Plastic bottles are part of modern life and can generate a lot of trash. But they are also endlessly useful around the home and in the garden.
Make a mini watering can.
A plastic drinks bottle makes an ideal watering can for indoor use or for watering seedlings. You can buy a miniature rose to screw onto the top, called a Bottle Top Waterer, or you can make your own by punching holes into the cap of the bottle.
Water at the roots.
At planting time, cut the bottom off of a plastic bottle and plunge it into the soil next to a plant, top downwards. When you water, water into the bottle and it will direct water to the roots of the plant where it is needed, avoiding evaporation. This is especially useful for thirsty vegetable plants like squash and tomatoes.
Store things.
Plastic bottles can obviously be reused to store liquids, for example liquid feeds that you have made yourself. They are also very useful for keeping dry goods dry, e.g. soap flakes for anti-aphid sprays or bran to be used as a slug deterrent.
Make a scoop.
Plastic compost scoops are readily available, but you can easily make your own from a plastic milk bottle with a handle. Leave the cap on and cut off the bottom and you have a scoop that holds a useful volume of compost and is comfortable to use.
Play skittles!
Fill matching bottles with water, find a ball and you have a set of garden skittles! When you're done playing, the kids can use the bottles to have a water fight or you can use them to water your plants.
Protect corncobs.
When corncobs are swelling they are a magnet for birds, squirrels and other garden pets. Make a plastic shield for each cob by removing the cap from a plastic bottle and slicing it in half almost to the bottom so that it hinges open. Place the bottle over the cob, with the bottle top fitting around the stalk, and the cob can swell in peace.
Make a funnel.
Funnels are always useful in the home and garden, and you can make your own in a range of sizes by removing the cap from a bottle and cutting the bottom off. Milk bottles with handles can be especially useful.
Save money on labels.
Cut your plastic bottles into strips and use them as plant labels. Use an indelible marker to write on the labels to avoid them fading in the sun.
Keep plants cosy and safe.
Cut a bottle in half and you have two mini cloches to protect seedlings from the weather. If you remove the cap then the top half even has built-in ventilation for older seedlings. A ring of plastic from a bottle can also be used to discourage slugs and snails from attacking seedlings, particularly if you put a line of grease or copper tape around the top.
Trap slugs.
Half a plastic bottle makes a great slug "pub". Simply sink it into the soil near your plants and fill it with something slugs love (beer or milk) and they will happily come to drown themselves. Leave the top of the container above the soil line so that slugs can climb in but helpful ground beetles won't fall in accidentally.
Make a bird feeder.
An upturned bottle makes a great reservoir for birdseed and with a little ingenuity you can fashion a tray and perch to go underneath.
Or make a bird scarer.
If you have a problem with birds attacking your plants then cut slits down the side of a plastic bottle and bend them outwards to make flaps. Take the cap off and fit the bottle onto a garden cane, and the wind will catch the flaps and rotate the bottle, scaring the birds.
Help over wintering insects.
Lacewings are delicate insects whose larvae are very helpful in the garden because they eat aphids. You can make an empty bottle into a lacewing chamber by cutting off the bottom and stuffing it with a roll of corrugate cardboard. Fix the cardboard so that it won't fall out, then hang the bottle in the garden. Lacewings will find their way in at the bottom and hibernate in the cardboard. You can move the bottle into a sheltered place over winter and then outside again in spring. A population of adult lacewings will then provide larvae to combat the spring aphid invasion.
Deter cats.
In Japan, bottles filled with water are used to deter cats from entering areas where they are not wanted.
Make plant pots.
If you find you have more seedlings than pots in spring then you can use the bottoms of plastic bottles as standby plant pots and make them exactly the right size by using a variety of bottles.
Whatever you make with your plastic bottles remember that when you've finally finished using them they should be recycled, not put out with the trash.
