Herbaceous flowers can survive when planted directly into an upside-down hanging planter made from a discarded soda bottle.

If you pick up a discarded soda bottle, what would you do with it? Most people would just throw it in the trash, but it can actually become a very practical hanging planter. The idea below is even better, because you can plant plants upside down in the soda bottle, that is, planting plants at both the bottom and the top of the soda bottle, letting the plants grow upside down.

Most plants have a certain degree of phototropism, meaning they grow toward the side with more sunlight. If you plant a plant upside down, it will still curve upward as it grows, so there is no need to worry that it will die.

Step one: prepare the soda bottles

First, prepare some clean soda bottles. After washing them clean, cut them appropriately, trimming off about 3 cm from the bottom of each bottle. You will also need some drilling tools and some hanging rope.

Step two: drill holes and set up the hanging rope

Next, drill holes in the bottom of the soda bottle, making four evenly spaced holes around the outer rim, then thread the hemp rope through them.

Before drilling, you can stick on some tape, which makes drilling easier.

Step three: insert aluminum foil

You can cut off a piece of aluminum foil, that is, tin foil, roll it into a cylinder shape, then stuff the aluminum foil into the bottle and spread it evenly.

The purpose of the aluminum foil is to prevent the soil from drying out in the sun. Normally, when we grow plants in soda bottles, a layer of green algae grows on the surface of the bottle, which looks very ugly, so this also improves the appearance. Adding aluminum foil also helps keep the plant roots warm and prevents them from freezing in winter.

Step four: plant the plants

Next, you need to choose some plants suitable for growing. If you choose to grow them on a windowsill, it is best to choose some easy-to-grow herbaceous plants, such as common herbs like basil, mint, parsley, cilantro, thyme and rosemary.

You can also grow some especially easy-to-grow plants such as lettuce, cherry tomatoes and ornamental peppers. You can directly prepare plant seedlings rather than choosing to grow them from seed, since that is very likely to fail.

Step five: add soil

Next, plant the seedlings directly at the top and bottom of the soda bottle, slowly adding soil. To prevent the seedlings planted at the top opening of the bottle from falling out directly, prepare a small mesh screen and lay it directly over the mouth of the soda bottle, then push the seedling roots in through it, and finally fill in the soil. This way the soda bottle can be hung upside down without letting the soil or seedlings fall out.

Step six: hang and grow

After planting, water thoroughly, let the excess water drain, then hang it in a ventilated spot with light, where it gets appropriate indirect light every day. Be careful to avoid keeping it in a closed environment or one without light.

If you are growing drought-tolerant plants such as thyme and rosemary, you do not need to water frequently; wait until the soil dries out completely, then water thoroughly. If you are growing moisture-loving plants such as mint or basil, you need to keep the soil moist.

During the plants' growth, you need to pinch off the tops regularly to encourage the plants to keep branching, so the hanging planter plants grow more vigorously.