How-To: Make an Herb Garden from Recycled Plastic Bottles

Yiddle Herbgarden
Yiddlenet shows you how to make an herb garden from recycled plastic bottles.

From the site:

Lately I’ve been drinking SoBe Lifewater 0 Calorie after my workouts. It comes in these really cool spiral shaped bottles. The bottles are really sturdy and I’ve been trying to figure out what (other than recycling) I could do with them. I thought the first thing I’d try was an herb garden.

I live in a townhouse, and I don’t have a lot of yard. What I do have is really really shady, so I can’t get much to grow back there. I do love using fresh herbs, so this was a good solution for me.


Recent Entries

Comments

Newest comments listed first.

Posted by: Another Sarah on July 12, 2009 at 4:16 PM

Hmmm.....

Whilst I love that you are reusing plastic bottles I think it's important to point out that this isn't a final solution. You write "I’ve been trying to figure out what (other than recycling) I could do with them" - the best thing to do would be to stop buying multiple bottles and refill a reusable one from the tap. If you are serious about reusing bottles then scavenge other people's from the pavement or bins to reuse, don't contribute to the problem by creating further demand on the environment - Reuse, reduce, rethink.


Posted by: yiddle on June 23, 2009 at 10:25 AM

Thanks Sarah -
It's good to be cautious. I'll put a note on the instructions on yiddle.net. If you decide not to use the project for an herb garden, you could still plant marigolds or other flowers for a little desk flower garden.



Posted by: Natalie Zee Drieu on June 23, 2009 at 8:02 AM

Thanks Sarah - this is a great point!


Posted by: Sarah on June 23, 2009 at 7:59 AM

Be Careful with Plastic

While I have no idea about these specific plastic bottles, a lot of plastic (including that used in beverage containers) contains toxic chemicals that can be absorbed by plants through the soil. When you eat plants that have absorbed toxic materials, you are consuming these nasty substances as well. The problem is compounded by heat, which you would expect in a summer herb garden. I never, ever plant anything that will be consumed in plastic for this reason--it's just not worth the risk. For container gardening, you're far better off to use ceramic (terracotta's a good choice) or even metal (like coffee cans).


Leave a comment



Welcome to the CRAFT Blog! Your daily source for craft projects and inspiration.

MAKE Maker Shed Maker Faire MAKE television


Social CRAFT

Be a CRAFT fan on Facebook CRAFT on Facebook
Visit our Facebook page and become a fan of CRAFT!
CRAFT Twitter CRAFT on Twitter
Follow our CRAFT tweets!
CRAFT Flickr Pool CRAFT on Flickr
Join our CRAFT Flickr Pool and your photo could be featured in Becky's Sunday CRAFT Flickr Roundup!

November's Theme & Contests
Super Crafty Kids
CRAFT: Singer Contest - Me, My Scarf, and I

Daily Tweet a Tip
    craft_tips on Twitter

    Sign up for the CRAFT Newsletter
    Our CRAFT newsletter covers upcoming themes and news from the blog! You can also see the archive of past newsletters.


     


    Get the CRAFT Daily Email
    Enter your email address to receive a daily email roundup of all of the day's posts on CRAFT:




    Craftzine Authors

    Natalie Zee Drieu.Natalie Zee Drieu
    Senior Editor
    | Twitter


    Becky Stern.Becky Stern
    Associate Editor
    | AIM | Twitter


    Rachel HobsonRachel Hobson
    Contributing Writer
    | AIM | Twitter


    Brookelynn MorrisBrookelynn Morris
    Contributing Writer


    Suggest a Site!

    Dale DoughertyDale Dougherty
    Editor & Publisher
    | Twitter


    Shawn ConnallyShawn Connally
    Managing Editor
    | Twitter


    Goli MohammadiGoli Mohammadi
    Associate Managing Editor

    Arwen O'Reilly GriffithArwen O'Reilly Griffith
    Staff Editor





    Why advertise on CRAFT?
    Read what folks are saying about us!

    Click here to advertise on CRAFT!


    Current Podcast

    itunes_p.jpg CRAFT Pattern Podcast: Jumping Paper Frog This week's CRAFT Pattern Podcast is the Jumping Paper Frog by Matt Hawkins, featured in CRAFT: 05. The PDF includes full instructions as well as the template for the paper frog. All you need to do is cut out More...



    Craft Categories
    www.flickr.com
    photos in Craft More photos in Craft Flickr Pool
    www.flickr.com
    photos in MAKE More photos in MAKE Flickr Pool

    Advertise here.

    Recent Posts in the MAKE Blog