What you’ll need:
- 2–liter soda bottle (label removed) - scissors - knife - 2 sheets of paper towel - permanent marker - small, pre–grown Basil plant - regular soil
Make the Container:
1. Draw a line around the circumference of the bottle about 4 inches from the bottom. You can use a regular–sized can to estimate this height.
2. Puncture along the line with the knife (keep the cap on).
3. Cut along the line with the scissors until the bottom and top are separated.
4. Make about 8 incisions in the top half of the bottle. At each, make two parallel slits with the knife — about an eighth of an inch apart — then make two slices perpendicular to these and remove the extra plastic. These holes will allow the soil to breath and drain.
5. Take one sheet of paper towel, fold it twice, and roll until it's a flat strip about as wide as the cap.
6. Take the second sheet of paper towel and cut or rip it in half. Place the towel strip into one of these half sheets. Gather the excess towel around the strip.
7. Remove the bottle cap and place the towels into the bottle’s opening from the inside. The flare of the outer towel should come up into the container, toward the small holes. The towel will help filter the water up into the soil.
8. Place the top half of the bottle (the section with the towels), into the bottom half. The cap end should almost touch the bottom of the bottle. If it does not, trim the bottom half of the container with the scissors until the towel almost reaches the bottom.
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Plant the Basil:
9. Remove the top half of the bottle.
10. Fill the bottom half of the container with water just above where the paper towels peek out from the bottle opening.
11. Replace the top half of the bottle and fill with soil. Make sure to leave a hole about twice the width and depth of the basil plant’s ball of roots.
12. Place the roots into hole and cover with soil, compacting lightly.
13. Water the soil.
14. Basil grows best in warm, sunny conditions, so place your container on a windowsill with light for at least 6 hours per day and keep the soil moist but well drained.
