cheap | peppers | tomato | upside down planter | water
1 Gallon Milk carton upside down tomato planter
I wanted to see if (how much) my yields varied by allowing more volume of dirt in my homemade tomato planter, so I made this variation with the same type and size “Husky Cherry” seedling I am using in my 2-liter planter version.
The build for this one is also very simple:
- I started with an organic milk carton given it was already opaque, but if you have the non-organic variety you will want to paint or cover the outside with duct tape.
- Next cut or drill a 1/2 inch hole on the bottom of the milk carton, this will be where the stem of the plant will fit through.
- Cut four slits out from the center of the 1/2 inch hole to make it easier to insert the plant into the planter.
- Insert plant through the bottom.
- Fill with soil (mix of 1 part peat moss/coconut coir)
- Finally drill a hole and feed though eyelet secured with a nut from the back side
Now here is where you can stop or you can go with the advanced auto-watering option.
Materials Needed:
- 20 ounce water bottle
- plastic straw
- sponge
Build Instructions:
- Drill hole just large enough to barely be able to pull the straw through
- Cut a 1 inch long piece of sponge just wide enough to be able to slip inside the straw.
- Fill with water and screw on cap and insert into top of planter
As the dirt dries it will also dry out the sponge which will release water and repeat as necessary. This works in a very similar concept as a Aqua Globe
The improvised aqua globe is great because the upside-down planters tend to dry out every day when plants are mature. Great ingenuity!
Though did not have any handy, but I would bet if the straw was a swizel stick you probably could skip the whole sponge part.
I don’t think I understand the sponge. What part of the straw is it in? Does it need to be submerged in the soil?
Yes, I am lost on the sponge, too. do you drill a hole in the sponge? I don’t see the straw or the sponge in the final product.
I probably should include some more pictures on this one. Will add some this weekend. The basic idea with the sponge is for it to be in the soil. As the soil drys so dies the sponge, as the sponge dries more water is released from above. If you have some cotton fabric or string (not nylon) you could feed this through the hole and into the soil and the wicking action will keep the soil moist. The trick with this adding water without pulling the string out of the soil.
What type of sponge do you use, 2 of my bottles are leaking, I’m thinking the sponge is not sturdy enough. I love this idea of using milk cartons as upside down planters and the 2 liter bottle as a watering system!
I used a typical household sponge. Is the sponge within the dirt? You might try seeing if you can fit a slightly larger piece of sponge (dry) within the straw.
What a great idea! We had a very late start to summer, so I thought I’d try your design. Here are my results:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/searleb/4741191253/
Thanks for the inspiration!
Can you provide more details about the auto watering, ideally with photos? Is there an air hole drilled into the bottom of the bottle? How much of the sponge sticks out of the end of the straw? Do you size the sponge to fit when dry (smaller size) or wet (when you can roll it up and force more in the straw)? Perhaps you could take a photo of the unassembled components. Thank you!
The improvised aqua globe is great because the upside-down planters tend to dry out every day when plants are mature. Great ingenuity!
You mention at the beginning that you tried different sizes of soil containers to see which would provide the most yield. Which were the best in the end? Was there much of a difference between the 2-liter, one gallon, and five gallon container?
Did you use only water or some fertilizer or homemade fertilizer?
Thanks for documenting all your work. Really helpful. I’m just starting now (cuz I live in Chile, where Spring has now sprung and the time for planting maters is upon us).
When I saw your 2L upside down planter last year, I said, “why not a 1G?” What I decided on was to take 2 1G jugs, cut off the bottom, put the plant through 1 opening, and duct tape the two jugs together. I just hang it from the upper handle with fishing line and it’s still almost vertical. I did this with a pepper plant and got a couple small peppers before it got too cold.
Could I put ground cherries or large tomatoes in these?