Got old wine bottles lying around? Learn how to upcycle them into DIY self-watering planters! Perfect for windowsill herb gardens and seedling starters. Affiliate links in post.
Recently, I have been all about upcycling! Turning takeaway cartons into terrariums, using old conditioner pots as planters . . . and some other fun projects I’ve got coming to you over the coming months!
Alas, most of us are aware of the fact a lot of our recycling does not get recycled. So what we can we do about it? Well, other than reducing our waste, finding practical ways to upcycle it is a pretty good start!
And so we reach the point of today’s post: a super easy, practical and cute way to repurpose wine bottles. (AKA: an excuse to drink fancy wine with cool labels…)
You can use old wine bottles as quirky vases – but my favourite use for them is as self-watering plant pots.
How do self-watering plant pots work?
Self-watering planters are super convenient as they take most of the maintenance and guesswork out of watering your plants. (And, as any plant owner knows, one of the largest plant killers is under or over-watering!)
Self watering planters use sub-irrigation to deliver water directly to plant roots, without any guess work. The water reservoir at the bottom of the planter allows the plant to drink at its own pace and visually shows caregivers when it is time to water with an empty reservoir.
Source: Greenery Unlimited.co
You will need:
- A wine bottle cutting kit (these are only $21 from Amazon and have everything you need, from the cutting tool to gloves and sandpaper!)
- Old wine bottles
- Soil
- Strips of porous material (old socks or towels work well)
- Seeds or plants
STEP-BY-STEP HOW TO MAKE:
Video Tutorial:
If you prefer video tutorials, you can check this one out on my TikTok below!
Written Tutorial:
- Clean and dry your empty wine bottle.
- Wearing gloves, place your wine bottle on the cutting tool and rotate along the blade. Make sure to keep even pressure on the bottle – you should see a small, thin line left behind after the blade. Rotate for one full circle only.
- Place the wine bottle in your sink and pour boiled hot water over the cut.
- Then pour cold water over it.
- Alternate with hot and cold water until the bottle splits apart.
- Once you have two seperate parts, use sanding paper to dull the edges.
- Cut long strips of your absorbent material until it’s thick enough to fill the top of the wine bottle. (I use old socks as we always have a surplus lying around!) Plug these strips through the hole.
- Place the top of the wine bottle upside down in the base, then fill the top with soil and a plant, or seeds.
- Add water to the base of the wine bottle.
And that’s it!
This is such a fun and easy craft – not to mention, a practical use for old wine bottles. I would absolutely love to recreate this when I move to Canada, but get a full kitchen windowsill herb garden going!
Another fun use for old wine bottles is just to keep the bases as little vases. They’re great for storing craft supplies like beads – or hydroponic plant cuttings! You could even use them for plants you’re growing in LECA.
(In fact, that’s a great idea I wish I’d thought of pre-downsizing my collection! Especially with brown bottles as having dark containers helps to prevent algae growth. When I’m situated in Canada and start rebuilding my collection, we’ll have tons more plant-related posts, I’m sure!)
Anyways, we shall end at the end! I hope you enjoyed this handy little upcycle. It’s actually featured as my second-ever post on my new Instagram account – so make you follow me on there and drop me your @ so I can follow back!
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A self watering plant sounds like the absolute BEST idea! I’m rubbish with plants so this would be ideal for me x
They’re lifesavers! x
Such a good idea! Love that you can grab those bottles easily from Amazon too!
Shauna
http://www.lipglossandlace.net
Thank you, Shauna 🙂
What a great way to upcycle some wine bottles! Some of the labels on bottles are always brilliant, so this would make it a perfect excuse to keep them around!
Thank you for reading, Simona – I couldn’t agree more! Sometimes I buy wine specifically because the label is cute for these planters lol
What a great idea! Perfect for people who are busy or forget to water their plants! Thank you for sharing this diy hack!
Lauren – bournemouthgirl
Thanks for reading, Lauren 🙂
Such a great DIY! I didn’t know it was so easy to cut wine bottles like that! What a great fuss-free way to grow plants! thanks for sharing!
Hope that you are having a good weekend 🙂 Another sunny day here thankfully, helping things dry out after the floods!
I’m glad you guys are having sunny weather, Mica! 🙂 & Glad you liked the DIY – it sure is a handy way to grow plants!
Omg this is such an incredible idea! I love the look of these self-watering planters. Not only is it great that you’re reusing something but it’s super convenient as you never have to worry about watering your plants or overwatering! (Something I tend to do often by accident lol) Thank you for sharing Mia!
Thank you for reading! It’s definitely a handy DIY – I’m for sure using it for herbs and flowers in the future 🙂
This is a great idea! Can’t wait to see you take some of these ideas and crafts to canada 🙂
Corinne x
https://skinnedcartree.com
Thank you, Corinne! x
Oh, that’s so cool! I’ve never considered this before but that’s really awesome!
Lots of love,
Krissi of the marquise diamond
https://www.themarquisediamond.de/
Thanks for reading, Krissi! xx
This is a brilliant idea and these looks beautiful!
xoxo
Lovely
http://www.mynameislovely.com
Thank you, Lovely! xo
Oh my goodness, this post is heaven sent! I always have such trouble making sure my plants get the right amount of water as frequently as they need it, so this DIY is exactly what I needed to see. I would never have thought of this idea on my own! Thank you so much for sharing!
xoxo,
Sydney
http://www.thelotuslist.com
I’ve only started my plant-owning journey about 6 months ago and am so horrible at remembering to water them and at keeping them alive. I love this DIY and the fact that there is such an inexpensive bottle cutting device. I had no idea! I feel like that could be a fun thing to get and get creative with!
Oh wow this is such a great idea & I often forget to water my plants (the reason why all my plants are succulents & cacti haha) so this would be perfect for me!