Anyone ever plant in glass bottles?

[Sweetcheeks]

I originally posted this in the seed starting forum, rather than this one. I think it may fit a little better on here...

A few things about myself:
1. I work in a bar.
2. I am what they call "crafty," and I inherited it from my mother... She's got all the hookups.
3. I love gardening!

Now, when you put all of these things together, my kitchen tends to look a little like this:

Which winds up doing this:

Which gives me an idea!

I've cut as close to the bottom as possible on some of the bottles, and made some hangers out of old t-shirts to hang them upside down and use as hanging planters!
My collection of bottles has grown a bit, so I've got way more wine and liquor bottles and stopped toting home the beer bottles (much to my boyfriend's relief!)

I've got some Alexandria Alpine Strawberry seedlings going right now, and thought about putting one in each beer bottle and putting some various herbs in the larger wine bottles. I thought about how I'd get the plant out of the bottle without tearing up the root system, and came up with lining the inside with cheesecloth and then filling it up with my potting mix so I'd just have to pull on the cheesecloth and pop it all right out.

Think any of this will work in my favor?

[rainbowgardener]

The question is drainage. It is always difficult to grow pots in containers that don't have drainage holes, because the soil stays too wet, causing a lot of problems. Your cheesecloth idea might help with that, if it is done so that the cheesecloth, soil, plant arrangement is far enough up from the bottom of the bottle so that any excess water that drains out doesn't touch the soil. You would still have to be careful with water, but it might work.

So your idea is not to leave plants in the bottles, just start them there and then transplant to somewhere else?

[applestar]

If you mean cut the bottoms off and turn the upper part upside down, I've done versions of it with plastic bottles. But glass bottles would look so much nicer
How do you deal with the sharp cut edges though? Oooh maybe you can wrap the edges like stained glass pieces?

Plastic bottles will fit into the bottom half of a second bottle to create a water reservoir, but you may need to use bottom half of a slightly larger bottle.

If you search "vertical bottle garden" on the web, there are a variety of designs. In most cases, I can't tell who the original designers are anymore. I have seen a glass bottle garden designed for outside that is simply standing in a bottle-tree -- the vertical rods hold up the bottles and plugs the opening enough to hold the soil mix while allowing for drainage. Some people stuff a foam sponge in the opening though I'm not liking that for edibles. Perhaps you could make use of a moisture-proof wine rack -- consider something like ones intended for boats or in earthquake-prone regions that hold them securely, gallows style.

Please keep us updated. I'd love to see what you come up with.

[Sweetcheeks]

Here's a couple pics of what I've got made up...

Wine bottle planter:

Beer bottle planter:

Ignore the bird feeder... It was just convenient to hang stuff off of at the moment.

The question is drainage. It is always difficult to grow pots in containers that don't have drainage holes, because the soil stays too wet, causing a lot of problems. Your cheesecloth idea might help with that, if it is done so that the cheesecloth, soil, plant arrangement is far enough up from the bottom of the bottle so that any excess water that drains out doesn't touch the soil. You would still have to be careful with water, but it might work.

So your idea is not to leave plants in the bottles, just start them there and then transplant to somewhere else?

As you can see, I will have plenty of drainage via the neck of the bottle. I think the cheesecloth will also help keep the soil in the bottle from escaping. I am starting my plants in cells, and I want to transplant them into the bottles for good.

How do you deal with the sharp cut edges though? Oooh maybe you can wrap the edges like stained glass pieces?

My mom gave me the bottle cutter for Christmas last year. With the bottle cutter also came some "polishing paper" and "polishing powder". I really think the polishing paper is just sand paper, and I can't remember what the polishing powder is, but my mom does. Using those really smooths out the sharp edges... Enough that you could drink out of whatever you're cutting. The stained glass edging stuff sounds really neat, though! Maybe I'll track some down!

Perhaps you could make use of a moisture-proof wine rack -- consider something like ones intended for boats or in earthquake-prone regions that hold them securely, gallows style.

I seriously considered finding a wine rack somewhere and hanging it on the side of my house... I think it would look so neat!

Do you think the beer bottles will be enough room for my alpine strawberries? I planned on just planting one in each bottle. I've also got some an herbal tea garden in the works... Anise hyssop, peppermint, chamomile, etc. I didn't want to put ALL of my herbs in the bottles, but do you think wine bottles would be a sufficient size for mints?

[rainbowgardener]

OK, I wasn't thinking about upside down, I was thinking bottoms. Very clever! So if the plants are staying in the bottles, why did you need to "pop them right out" with the cheese cloth. Sorry, I guess I'm not following very well.

Mint wouldn't last too long in the bottle I think. It is a very vigorous grower that would get root bound pretty quickly.

There's two kinds of chamomile. German (annual) chamomile gets 3' tall and bushy. It is usually suggested you need at least a 12" pot for it. Roman (perennial) chamomile is more like a ground cover, low and spreading. Anise hyssop is a pretty big plant too. Chives might work, and thyme to drape over the edges. Rosemary gets big, but it is slow growing, would last in your bottles for awhile. They make dwarf/ patio varieties of basil that might work.

[applestar]

Can you cut 1/2 gallon and gallon cider jugs with the glass cutter too?
I would be interested in something like those. And they could be used for cloches too.

Do you need a dedicated work area for cutting glass? How do you clean up the area afterwards?

[Sweetcheeks]

OK, I wasn't thinking about upside down, I was thinking bottoms. Very clever! So if the plants are staying in the bottles, why did you need to "pop them right out" with the cheese cloth. Sorry, I guess I'm not following very well.

Mint wouldn't last too long in the bottle I think. It is a very vigorous grower that would get root bound pretty quickly.

There's two kinds of chamomile. German (annual) chamomile gets 3' tall and bushy. It is usually suggested you need at least a 12" pot for it. Roman (perennial) chamomile is more like a ground cover, low and spreading. Anise hyssop is a pretty big plant too. Chives might work, and thyme to drape over the edges. Rosemary gets big, but it is slow growing, would last in your bottles for awhile. They make dwarf/ patio varieties of basil that might work.

I'd like to easily remove my plants if (like you said with the mint) my plants get rootbound, if I want to divide anything, if algae starts growing inside the containers, etc. Just insurance, I guess. I don't think it would be as easy getting things out of wine bottles as it would a terra cotta pot, for example. Only a thought... I haven't tried any of this.

I have German chamomile. I haven't decided what all I want to put into my bottles yet (other than my strawberries), but what doesn't go into bottles will be stuck straight into the ground. Here's the list of things I've got started:

anise hyssop
wild bergamot
german chamomile
lemon balm
lemon mint
peppermint
echinacea
catnip

I know I want to put the anise hyssop and echinacea in the ground, keep my mints in containers (even if they're not in bottles, I guess), and it looks like I'll be putting my chamomile in the ground, too. I have no clue about everything else.

I want to harvest these to make tea for myself, and maybe enough to dry and give away as gifts.

Can you cut 1/2 gallon and gallon cider jugs with the glass cutter too?
I would be interested in something like those. And they could be used for cloches too.

Do you need a dedicated work area for cutting glass? How do you clean up the area afterwards?

I have some big 1 gallon sangria jugs that I would like to try cutting, but haven't tried yet. The insert that came with the glass cutter says you can cut bottles that large, and the entire contraption is adjustable, so I don't see why not!

I would totally suggest a dedicated area for cutting glass. With all honesty, I used my kitchen table. I'm sure there are still little slivers of glass embeded in it, but the table is pretty much dedicated to crafts and junk 100% of the time. I kept a ratty self-healing cutting mat under the glass cutter to keep the majority of the shards contained, but then cleaned up my area with duct tape.

I'm posting this off of my phone, which has taken me half an hour (lol), but once I get to my computer, I'll post my inspiration and references for all of this. Can't be taking all the credit!

[sepeters]

I've got a couple carnivorous plants in a large glass jar. I've tried to grow bug-eaters for years and always killed them until I put them in the glass jar. They seem to like it, and I like the satisfaction of watching them eat the nasties I find in the garden. If I leave them outside or take the lid off of mine for too long it dries out and the plants do poorly, but your climate is more humid, so they might do better outside.

[Sweetcheeks]

"e="sepeters"]I've got a couple carnivorous plants in a large glass jar. I've tried to grow bug-eaters for years and always killed them until I put them in the glass jar. They seem to like it, and I like the satisfaction of watching them eat the nasties I find in the garden. If I leave them outside or take the lid off of mine for too long it dries out and the plants do poorly, but your climate is more humid, so they might do better outside. [/quote]

How cool! Kind of like a terrarium? I've been wanting to explore the terrarium world... and I've got 4 glass fishbowls I think would look awesome.


Here are a couple of links that served as inspiration for this project... Keep in mind, I don't want to plant in the neck of the bottles, just the "bottoms".

https://instructables.com/id/Introductio ... Materials/

https://shopwalkinlove.com/2012/07/10/t- ... XcpNWQ1jVw

I use Ephram's Original Bottle Cutter Kit. My mom got it online from Delphi's Glass Company, but it is also available on Amazon and eBay. Don't get this glass cutter confused with Ephram's Bottle Cutter Kit, which is not as adjustable as the Original. After scoring, I alternate between boiling water and cold water (or an ice cube), although the kit comes with a candle. I figure I'll save the candle for when I'm crafting in the post-apocalyptic world that my electric kettle doesn't work in! Lmao..."

[applestar]

Thanks! I've put Ephram's Original Bottle Cutter Kit on my Amazon wish list.