Last year I tried many new things and one was with containers of all sizes. The problem with lots of containers is that the water runs right through the soil with most containers that have holes in the bottom are ae using dry potting mix that does not hold water. I use this several times last year and it worked great! I don't always mention what I try because I do some crazy things but if they work!
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I use alot of water bottles and save them for many uses. I cut the small 16 or 20 ounce bottle in half and can use both ends. In small containers I cut the bottle about 1/4 from the bottom and place it in the bottom of my container before I place the dirt in the contaier. The plastic water container sets in the middle of the plant container on the bottom only about 3 inches high depending on the size of the planter but only coming up about a third. from the heigth of the planter. Even 2 inches will work in most small planters!
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A 6 inch pot I have a 2 inch water bottle on the bottom! When you water the plant water stays in the plastic bottle and the plant roots absorbe it over a longer period of time compared to the water that runs out! You can even run a straw to the plastic collector and add fertilizer directly to the bottom of the planter without it running out! Try it you will like it!
I had to reread your idea 4 times before I got it. Without a photo, I couldn't understand for a few moments. Sometimes my brain doesn't slip into gear right away. Good idea. Thanks.
I think I'll try to expand on your idea with my container garden this year.
This year this is what I plan to try. I cut off the bottoms of 2-and 3-litre bottles to make air-pruning pots for my growing seedlings so always have lots of tops leftover which I hate to waste.
With a leftover top half, I can almost bury a capped half bottle upside down in the soil beside the plant. A couple of small holes will have been punched in the bottlecap. After I water my container, I can fill the bottle with water and it should slowwwwwly trickle out thru the hole into the soil later when its most needed, a non-techy sort of drip irrigation.
When the plants get bigger and need feeding, I plan to replace the bottle with a used veggie can in the soil with a few holes in its bottom, fill the can with compost and then with water. I can refill with water at each watering. This way the plants not only get watered, they get fed.
Thanks for the idea. I enjoy experimenting so hope it works Thanks again.
I think I'll try to expand on your idea with my container garden this year.
This year this is what I plan to try. I cut off the bottoms of 2-and 3-litre bottles to make air-pruning pots for my growing seedlings so always have lots of tops leftover which I hate to waste.
With a leftover top half, I can almost bury a capped half bottle upside down in the soil beside the plant. A couple of small holes will have been punched in the bottlecap. After I water my container, I can fill the bottle with water and it should slowwwwwly trickle out thru the hole into the soil later when its most needed, a non-techy sort of drip irrigation.
When the plants get bigger and need feeding, I plan to replace the bottle with a used veggie can in the soil with a few holes in its bottom, fill the can with compost and then with water. I can refill with water at each watering. This way the plants not only get watered, they get fed.
Thanks for the idea. I enjoy experimenting so hope it works Thanks again.
Lots of ways to do this with the water bottles. I was going to leave the bottle fill up under the soil so the plant could drink out of it. A straw could be inserterd which would also act like a brace for a plant and also to ad anything to the under dirt part water bottle. Put a few holes half way up so part of the water does not run out!
if I understand the concept correctly, you bury an 'up-ended' bottle in the soil, and expect that water percolating down through the soil/potting mix/whatever "runs" into the sealed bottom bottle part and acts as a reservoir for later water demand.
did I miss? if I didn't miss, methinks you need to pull the bottle bottom out and see how much water is in the cut off portion. unless you've thoroughly saturated the pots, you're very unlikely to find any free water in the bottle bottom.
otoh, poking a hole in the bottom of a plastic bottle to create a "drip irrigation" system is a most excellent technique. works with house plants, gallon jugs work nicely for tomatoes in the garden. I use a qt size on a bird of paradise that's completely root bound in a 30" pot and very difficult to water.
did I miss? if I didn't miss, methinks you need to pull the bottle bottom out and see how much water is in the cut off portion. unless you've thoroughly saturated the pots, you're very unlikely to find any free water in the bottle bottom.
otoh, poking a hole in the bottom of a plastic bottle to create a "drip irrigation" system is a most excellent technique. works with house plants, gallon jugs work nicely for tomatoes in the garden. I use a qt size on a bird of paradise that's completely root bound in a 30" pot and very difficult to water.
you may be surprised how much goes into the buried plastic bottle depending on the roundness of the pot! Water will run right through some pot plants! The straw is another way to add water or ntrient directly to the plastic bottle. I would not put a hole in the plastic bottle since it will defeat its purpose. the roots of the plant will dip into the plastic bottle searching for the extra moisture!