MENLO PARK — After enjoying a bottle of wine, you probably discard the empty bottle into the recycling bin. However, did you know that empty bottle can be used to irrigate a plant on your landscape?
Here’s how it works: Fill the empty wine bottle with water and take it over to a plant in your yard. Turn the bottle upside down and place it into the soil near the plant’s root zone. Upon entering the soil, a plug will form in the bottle’s neck, which will keep the water from immediately draining out. Over the next few weeks, the water in the bottle will gradually seep into the soil, providing the plant with a slow, steady supply of irrigation.
This method is especially handy if you don’t have an automatic irrigation system on your property. Besides saving water, it saves you time, since you’ll no longer need to hand-water your plants each day. A single 1.5 liter wine bottle can deliver water to a plant for anywhere from four to six weeks. Even if you prefer smaller bottles of wine, these can still give you a couple of weeks’ worth of irrigation from a single fill-up. Keep in mind that bottles tend to empty faster in dry soil.
In light of the drought conditions we’ve experienced lately in California, this method offers a convenient and water-wise solution for irrigating your landscape. It’s also convenient if you’re going out of town and don’t have someone to water your plants in your absence.