.
Prep the Wick
Before adding soil you need to make a bottom and a wick. Place the bottom half of the bottle standing up. Take the top half of the bottle and place it inverted inside the bottom half of the bottle.
Cut a small piece of screen or hardware cloth and canvas to be placed in the bottom of top portion of the bottle. Before putting them in place tie the center portion of a piece of cotton string to the screen. Now put the screen in place making sure one half of the string is resting at the bottom of the lower portion of the bottle. This string will serve as a wick to soak up the water. Make a small holes in the canvas for the top portion of the string. Pull the top half of the string through the smaller canvas hole and place the canvas on top of the hardware cloth.
Plant Away
Now that your bottle is ready it's time to add water, soil, and the plant of your choice (I planted Cilantro). First add water to the bottom of the bottle. Do this by adding water directly to the base, not through the top. Then add soil to the top of the bottle, and either transplant or place a seed in the soil to grow. All done, place your plant in a sunny windowsill and enjoy your one of a kind wicking bottle planter!