DIY a vertical vegetable garden from plastic bottles - once you've mastered it, you'll never need to buy vegetables again

For growing plants in the city,

the biggest obstacle isn't pests or drought...

it's - not! enough! space!

Today I'll teach you a super trick for growing vegetables and flowers on a balcony!

It was invented by Belgian botany professor Willem Van Cotthem, teaching everyone to make a small vertical vegetable garden from plastic bottles - it saves space and is simple to do! Celery, cilantro, garlic sprouts, lettuce, spinach... all these vegetables that families often eat can be grown, and you can also grow fruits like strawberries and tomatoes. Of course, growing flowers works great too! Let's learn together!

First, you need an ordinary mineral water bottle.

Take scissors and cut off the bottom of the mineral water bottle.

Use scissors to poke a few drainage holes in the top part of the mineral water bottle; note that the cap of the first bottle at the bottom should be kept on.

Put the pre-mixed nutrient soil into the bottle (the soil ratio can be like this: peat soil : perlite : vermiculite mixed at a ratio of 4:1:1, and mixed evenly).

Fix the soil-filled bottle upside down on an upright rack, railing or wall.

Following the above steps, cut off the bottoms and fill with soil for multiple plastic bottles; note that for the bottles in the middle, remove the caps from the top parts, and there is no need to drill drainage holes.

Like this, while filling with soil, stack the plastic bottles upside down on top of each other.

Place the stacked plastic bottles upside down into the plastic bottle at the very bottom.

Fix it on a rack, railing or wall with rope or tape.

Take another plastic bottle, put the cap on, and use a tool to make a drainage hole in the cap.

Cut off the bottom of this plastic bottle, then place it upside down at the very top of the string of plastic bottles.

Add water to the plastic bottle at the very top.

The water gradually flows out through the drainage hole of the topmost plastic bottle.

The water passes through the soil and the drainage holes, gradually seeping down to the lower layers, until it reaches the very bottom.

Starting from the bottom, use a knife to cut a square window in each plastic bottle; note that you should only cut the top, left and right three sides of the square, and do not cut off the bottom side.

Open the plastic flap, and use your finger or a hole punch to poke a hole inward.

Plant the vegetables, flowers or seeds you want to grow into it.

And so on, do the same for the other bottles. Note that the top 1-2 bottles are used for storing and pouring water, so do not punch holes in them.

Done. For watering, you can pour from the plastic bottle above; for fertilizing, you can dissolve fertilizer into water and apply it as liquid fertilizer.

A few months later, it's lush and green, full of vitality!

This kind of small vertical vegetable garden can also be grown on walls and wooden racks. It's simple and easy to do, saves money and is eco-friendly, fresh and delicious, and your family will never need to spend money on vegetables again.