How to create a self-watering planter from scratch

By Devon Johnson, Contributing Writer

Devon Johnson is a new contributing writer for Urban Gardens NYC.  Devon grew up in Brooklyn in NYCHA’s Marcy Development, and is one of our New York based writers. Read his introductory post here.

Hey my peoples trapped in the blogger-sphere. For several post I been ramping and raving about “indoor gardening” so I figure I’d give you a little step-by-step tutorial on how to create a self-watering planter from scratch. Disclaimer – I’m in no way a professional in making self-watering planters, LMBOOOOOO. Recently I switched work locations at NYCHA and now have an awesome window view and to top it off I’m sitting near a lot of plants.

Things you will need for this mission, if you choose to accept!

I.         Empty Plastic Drink Bottle,

II.         Cotton String

III.         Sharp Cutting Tool

1. Make sure your empty soda bottle is well cleaned and dry. Take your sharp blade, knife or scissors and cut the top off the bottle, just below where the bottle stops sloping.
2. Take your hot wire and make a small hole in the bottle lid. It should be around the same size as your string. If you make it too large you won’t be able to secure your string, too small and it won’t pass through.
3. Take the string and pass it through the hole you made in the lid. Tie a knot on the underside, or inside, of the lid to secure the string in place. Place the bottle lid back on the part of the bottle you cut off.
4. Place the lid back on the top section of bottle. Now place it inverted in the bottom of the bottle. All that is left to do is to fill the top half with your preferred potting soil, Plant your plants and water them.

So get ready for this amazing Youtube clip (I use Youtube all the time) LOL, but hey it works! This clip is short, no one is specking and the vlogger is actually just showing you how to do it with cool music in the background and text wording that comes on the screen as he is showing you how to do it. Let me know if you like this self-watering 2-liter soda bottle planter tutorial. Now that I seen this I like it better then my tutorial. I told you I wasn’t a professional, read my disclaimer in small font. HAHA!

When you do this project don’t use synthetic, cheap strings, as they won’t wick the water properly. Mixing absorbent materials, such as clay hydroponics mediums, into your potting soil can help to provide a better wicking medium. And make the process a lot easier.