Tuesday, October 6, 2009

DIY Watering Can

Happy Birthday, Dear Hawai'i Gardening Blog!


It's the second anniversary of this here blog thing. To celebrate, let's make ourselves a very thoughtful, very inexpensive gardening gift.


Watch it in action. You'll want one.


DIY WATERING CAN


Stuff You'll Need


Plastic laundry detergent bottle

Drill with bit that makes tiny holes

Utility knife


Rinse out bottle thoroughly. Drill plenty of holes in the cap. To allow air to flow into the bottle and keep the water free flowing, cut a hole near the cap in the handle – not to close to the cap, otherwise the water spills out there, too.


I make these and donate them to community and school garden projects. Makes a nice cheapo gift for any gardener who doesn't like to drag out the power tools themselves. Sure, laundry detergent bottles are #2 recyclable. But if you have to have those bottles anyway, reuse is better than recycle.

10 comments:

Betsi said...

Stumbled across your blog - beautiful! I'm moving to hawaii in a few weeks, so I'm sure I'll be back to the blog to learn some more tricks.
I have used this homemade watering can trick with smaller bottles too to make an indoor mister for windowsill plants.

Ann Wurden said...

What a great idea!! Here in Montana, recycling is sketchy at best. Our little town recycles plastic, but only clear pop and milk jugs - I know, I can't believe it. We took several laundry detergent jugs down to recycle and were turned away. So, I'm very pleased to see this ides. Thank you for posting it!

poljoprivreda said...

great idea. your blog is amazing.

Sonia said...

Really the idea is simple and great !!
Love that kind of things

http://eltrasterillodeirina.blogspot.com

Sonia said...

WooooHooo Janice for your watering can being featured in the
www.re-nest.com 's
‎5 Eco-Friendly Watering Cans (Including One DIY Project) | Apartment Therapy Re-Nest

Anonymous said...

It's the simple things that are best. Here's another less fabulous use for them. Make the switch to chemical free detergent and make your own, but save up the bottles you have now. The make great containers, since that's what they were made to be and the caps are the perfect measuring cup. To make your own detergent just mix 3/4 each of borax, washing soda, white vinegar, and castille soap (liquid) with enough hot water to nearly fill the container 1/2 way. Shake well, let cool, fill the rest of the way with warm water and let sit 1-7days before using. This will keep indefinitely, has not harmful chemicals (to humans, pets, or the environment) and it's a fraction of the cost of the store bought stuff. Cheers!

Unknown said...

Awesome idea! Thanks for sharing :)

Anonymous said...

Great idea! I think I'll make one and also keep a lid wihtout holes to mix up my liquid fertilizer etc. I think if I just keep a finger over the hole in the handle it will work! Can't wait to try it!

Anonymous said...

Love this idea. Thinking of decorating one and letting the kids give it to their Grandad who loves his little flower gardens. Our son is type 1 diabetic. We use these containers to safely dispose of sharps and needles.

Screwed Up Texan said...

The video is SO CUTE! Love the whistling :)

Congratulations for being featured on Living Locurto!