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Reusing Plastic Water Bottles to Make Easy Drip Waterers

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April 1, 2021 by Kristi Stone 11 Comments

3 water bottles
water bottles with blue lids

If you live in an area where you experience summer middle-of-the-day scorching temperatures that causes your garden to wither and wilt, you may find that some of your plants may need more watering than others. Reusing plastic water bottles for drip waterers may fit the bill, and do well to provide your plants much needed water.

plastic water bottles, green background

Reusing Plastic Water Bottles in the Garden

Some areas don’t have decent water to drink, and while I’m sure you not wild about the trash that creates, here’s a way to repurpose them. They work well in the garden, and in container plants.

This idea isn’t really a new one, but this is a super cheap and easy way to keep water-loving plants happy. Using this method can allow you to water those plants that need extra water, while allowing some to dry out a bit between waterings.

Making the Waterers

There’s not a lot to making these drip waterers, all you need are empty plastic bottles from water or soda, the lids to the bottles, a drill with the smallest drill bit you can find, and a pair of scissors.

Cheap and Easy Drip Waterers for Your Garden - Stone Family Farmstead


First, drill one hole in the lid of the bottle. I say just one to start with because your smallest drill bit may not be small enough to allow the bottle to drain slowly. Do this with as many drip waterers as you need to make.

turn your trash into gardening tools - Stone Family Farmstead

My smallest drill bit wasn’t, and with the first bottle, I drilled 3 holes and the water took seconds to drain. The longer it takes to drain, the better so that your plant can get a nice long drink.

easy to make drip waterers - Stone Family Farmstead

Next, pop a hole in the low side of the bottle (keep the lid on–it will help the bottle to crush less when you poke it with the scissors) and cut around the bottom. Try to cut as close to the bottom as you can so your bottle will hold plenty of water. Do this with all of the waterers you are making.

drip waterers are great for squash plants - Stone Family Farmstead

With a hand shovel, make holes next to the base of your plants and insert your waterers. Pack dirt around the waterers so that they stay in place. The deeper the hole, the more likely they won’t fall over, but I went in about 3 inches (up to the label on the bottle) and that works fine for me.

drip waterers made from plastic water bottles - Stone Family Farmstead

On days that you don’t want to water the whole garden, just bring your hose around, fill your waterers, and give your water-loving plants a nice drink!

Note: These waterers have worked fine for me, but at some point the small hole in the lid got clogged with dirt. It would be good to give these a good rinse every week to make sure that the hole doesn’t get dirt buildup in there, which causes them to stop draining and watering your plant. So far, this is the only negative to using these waterers.

Filed Under: FEATURED SEASONAL POSTS, HOME & HOMESTEAD, SEASONALTagged With: BEGINNER, GARDENING, SUMMER

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. daisy says

    July 8, 2015 at 10:16 am

    I’ve been thinking about doing this, since my basil and tomatoes are really working hard to deal with the heat! Great job explaining.

    Reply
    • Kristi Stone says

      July 9, 2015 at 2:10 pm

      One thing that I’ve noticed, Daisy, is that the small holes that I drilled can get full of dirt, so you’ll just need to check them every now and again to make sure the water is actually able to trickle out. Other than that, and as long as they remain in place, they work well!

      Reply
  2. Jennifer says

    July 9, 2015 at 8:48 pm

    What a great idea! I am so gonna do this in my gardens. Thanks for linking up at the Weekend Blog Hop at My Flagstaff Home!

    Jennifer

    Reply
    • Kristi Stone says

      July 10, 2015 at 8:02 am

      Oh good! Glad you could use the info! 😀

      Reply
  3. Danielle says

    July 13, 2015 at 6:38 pm

    This is a great idea. I love up cycling anything I can. We haven’t needed any extra water here in Indiana. We could use a little less, in fact. But this is a great idea. Thanks for sharing on Tuesday’s with a Twist, I’m featuring you this week! I hope you come back and share again this week and have a good one!

    Reply
    • Kristi Stone says

      July 13, 2015 at 6:45 pm

      Oh Danielle, thank you so much! What a great honor. 🙂

      I love upcycling too, it really makes me feel like I’m doing something good for the earth, and to stretch our family’s dollars. I’m kind of on a see-what-I-can-make-from-nothing kick lately! 🙂

      I will definitely be back, and thank you again! 🙂

      Reply
  4. Marcia says

    April 1, 2021 at 9:27 am

    Very useful idea and reuses, repurposes what we already have!!! Danielle, thank you so much!

    Reply
  5. Chris linguanti says

    June 22, 2021 at 3:17 pm

    I tried this and all the water drained out of the bottle within minutes. I tried with the bottom of the bottle intact and poked a hole in it and it still drained right out. What am I doing wrong?

    Reply
    • Kristi Stone says

      June 24, 2021 at 10:27 am

      How big was the hole, Chris?

      Reply
  6. Pamela K Peterson says

    June 4, 2022 at 8:38 am

    I bet if you stick a cotton cord thru the hole in the lid that it would wick your water thru the hole without clogging the hole? Just a thought.

    Reply
  7. Karen Cloran says

    August 18, 2022 at 2:27 pm

    I use yarn as a wick for starting seeds would that work for potted plants also?

    Reply

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Hi, I’m Kristi!

A little about me….For the past 6 years, we have lived on a scant acre in Southern California. I am the wife of the greatest guy ever….also a veteran ex-homeschooling mom of 3, grandma of 1, and fur mom of many!

Besides writing, my hobbies are gardening, herbs, crafting, scratch cooking, food preservation, goat breeding, and teaching all of these things here, to you, on Stone Family Farmstead’s website.


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