How to make a vegetable garden in a bottle on a windowsill?
In winter, you want to pamper yourself with vitamins! You can buy greens, but they will not be as tasty and healthy as homemade ones. And you can easily grow it at home, because there is nothing complicated in this process. All you need is a few plastic bottles, soil, seeds, and a light-colored windowsill. Such a garden will not take a lot of time, but the results will be, as they say, on the face - the whole winter fresh greens right "from the garden" to the table. So, how to make a vegetable garden in a bottle on the windowsill in the simplest way and what can be grown on it?
Multi-tiered onion bed
Such a garden does not take up much space and will allow you to get more greenery than just growing onions in a pot. You will need a plastic bottle to create a multi-tiered bed. You can take a two-liter bottle, but if there are many fans of crunching green feathers, it is better to use a five-liter bottle. Planting onions can be pre-germinated.
Further manufacturing technology is as follows:
- Wash and dry the plastic bottle well. The main thing is that there are no residues of sweet water or other drinks in it, since they will contribute to the development of mold and destroy the future harvest.
- Cut out the bottom of the bottle (only the central part) - earth will be poured through it.
- Then cut off the top around the neck - it will serve as the bottom.
- Make holes for the fit around the entire circumference of the bottle. The size of the holes depends on the desire and the method of fit. If you use large bulbs, cut the openings for them accordingly. When planting small bulbs, make holes in a circle with a hot nail. In the following rows, place the holes in a checkerboard pattern. Do not make them too close to each other - this will break the stability of the structure.
- Put the prepared base in a pot with its neck, support it well with stones and fill in the drainage. If you wish, you can not turn the bottle over, but put it as usual - on the bottom. Then the upper part near the neck does not need to be cut off at all, or simply not cut to the end so that you can open and fill the soil.
- It is also advisable to lay out a drainage layer at the bottom of the mini-garden.
- Filling the bottle with seedling soil also depends on the choice of bulbs. When planting large bulbs, fill the bottle completely with earth immediately, while making sure that it sags well. The bulbs themselves will then need to be stuck into the holes made from the outside.
- The technology for planting small bulbs is somewhat different. First, pour a 5 cm layer of earth, tamp lightly. Put the bulbs in a circle, while putting the tails in the small holes made by the nail. Next, sprinkle them with earth and plant the next layer-rows in the same way.
- At the top of the garden, you can also plant one large or several small onions.
- Pour well with water and place on a light windowsill.
The garden is ready, further care for it includes regular watering. Also, the bottle is periodically turned towards the sun as the green feathers are pulled out.
Mini garden bed for spicy herbs
The easiest way to plant spicy herbs like dill and parsley is to plant them in a cut plastic bottle or other plastic container. To do this, make holes at the bottom for drainage, fill the bottle with soil and sow seeds.
Cover the bottle with cling film on top. Remove the film after emergence. Basil, mint, spinach, and even radishes can be planted in the same way.