VERY cool idea!

I'm definately gonna try this out. I have a stock pile of 2 litre plastic pop bottles! I don't have anything to plant in one at the moment but nevermind, I just love the idea.

He he cheers for the great idea.

Kyle

Np Kyle

Also over here (sure its same in Britian) you get em big ol 3 litre soda bottles, they would make a nice sized pot as well.
I like the look of the one on his site that a woman made from her square ice tea bottle as well.

Cheers

Sheldon

Well Im thining that might work great for a Austrialin Pitcher plant, (celphotus or summin like that?) or a Nep? cause they dont like Soaked soil. so give them summin they like! That might be a great option.
Cheers

Yeah, the bigger the bottle the better.

I just got through making and planting my first pop-bottle pot. I don't have any CPs going spare so I planted a birds-nest fern in it to experiment. It looks good too and I was thinking that you could paint the sides of them with acrylics, make them look like old greek pottery or sumat.

If this self-watering system works, I'll repot my VFTs in these pots next Spring.

Thanks

Kyle

does the fern have the same watering amount as a VFT? and can you change the amount of water in the pot?

Cheers

Well my 2 litre coke bottle pot is 2 days old now, the soil was saturted to begin with but now is staying moist but not waterlogged.
I wonder how a Nepenthes would do in such a pot, since the bottle top is what is absorbing the water in a capillary action Im a tad worried that the roots may not like the constant moisture of the soil.

If any of you have opinions on this design for the use of plants that are more sensitive to wet soil please let us know.

Thanx

Sheldon

Hi akheadbanger, the fern (like most ferns) likes constantly moist soil so I think this method will work well for it.

As for changing the amount of water in the soil, I suppose you could just put less water in the tray at the bottom. Like top it up to one inch instead of two or whatever.

Sheldon, my pop-bottle pot is now not waterlogged but very moist. I would guess that this would be great for VFTs and Sundews etc. You could just let the tray dry up during dormancy and water soil with a sprayer so this should be fine.

As for neps, I think that most would propably grow well in these conditions. Just let the tray dry out for a few days in between waterings and put less in it when refilling so that it dries out in about five days or so. It isn't like the water tray method, I don't rekon it makes the soil quite as moist as that.

Personally, I don't have enough neps to experiment with this but maybe next year I'll try it out. Meanwhile, if anyone tries this with a nep, please let us know how it goes on.

Cheers

Kyle

Ooo, ta for that link. Will definitely try it out - I'm always after ways of re-using pop bottles. :)

Melanie

It certainly works for ferns, my birds-nest fern is thriving. This means that it should work well for neps as well. Watering requirements are very similar me thinks.

Cheers

Kyle

Ye tis a neat idea, over here you get em "Shasta" 3 litre soda's, they make nice sized self watering pots (around 6 ")

Cheers

Sheldon

Do you think this would work well for a D. Californica?

it should work well with any plant that likes wet soil.
The spout of the coke bottle acts like a pot sitting in a water tray, so I think if you make a common mix of one part peat and perlite that it should be fine.
Its too wet for Neps though, what you can do is to cut the bottle so that the spout does not touch the bottom but is risen above it.
Drill a hole in the coke bottle top and thread wick through.
Make your well draining mix and water it well, then fill the base as per normal but dont allow the water to rise to the level of the bottle top.
Thus the bottle will now use the wick to absorb water into the soil media instead of constantly sitting in it.

Cheers

Sheldon

i wouldent advise it for D. californica.
they like to be watered from the top frequently.
they need to keep their roots cool and id realy prefer a much bigger pot.
they also grow best in spagnum and im not sure how that would work in this system.

also i think ull have difficulties using this sytem as the watering needs of the plant changes with the time of year.
i think this would disqualify alot of the carnivores...

australian pitcherplant is called "Cephalotus follicularis"
(memorise that, itll impress people ;) lol )

with a small modification to the bottem (holes)
u could stand it in a large tray of water leaving more time between watering...

"Its too wet for Neps though"

Sorry but I gotta disagree with you here Sheldon. Possibly your bottle necks are wider than mine, but my pop-bottle pot is just damp to slightly wet which seems about right for a nep. You could just let the bottom dry out in between waterings and that would be perfect.

I think I'll put my Nep Sibuyanensis in a pop-bottle pot when it outgrows its current pot.

Cheers

Kyle

Hey Kyle

Thanx for the reply, thats interesting that you say that, what soil mix are you using so that it stays just moist?
Im thinking that it could be the soil mix that would affect the uptake of water.
I know a 1:1 Peat:Perlite stays nice and wet for my Drosera and Flytraps with the bottles.

Thanx

Sheldon

Yea possibly. I put all moss peat tightly packed into the bottle neck as a wick for drawing up water. I then have a mix of moss peat, perlite, John innes no. 3 and a superstore compost. Sorry but I don't have a clue about ratios - I just crammed it all in.

Folks tend to grow neps in a more free-draining soil than the standard peat:perlite so this might be okay with a pop-bottle pot. It's sure worth experimenting with different soil mixes though.

Cheers

Kyle

Hey Kyle thanx for the replys.
Ye it seems that these pots can be used for ANYTHING depending on the soil mix.
For a wetter mix use more Peat such as a common 1:1 ratio of Peat:Perlite.
For a Just moist mix that Neps like use the mix of 2:1 Perlite:Peat.

I potted my Ventrata in one of these bottles with this mix 2 days back and the mix is just staying moist.

Thanx again for the idea!!!!

Sheldon

Hmmm i would try it, but I just bought a nice pot. Could a Smaller 24 ounce work maybe? Sheldon do you have the web site where you purchased the R/O watering system?

cheers

Hey buddy, indeed I do (nearly lost it a few weeks back)
Here she is:
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/aquamallusa/watminrevoss.html

Ive made these self watering pop bottles now with every size availalbe (1 litre, 2 litre, 500ml) all work fine.
As long as the top that is cut can slip into the bottom and make contact with it all should work well.

Cheers

Sheldon

the reason i ask is cause i have my smaller ventricosa and i dont mind watering it i just dont have the time to some times!! Thanks!!

Cheers

im in the same boat as you on that, the bottle lasts a good while and the sundews and flytraps seem to love it.

Cheers

Sheldon

Hey Sheldon it's your idea really, I just kinda stumbled across it. :)

When I find time I wanna have a go at painting the side of a pop-bottle pot. I think it could be done up to look like old pottery with a bit of acrylic paint.

So you just grow your neps in peat and perlite? I'm glad to hear this, it'll save me buying any additional materials to mix in when I repot my neps.

Cheers

Kyle

it occurs to me that there will be no air cirvulation in there, it will be very prone to fungus...

Hey Vertigo, good point.
I think if the design is followed that it will have no less air circulation than a regular pot.
Reason is that in the plans you create drainige holes higher up that the wick (the bottle neck), this statys above the water allowing excess water to drain out as well as allowing air to get to the soil (so the designer says anyhow)
I make roughly 8 holes at different hights, I think a problem is if you have clear bottles that get sun, algae could form, I suppose we would need to cover it somehow, even sittinng it in a pot may work for that.

Cheers

Sheldon

This would work good if you have Darlington californica, you could set the part of the bottlle in a "Cool Pot" that keeps it cool! or have the pot with a Water pump in it so the water is moving with the drainage holes in the "Pump Pot". I will have to try this. Any sudgestions? this could keep main other things down in the soil and water if you put sphagnum moss over the holes. though you would need to find a larger pot for the D. Californica

Cheers

larger bottle to, those pitchers can get pretty big...

i read somehwere that nephentes likes stagnant air, but that would need an even bigger bottle...

heres an idea: what if we leave the top copletely open like a tube, and then have another part of a bottle (slightly larger so it slides over the other one)
so u can make the tube taller.
that way u can adjust humidity with the length of the tube
and with the top open ull have plenty of fresh air coming in...

its been a wile since ive had physics but heres another idea:
if u paint the bottem part of the pot black and make holes in the top the extra warmth of the pot would make the air on the bottem warmer then on the top making it climb, causing a sort of circulation...

another point: the wicking action will not be lost if the pot is left without the top part altogether.
i tried this with a soelace stuck in the bottem of a pot and hung in a tray of water and the soil was purpetualy wet.

i think with the top on there will be a slight pressure inside, wich would deter the wicking to some degree
so without the top the soil might get wetter, or get wet quicker...

has any1 ever experianced that different types of wick contructions give different levels of wetness to the soil,
or does it get equaly wet in a different timespan?

is there a way to controll the level of wetness of the soil?

Hi folks,

Don't worry about the top part detering the wicking action Vertigo. I have made one of these and it seems to work perfectly in that sense. I can't say I've had any experience with other types of wicking action but the shoe-lace idea sounds good.

To add to this colour idea. How about wrapping kitchen foil around the bottle? This would keep the roots in the dark, preventing algae from occuring. It would also reflect external heat radiation during the day, keeping roots cooler and at night would reflect internal heat radiation, keeping the roots warmer.

That VFT pea-gravel idea comes to mind here.

Cheers

Kyle

well im not worried about the wicking not working, im just wodering if it provides a different level of wetness then an open pot...

Here is something interesting.
Ive been on my search of innovative self watering systems and came across this system called "Magic Pots"
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/kitchen/B0008161Q8/qid%3D1130532301/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/102-7226732-4603356

This pot is literally 100% the same as the free coke bottle version.
It uses legs filled with soil to act as a wick, excess water drains back into the reservoir via drainige holes.

Cheers

Sheldon

Yea seems like exactly the same thing, only smarter, more professional and more expensive. :)

I'm not sure Vertigo, make a few and test it. My pop-bottle pot provides a moist soil than is not as waterlogged as a pot sitting in an inch of water. Then again, as we discussed earlier, this may be due to the soil mix.

I bet you didn't expect this post to last so long Sheldon. lol

Kyle

haha, Ye you bet I had no idea

You guys must check out all the ideas that lady has on her site, she is brilliant!!
From her hydroponics ideas to the soil bricks, they all work very very well.

PS, howz your Nep doing in the bottle Kyle?

Mines lid has turned a rusty colour, but this can be from the temp dropping lately down here.
The soil is not at all waterlogged and is lightly moist (n I mean lightly)

Cheers

Sheldon

Nah sorry Sheldon, you seem to have misunderstood me somewhere along the way. I haven't actually planted a nep into a pop-bottle pot yet. I intend to to this with my new Sibuyanensis when it out-grows its current pot. This might not be until late next Summer, depending how fast it grows.

I only have a birds-nest fern in a pop-bottle pot which is staying reasonably moist and making the plant very happy.

Can you post a pic of your nep in its bottle? I wanna see how it looks.

Cheers

Kyle

Ok here they are, if anyone has advise on the look of my little Nep Ventrata cutting (its got a nice long root now) please let me know, the only section that is a rusty brown is the lid, yet like I say the soil is not wet at all.

Heres my baby VFT in a small coke bottle, its doing EXTREMLY well, if you remember the last pic, it had about half the traps, its growing like mad!!!!!
{{gwi:565191}}

And heres my little Nep Ventrata, it was a rooted cutting from Cooks, its grown its first pitcher since Ive got it, but this is the one that has turned a rusty brown on the lid.
{{gwi:565192}}

Any comments/advise welcome.

The plants are in the basement and the temps are cooling down drastically now, so I dont know if this could be the cause oif the browish lid.

Cheers

Sheldon

Milk jug for D. Californica????

i have tons of milk jugs!!!

and the Side handle would work GREAT for watching the water ifyou cover the rest of the Jug. Would it work?

Cheers

i dont think u want to try it with darlingtonia, they like to have a bigger pot as they hate to be moved and u need to keep the roots cool, and it likes fresh air.

the best place to grow darlingtonia is outdoors, and a plastic bottle seems like that farthest thing from that...

aside from that it likes to get flushed dayly, mine gets 2 liters of fresh water every day and loves it.
even if u add drainage holes to the bottem part,
the sise of the pot will make flushing a lengthy procedure,
unless ofcourse u can find a bigass container to make the pot out of...

What kind of set up do you have for you Darlington? Ive seen youre pics (im preaty sure it was youre pictures) the darlington you have looks Great. A set up would be wonderful to hear. I dont exactly have 2 liters to use every day. DO you think i could get away with flushing it out onc or twice a week with probably not alotofwater, and keepingthe roots cool by using Ice cubes? Ive also read That a set up to use is a small cooler, with the pot in it, and turning it on at night.
Cheers

Cute! They look real good Sheldon.

Don't worry too much about the Ventrata, they are tough little buggers.

Mine grows like a triffid and is just starting to get colour into its traps under a 20 watt CF lamp with high (60-80%) humidity. It has a pebble tray and regular misting if that helps any with constant temps of around 70F at the moment.

Cheers and thanks for the piccies.

Kyle

PS. Happy Halloween!

i got my darlingtonias in spagnum moss with some perlite
and the pot is in a dishwashing tub with some clay pellets on the bottem to get the pot even with the rim and i filed up the rest of the tub with spagnum and pokes some holes about an inch above the bottem of the pot.
its on my balcony that is in half shade in a sort of greenhouse tent thing i built there.
theres also a florescant tube, but it hangs high and is mostly there to keep the moss and funguss under controll in the pots n stuff...

im not sure what else the flushing does for the plant, possibly it likes the water to be fresh n all, but mainly its because of the temp of the roots.

if u live in a climate thats anything like mine then u should have no problems with less flushing, but if its warmer i dont know...
basicly u need to keep the roots from getting to far above 15C for too long.

Hey everyone

Finally hunted down that darn site with the terracota self watering pot syste,.
I know these ones work like a dream on Nepenthes and Cephalotus plants.
Heres the link:
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/diy_kits/article/0,2019,DIY_13787_2766771,00.html
There is also a RealPlayer movie of it on the site under the "FIGURE C" picture

Cheers

Sheldon

mmm thats pretty elegant :)

Ye I think tis pretty danr awesome, and its the same as those expensive 15-50 dollar self watering pots.
If you can find some cheap terracotta pots, you can make them cheaply and from what Ive heard they are amazing for the Neps and Cephalotus plants.

If anyone makes one let us know what you think.

Cheers

Sheldon

Hey guys

Got a self watering pot from water-well.com today.
I checked it out and it is 100% as what I posted on the DIYNETWORK here.
Its just one glazed pot with a smaller unglazed pot epoxied in the bigger pot and then silicone sealer is used to ensure a seal between the two pots.

Cheers

Sheldon

There is photo of the similar thing at Orchids forum - FAQ --> S/H. Medium could be clay pellets or coarse perlite with any additions. I didn't tried it yet on my carnivores - they are doing good for a time being in the long-fibered sphagnum, but orchid likes it.

What you are using as humidity trays, sturdy enough to support pebbles?

Thanks.

Well, after reading this, it hasn't had a post in about a year now. I'm wondering before I try it, are any of the people who tried it still useing it? Is it working ok or did you end up having long term problems and scraping it?

Here is a link that might be useful: Tangled Web of Aracknight