Using Plastic Beverage Containers as Planters

Plastic bottles come in many shapes and sizes - from small, single-serving 8 oz. water bottles to 2- and 3-liter soda bottles. Many of these bottles make their way to a recycling center, others are simply thrown away to find their way to a landfill, and still others are simply cast to the roadside.

One thing that we have done as a family project is to turn these empty bottles into miniature greenhouses. This is a simple project that offers great rewards.

Simply take an empty and rinsed beverage bottle and fill it one quarter of the way with potting soil. If you have a compost pile, this is even better. The size of the bottle does not matter, though larger ones offer more options. Additionally, green plastic bottles, such as Mountain Dew or Sprite bottles do not work for this project (I will explain later).

After adding the potting soil/compost, drop a couple of plant seeds into the bottle. Any type of seed will do, but some planning can take this simple project and turn it into a work of art.

Once you have added the seeds, sprinkle a little more dirt into the bottle - don't bury the seeds, just a little coating.

Moisten the dirt, do not drench it.

Replace the cap tightly.

Place the bottle in a sunny location and wait!

Soon, you will see the seeds begin to sprout. Once they have taken hold, it is important to monitor their growth. Depending on the seeds used, be sure to give them proper amounts of light and shade. Direct sunlight could kill some seedlings. As well, it is important to remove the cap from the bottle so that the seedlings do not cook inside the bottle. Removing the cap will also allow the water inside the bottle to evaporate, so be sure to add water as necessary to insure proper growth. Do not over-water the plants.

Once the plants have established themselves, you can choose to cut apart the bottle and transplant the plant into a more substantial pot or into your garden. Be sure to send the remnants of the bottle off to your local recycling center.

One option with the larger bottles (2- or 3-liter size) is to use a mixture of flower seeds and cut around the bottle just above the dirt line. This turns the project into a self-contained mini-garden - great for gifts! Similarly, you can use a 20 oz. soda bottle, cut it off just above the dirt line, and place it in a cup holder in your car. These cup-holder-gardens also make excellent gifts. With these options, be sure to trim any rough edges left behind on your new pot.

A great choice for seeds is to take the seeds from an apple or other fruit that you or your child has eaten and plant them in a bottle greenhouse. Be sure to use seeds that are climate appropriate if you wish to see them blossom into a full-size tree (orange seeds in New England would not long survive outdoors). It is exciting for them to see the seeds grow into a sapling and eventually into a tree. As well, it is a great lesson for them to directly witness how nature works. One caveat - as not all seeds are viable, so I recommend that you plant a couple extras, either in the same bottle or into several bottles. If more than one sprout, no harm done. It is very disheartening, though, when nothing sprouts. Give your project a better chance to succeed by providing additional seeds.

As mentioned earlier, green plastic is not recommended for this project. This is due to the scientific process known as photosynthesis. With a few exceptions, plants are green. This green pigment comes from chlorophyll, the substance responsible for a plant's food production. The reason that we see the plants as green is because the chlorophyll reflects the green light rays and absorbs the other colors. Using a green plastic bottle causes only the green light rays to reach the plant growing inside - the only color that the plant cannot use to photosynthesize - filtering out the other colors of the spectrum. Thus, using a green bottle will inhibit the growth of the plant. This is actually a great experiment to conduct with children, though. Prepare two different bottles - one green, one clear - with similar seeds and set them up under similar conditions. Allow the children to hypothesize the results - Will the green bottled plant or will the clear bottled plant grow better?

When all is said and done, you have created a miniature greenhouse using a little dirt, some seeds, and a bottle that was once destined for recycling or a landfill. You have brightened the day of those that are able to see the flowers that you have grown. You might even have passed a valuable lesson on to a developing mind.