"WICKED" WONDERS
Here is a great way to start seeds and recycle your empty plastic soda bottles at the same time. These "Wicked" Wonders are easy to set up, self-watering and make great permanent homes for small plants, herbs and African Violets.
Use your two or three-liter plastic bottles that soda is sold in, with caps intact.
Note: You can also use your smaller water bottles for planting smaller seeds.
"Wicked" Wonders Cut the top 5 inches off each bottle, then punch (I use an ice pick) or drill a small hole through the center of each cap.
Next place a 6-8” (shorter for water bottles) long, 1/4" to 1/2" wide piece of cotton string or shoelace through the hole in the cap so that 3” of string extends out on either side.
Fill the bottom of the bottle with 2-1/2” of a commercial liquid fertilizer or homemade compost tea, invert the top half of the bottle and set it down inside the bottom half. The top should be inserted just far enough so that the cotton wick touches the bottom of the bottle, but the cap remains clear of the liquid. Next, fill the inverted bottle top with your seed starting mix. (PsNature sells a great seed-starting blend, Texas Hydro-Blast, a mixture of vermiculite/peat moss/perlite). Place your seeds on top of the soil and cover with a thin (1/8”) layer of soil or vermiculite, and press down lightly. Cover the soil with plastic wrap or a plastic lid (or another bottle top) until the seeds sprout. 
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You can dress up your bottles by painting them with craft paint, which takes a while to dry. I've done that and they look a little nicer. Then again, Grandmother Dye always said;
"Pretty is as Pretty does."
These are great low-maintenance containers for starting seeds and taking root cuttings too!
See you next time! Peggy Wells
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