Before You Throw Out Those Empty Plastic Water Bottles, Try This Garden Hack

Despite a modern push for reusable everything, plastic water bottles still account for a staggering percentage of what sits in our landfills. According to EarthDay.org, a single American citizen will go through about 13 water bottles per month, and even though some people do their best to recycle, a vast majority of plastic bottles still end up in landfills or the ocean. The next time you have a plastic water bottle, don't toss it in the trash. Don't put it back in the fridge either, since it's a bad idea to reuse single-use water bottles. Instead, keep your plastic water bottles for your garden.

As it turns out, you can turn those empty bottles into seedling planters with very little effort. All you need is a pair of scissors, some soil, and a few seeds. For the easiest version, simply cut an empty water bottle in half, fill the bottom with soil, and gently press in the seeds. From here, you're free to place your new fledgling cherry tomatoes (this is the best way to seed a cherry tomato) in the kitchen window and watch as they take root. 

For a more complex DIY project, cut the bottle in half before poking a hole in the plastic cap. Feed and knot some string into the hole, and then fill the top bottle half with soil and seeds. Next, fill the base with water and gently place the top half upside down onto the water-filled half so that the string touching the inside of the soil is also floating in the water. This will create a convenient self-watering structure where the string pulls moisture up into the soil, keeping conditions optimal for seed growth and sparing you the trouble of remembering to water every day.

Get as creative as you want with these reusable plastic water bottle planters, especially when it comes to how you display them. For a little more character, try painting the plastic with your favorite colors and popping on a pair of googly eyes. Use the top half of the bottle (with the lid screwed on) as a makeshift planter-inspired wind chime, threading the string through two sides of the plastic and hanging the various seedlings from the ceiling. You could even create a stack of water bottle vertical gardens, strategically layering the little seedlings in a pyramid shape in your garden. These are perfect ways to give that Orezza Natural Mineral Water (which is one of the top 10 most expensive bottled water brands) more time to shine.

Using plastic water bottles to grow seeds may be helpful for plants because some seeds will grow stronger when given a small, cozy home to germinate. Controlling the temperature of the soil is important for allowing seeds to thrive, which is easier to do with a smaller area. Small pots do tend to dry quickly, so you may find yourself watering those water bottles every day, but this will be beneficial for the plant in the long run because the roots will be exposed to air more often, making them stronger. If the seedling grows big and healthy, it may be time for the plant to vacate the plastic water bottle pot and allow a new seed to begin its life cycle.