Self-watering plant pots made from PET bottles

Recycle PET bottles and sow seeds: We show you how you can transform PET bottles into self-watering plant pots.

There is still no deposit on many PET bottles. Instead of throwing the bottles in the plastic waste, they can also be used wonderfully as inexpensive plant pots. And the best thing about it: They even water themselves and are therefore ideal if you are on vacation for a few days. In our DIY handicraft instructions we explain step by step the way from the bottle to the plant pot.

Take a standard PET bottle and carefully drill a hole in the lid. You should make sure that it is big enough so that a thicker rope can be threaded through afterwards.
Cut approx. a third of the bottle off. This “funnel” is put aside for the time being.
Now take a 50 cm long rope and soak it well with water and then thread it through the hole in the lid.
The lid is screwed back on and one end of the rope is placed in the funnel in a spiral shape. The other end is placed in the lower part of the bottle. Then the funnel and the bottle are put together.

Now you fill the funnel with potting soil and use seeds of your choice.
If you lift the funnel, you can fill the bottle with water. The water rises continuously over the rope, moisturizes the earth and the DIY planter is up supplied with sufficient moisture for a week without the risk of waterlogging.

PET bottles recycle plant pots — 1. The bottles should hold at least 0.7 liters.

Drill a hole in the lid of the PET bottle — 2. Drill a hole with a sufficiently large diameter in the lid.

Cut PET bottle — 3. Above the taper, at which the bottle becomes thinner, you start cutting with a sharp box knife.

Shorten the rope to 50cm — 4. The optimal rope length is around 50cm.

Thread the rope through the hole in the lid of the PET bottle — 5. The rope is threaded through the hole in the lid up to half the length.

Screw the lid onto the neck of the bottle — 6. The lid is then screwed back into the bottle.

Put the upper part of the bottle upside down in the bottle — 7. The upper part of the bottle is placed upside down in the lower part and filled with soil.

Put seeds in soil — 8. Seeds can be planted in the soil as the mood takes you.

Fill the lower part of the bottle with water — 9. Fill the lower section of the bottle with sufficient water.

recycled PET bottle with plants after 20 days — 10. After about 20 days, the plants have sprouted and are clearly recognizable.

recycled PET bottle with plants after 35 days — 11. After another 15 days our plants are already over 30cm high.

recycled PET bottle with plants and roots after 35 days — 12. Some of the plants form strong roots along the rope.

Et voila! We wish you a lot of joy and fun with your plant pots. Let us share your experiences. We look forward to your pictures!

I have a degree in industrial engineering, but have always been an enthusiastic hobby gardener at heart. I have been growing fruit and vegetables in my own garden for over ten years, and my passion is primarily for rare and special varieties.
Favorite fruits: Red-fleshed peaches and pluots (cross between apricot and plum)
Favorite vegetables: palm kale, tomatoes and cardoons

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Self-watering plant pots made from PET bottles

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