A bottle can be recycled to serve as a miniature greenhouse. This is a great school project or homemade item over the holidays. It's a creative, easy, and fun thing to do. The result can be a unique decoration and a way to keep your green thumb busy during the winter.
Steps
Step 1. Choose your Bottle
The bottle should be large enough for the plants to grow. Clean it and let it dry completely before using it. The larger the opening, the easier it will be to maintain the garden.
Step 2. Lay the bottle on its side. It will form the base of your bottle garden
Step 3. Place sand and pebbles at the base of the bottle
You can use a teaspoon across the neck of the bottle to add pebbles and sand and move them around. It will provide a good drainage base for the plants. Wet the sand before placing it. Don't underestimate the importance of good drainage, because the bottle has no drainage holes and wet substrate can lead to fungus problems.
- Adding a thin layer of activated charcoal on top of the drain will minimize any odors caused by decay in the bottle.
- An additional layer of sphagnum will prevent the soil from mixing with the drainage layer.
Step 4. Cover sand and pebbles with soil
The soil should be of good quality and pre-moistened. If you accidentally run dirt on the sides of the bottle and obscure the view, you can tie gauze to the tip of a pencil and slip it into the bottle to clean up the dirt.
Step 5. Plant the garden
Choose seeds of small indoor plants. Place the seeds in the potting soil using tweezers, a long thin stick (if you have a steady hand) or chopsticks. Place the seeds in different places for an interesting arrangement.
- Bottled gardens lend themselves well to plants that require a good amount of moisture (such as tropical plants) because the bottle will retain moisture.
- Do not mix plants with different needs, especially in terms of water. Growing a very thirsty plant next to a cactus will make maintenance difficult.
- You can also make an aquatic bottle garden (shown in an earlier step).
Step 6. Watch the plants grow
Look after them as they mature. Plants will need air and humidity. Make sure you pierce the cap or lid of the bottle or jar, or don't plug it at all. Use a nebulizer to moisten the bottle. Water only when you don't see any kind of lint on the glass - it's always better to water less rather than too much to prevent fungus or mold from growing.
Advice
You can choose to cover the bottle or jar to prevent evaporation. If you're doing this as a school project, run tests to see what happens to covered and uncovered bottles
Warnings
- Pay attention to the type of bottles or jars you use. Pay attention to the environment you get them from. A bottle that has been thrown away (e.g. found on the street) could be toxic, poisonous, or even harmful to you. Always use great caution and caution with waste materials. Make sure you clean the reused materials thoroughly and disinfect anything the bottle or jar may have touched, including yourself.
- Do not keep the bottle completely in the sun. This miniature ecosystem could heat up too fast and burn plants or your fingers! (But don't always leave it in the dark either.)
