Water Bottle Plant-Watering System | ~ Texas Homesteader ~

by Texas Homesteader ~
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I tested a plant watering system that uses a porous terracotta stake & a repurposed water bottle or empty glass wine bottle to hold the water.

Well color me intrigued! But how did it work?

(Note: Some links in this post are for further information from earlier posts I’ve written. But links preceded with * are affiliate links. If you click them and buy something (almost anything, not just the item noted) I could receive a tiny commission. But the price you pay will NOT change. It’s an easy way to support this blog without anything coming out of your pocket. So click often! Thank you!)

How To Keep Outside Planters Watered

It’s summer in Texas, and as it typically does it’s turned hot and DRY! I struggle to keep the potted plants healthy & watered, especially during the heat of summer.

I was interested in terracotta plant stakes that use a repurposed water bottle to keep potted plants watered.

My Thoughts, Open & Honest

It’s easy to find various sizes, styles and manufacturers of *terra cotta watering stakes on Amazon, so you can easily pick the one that suits your needs.

The Plant Nanny folks agreed to send me one of their terracotta plant stakes to try.

Now while the fine folks at Plant Nanny did send a couple of their watering stakes to me to review for you at no cost to me, the opinions and review in this post are all me!

Terracotta Water Spike’s Eco-Friendly Features

I was intrigued with this plant watering stake for two BIG reasons:

- - It’s made of terracotta, not plastic (I HATE plastic!)
  - It uses a repurposed water bottle, which means less to the recycling bin. (I repurposed a GLASS bottle instead of a plastic one!)

They also have a larger Plant Nanny watering spike that uses repurposed glass wine bottles. Their product is manufactured in China.

How The Plant Nanny Watering Stake Works

The smaller-sized watering stake comes with a screw-on top equipped with a rubber gasket. You screw the top onto the repurposed water bottle and the elongated section drops down into the terracotta stake and allows the water to flow into the watering stake.

I actually found a glass bottle that fit into my Plant Nanny system.

Since the stake is made of terracotta, the water seeps out slowly through the porous material of the stake and into the surrounding soil, thereby delivering water underground.

That means the water is delivered directly where it’s needed – the roots!

Setting Up My Watering Stake

I used my garden spade to gently loosen and remove a section of soil to receive the terracotta spike.

I’d think if you just tried to shove this stake into your soil it could damage the stake.

Then I took my glass bottle and filled it with rainwater, screwed on the Plant Nanny screw top, turned the bottle upside down and placed it into the watering stake.

As the surrounding soil dries, water is drawn through the porous material and delivered to the soil and the plant’s roots.

How Did The Terracotta Watering Stake Work?

I found that during the heat of summer the watering stake was having a hard time keeping the entire planter fully watered. So I had to drop a little water on it about every week or so to keep it happy.

Perhaps the planter is just too big for one of these stakes to keep up.

Hints When Using Terracotta Water Spike:

- - Using darker glass helps protect against excess algae growth inside the bottle.
  - I’ve also read that if you add fertilizer to the water in the bottle, it can collect within the terracotta material over time & make it less effective.
  - The Plant Nanny folks also sell beautiful *glass watering globes which is nice for decorative inside plants!

Summary: I loved it – but I may need 2!

I love that these water stakes deliver water directly to the plant roots. And I especially love the plant watering stakes are made of terracotta. Plus, the water conservation aspect is hugely important to me.

Although my cement planter needed a little extra watering help in our Texas summer heat, I’m thinking perhaps an additional stake in the planter may solve that problem.

I love the Plant Nanny brand I have. But if you want to check out different brands of plant-watering stakes you can find various sizes & brands on on Amazon *HERE.

Other Ways To Conserve Water During Dry Months

Here are other ways I’m able to conserve that precious water during hot and dry summer months:

We have 3 Simple Rainwater Collection Systems

Clay Pots As Ollas In The Garden

Using Straw For Heavy Moisture-Saving Mulch

Collecting Leaves For Garden Health

Vining Plants for Living Mulch for the Garden

Biodegradable Weed Block

Cattle Trough To Keep Trees Watered in Drought

Repurposed Coffee Cans to Deep Soak Garden Plants

Plastic Jars For Deep Soaking Potted Plants

Growing The Most Hardy Plants for our Area

Usually by incorporating these ideas I’m able to see my beloved garden through those brutal dry summer months.

~TxH~

This post categorized in

My Favorite Garden Hacks

Garden Planning

Seed Planting

Soil Health

Garden Styles

Garden Plants/Harvest

Water/Irrigation/Drought

Weed Control

Garden Tips

12 thoughts on “Repurposed Water Bottle Plant Watering System”

Michelle at

Really cool idea! I want the wine bottle one!

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  The wine bottle Plant Nanny is cool, Michelle. I used a blue Riesling bottle for it and it’s currently keeping my huge zucchini plant watered. ~TxH~
  
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Cathy Lawdanski at

What a clever idea. Great, detailed review. Thanks!

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  We’re doing whatever we can to conserve water – there’s been no rain here for two weeks and none planned for the next 10 days at least, but the temps are tickling 100 degrees each day. ~TxH~
  
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Carol at

I have heard of this system but have not tried it. Thanks for sharing.

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  So far this system has worked well keeping the plants in my planters watered – potted plants are always such a challenge for me! ~TxH~
  
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Teresa at

I just bought a 4 pack from Amazon yesterday and got them today (love Prime!) I presoaked it for an hour and then put in a pot. I hope it will work because I can’t trust that my family will water my plants well while I am gone!

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  Awesome Teresa. I’m with you – nobody’s gonna water my plants for me when I’m gone, so I might as well set things up for my short absence. Let us know how you like ’em! ~TxH~
  
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ColleenB.~Texas at

Looks like they would be great for container plants but maybe not so good for tomato plants or other large veggie plants being they take a lot of water and need to be watered deeply.
I have used milk containers by putting small holes in the bottom and filling up the milk container with water and putting cap back on or using pipe with holes in it for water to run through. Have also used 2 liter soda bottles for drip irrigation. Many items a person can use for drip irrigation around plants.

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  I’ve been experimenting with all kinds of repurposed drip-irrigation type things lately Colleen. My hose busted while RancherMan & I were away and drained ALL the rainwater from our cistern! Grrrrrr… I’m doing everything I can to tread lightly on my irrigation water source. ~TxH~
  
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Khadija at

I wonder if they’d fit Perrier bottles? I suspect your thyme will grow more voluptuously now that it has its own water source.

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1. Texas Homesteader Post author at
  
  I’m not sure Khadija, I’ll be experimenting with various different bottles to see what fits, looks nicest and still does the job. Let me know if you try the Perrier bottles and how they work for you! ~TxH~
  
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