Make a Free Self Watering Flower Pot

Most of the instructions I read said to use a two-liter soda bottle. I don’t drink sodas but I do drink juice. So I used a quart juice bottle.The beauty of this design is that you can reuse and recycle whatever you have laying around or can scrounge. The juice bottle looks like it’s working just fine although the soil compartment is rather shallow because of the shape of the bottle. A two-liter soda bottle might actually have more soil space.  

To make a self watering pot, I remove the label and then drill holes in the cap and around the neck of the bottle. This is for the wicking action between the water and the soil.

Then I cut off the top of the bottle, about where the top of the label was. This bottle has some curves that make it more difficult to fit into the bottom of the bottle. I just cut some slots around the edge so it will slide in easier. I also made one larger hole for a tube or straw to fit through. This will be your refill tube.

The refill tube can be as simple as a straw from a restaurant or take out. I didn’t have any straws on hand so I used a piece of left over plastic tube that I had lying around. The hole had to be a bit bigger to accommodate the thicker tube.It's a good idea to cut a notch in your tube or cut the bottom at an angle so that it can't create a vacuum against the bottom of the water reservoir.

The top of the tube will stick up next to your plant and you can use a funnel (even a homemade plastic one) to pour water into the reservoir

Now add a little soil. Be sure you get soil down in the neck of the inverted bottle top. Top up and add your plant. It’s a good idea to punch another hole on the outside bottle about an inch or so up from the bottom to serve as an overflow. That way water will not accumulate and reach the level of the plant roots.