Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Lacinato Kale in Recycled Pop Bottle Planters

We finally planted some of our recycled pop bottle planters, excellent fun to make and plant.

Bob Hyland has the instructions here. Thanks, Bob, for the nice clear visual guide.

These little sub-irrigated planters are a perfect way to recycle 2-liter pop bottles (which we had to beg from friends who drink soda) and pot up some of the left-over seedlings we didn't get into our bucket SIPs (sub irrigated planters) on the roof.

I mixed in a little of the organic fertilizer neighbor Bruce found locally. Hence the tea-colored water at the base.

Wouldn't a couple of these kale leaves be a nice addition to the tiny BLTs they're making over at Homegrown Evolution?

10 comments:

Greenscaper said...

You cut em straight Heidi. Nice job! I've observed that many folks can't cut a straight line.

However...er, um...you left some label adhesive on the bottle to the left. Tsk, tsk. Better get some Goof Off or Goo Gone...or peanut butter...yuk. ;-)

H2 said...

My straight cuts don't offset the messy adhesive? How can you even see this stuff from behind your green sunglasses?

LeAnn said...

What a great project for the kids! I'm working on ways for them to think gardening is fun. We don't drink pop, but the plastic milk jugs cut in half should work the same. I'll start saving them immediately.

Lori "The Soil Whisperer" Guenter said...

These would be great indoors in the winter here in Nebraska.

Tracibub said...

Eight little Daisy Girl Scouts and I just planted these yesterday! Thanks SO much for the tutorial on Flickr! We're trying to grow basil (and with a few leftover supplies, a beet or two at home). :) Excellent way to reuse a pop bottle, thanks so much.

Unknown said...

I tried repurposing a long window planter (plastic) by covering the two drainage holes with duct tape and filling the bottom with cut up plastic bottles and rocks in the water reservoir. Added a pvc tube with holes drilled in the very bottom instead of the angled cut... now growing arugula very successfully and very few waterings in a very small space jut out the apartment door. This idea applies to all types of containers and I wanted to share my experience. Your blog is awesome! I'm having a great time browsing... thank you!

H2 said...

MP: nicely done--thanks for telling us about your approach. So many varied ways to apply the SIP concept. Enjoy your homegrown food as we do ours...

Unknown said...

I reuse many bottles for making games, making craft and gardening. However some plastic is not safe to reuse and special not for growing vegetable and for to make toys for toddlers.
You can find information in this link.

http://naturalsociety.com/recycling-symbols-numbers-plastic-bottles-meaning/


Avoid recycling symbols 3, 6, and 7. While Number 1 is considered safe, it is also best to avoid this plastic.
Look for symbols 2, 4, and 5, as these plastics are considered to be safest. These are the plastics to look for in terms of human and animal consumption.

Anyway this is a great website and blogspot. Thank you.

Cbayma said...

Can’t wait to try an SIP. However not enough time is spent on bug control. Every year I sacrifice my first crop of lettuce to the cabbage butterflies. Second batch is usually for me. But I have a constant problems with the fruit of my labor being eaten by my tiny neighbors. What can I do to keep my veggies bug free but still accessibl? Also I travel a lot so I could easily miss a week or two of bug picking or spraying soap. So I need some great ideas for the lazy and sometimes absent Gardner.

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