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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Yet Another Use for 2 Liter Bottles

Some bottles drained fast, others are still full after several hours
Now that the weather's warmer, I took the bottle cloches off the tomatoes. The tomato plants outgrew them anyway, becoming rather contorted in the confines of their biospheres.

Instead of storing away the bottles though, I've discovered a new use for them. I flipped them upside down and with some pressure, snugged the bottle tops into the soil enough to hold them in (like the wine bottles). I also stuck a stake through each one just to help keep them upright. Each tomato plant got a bottle planted next to it.

Now, instead of watering the whole bed, I simply fill each bottle up with water and let it slowly soak in. That does two things: it provides a steady amount of water over a longer period of time and it prevents the problems that overhead watering causes with tomatoes, i.e. fungal diseases. I know the water is going directly into the root system too. I can add some fertilizer or Epson salts to the bottle when need be. Yet another use for those plastic bottles until they are ready to be recycled or stored.

2 comments:

  1. Brilliant! I'll have to try this with our raised beds of kale and lettuce. We keep 'em covered to keep the dear out and so they don't get any rainwater.

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