Thursday, May 8, 2008
We’ve shown you how to reuse empty 2-liter bottles to make a bird feeder, but odds are you don’t want to make a birdfeeder out of every bottle of pop you consume, unless you really like birds. So, here’s a way to make a hanging garden using 2-liter bottles.
Tomato plants don’t have to be planted in the ground. They don’t even have to be planted right side up. Planting tomato plants upside down has many benefits: You can move the plants with the sun, save time weeding, and it allows you to have a garden even if you don’t have a lawn. You can also plant cucumbers, peppers and green beans upside down.
Build it yourself
What you need:
One empty 2-liter bottle
Knife
Scissors
String
Potting soil
Tomato seeding
3 coffee filters
1 page of newsprint
Start by cutting the bottom off your 2-liter bottle. Next, use a knife to cut three equidistant holes about an inch from the bottom of the bottle. Thread string through the holes to create the hanger.
Now unpot your tomato seedling. Shake the soil loose from the roots. To get all of the soil off the roots, run water over them.
Here’s the tricky part. The roots have to go through the mouth of the bottle. To ensure you get the roots through the mouth of the bottle intact, wrap the roots in newsprint and gently pull the newsprint through.
Once the roots have been pulled into the bottle, remove the newsprint and stuff several coffee filters around the mouth of the bottle to hold the plant in place. The filters will keep soil from draining out the bottom, too. The last step is to add potting soil. I found it easier to hang the plant before adding the soil.
That’s all there is to it—hang your garden from your deck or balcony, add water and sunlight. You’ll soon be enjoying the fruits of your labor.
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