The Shed

 

Ahh the ol' plastic bottle cloche trick. As we speak my lettuce seedlings are covered by a cloche made out of clear plastic pop bottles halved lengthways down the middle. Cut the top off where it curls round to the neck and join the cut ends with a strip of gaffer tape. The 2 litre size - or bigger is preferable. I haven't tried this with coloured bottles yet but I would assume the more transparent the better. The cloches are held in place with small sticks crossed across the top. You'll need a hacksaw to cut the bottom as the plastic is really tough. I can see why they pose the environmental threat.

 

I also heard about using plaggy bottles to water your plants whilst you're away on holiday. Cut the bottom off and glue a 6-9" section of overflow pipe into the top of the bottle. Find a way of blocking the end of the pipe and drill a few very small holes into the overflow pipe. stick the pipe/bottle combo into the soil near your plant and fill with water. I can't say how many holes and what size they should be, you'll need to experiment, but the idea is to trickle feed the water to the plant. For added insurance I'd also support the bottle just in case it topples over - especially if using this indoors.

 

If anyone tries this can you let me know how you get on please.