It's common knowledge that plants require water to grow. However, the way you water your plants might impact their health because of inefficient or wasteful watering methods.
Australian TikToker and fruit and vegetable gardener busychrisgardening (@busychrisgardening) shared a hack to help you save time and measure how much water you give your plants.
@busychrisgardening I love this hack. I used to waste so much time standing, watering my garden with a hose or watering can. This is a direct way to water roots and less water on top of the leaves and I know how much water each plant gets. #reuse #reuseplastic #reuseplasticbottle #grow #food #hack #wateringhack #wateringmadeeasy #growyourown #vegetables #fruit #novicegardener #gardenenthusiast #gardenanarchy #learntogrow #noworriesgardening #learntogrowyourownfood #southernhemisphergardening #busychrisgardening ♬ I'M SORRY - DVRST
The scoop
In her viral video, busychrisgardening explained how to repurpose an old plastic bottle, cut off its base, and remove the lid. Then, she demonstrated how to bury it next to a plant's base and fill it with water.
"I used to waste so much time standing, watering my garden with a hose or watering can," she wrote in the caption. "This is a direct way to water roots and less water on top of the leaves and I know how much water each plant gets."
How it's working
The TikTok gardener's hack is brilliant because it reduces the amount of time spent watering plants and provides a more accurate measure of how much water they receive compared to drenching plants for an undetermined amount of time with a hose.
It is a low-cost yet effective way to direct water to the plants' roots and get a better idea of how much water each plant needs. This is useful information, especially if you grow your own food.
Meanwhile, her hack reuses plastic bottles that may otherwise end up in landfills and saves water to cut monthly utility bills and conserve resources.
Upcycling plastic bottles is an excellent way to get creative, save money, and reduce plastic waste. Other people have used plastic bottles to create plant vases and make DIY brooms for household cleaning tasks.
What people are saying
Many TikTokers loved this hack and are now trying it for their own plants. Other gardeners also made suggestions to improve the original poster's hack and make it even more effective.
"Could you poke holes in the cap to slow water the area?" one TikToker asked, to which the creator replied, "That sounds like a great idea."
Another user commented, "This is such a cool hack…definitely going to do this."
"Been thinking of doing something like this too," someone else said.
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