One horticulturist found an excellent use for their empty pill bottles.
Sharing on the r/Propagation subreddit, they described their experiment with a new kind of propagation container.
The scoop
The original poster initially shared their propagation idea using empty pill bottles on the same subreddit 11 days prior.
In their initial post, they said, “I’ve started experimenting with water-propping using pill-bottles with a wide hole drilled in the top.”
Photo Credit: Reddit
Photo Credit: Reddit
Photo Credit: Reddit
Attaching a picture of a pill bottle propagation container, the OP showed a few pill bottles filled halfway with water and a plant cutting nested between a small hole in the pill bottle lid.
“Once the cutting roots, I transition to a slurry of water and vermiculite or water and perlite to encourage root branching for a week or so, then to a solid medium,” the OP described. “Seems to work well.”
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In an update post, they showed a series of photos of successful propagations of olive and grape cuttings, using the very pill bottle propagation idea they came up with.
The pill bottles sit on a tiny window ledge, taking up very little space.
How it’s helping
You can avoid buying single-use plastic products, but it’s much more difficult to opt out of plastic pill bottles when they’re often the standard method of dispensing medication.
Once they’ve fulfilled their purpose, you’ve accumulated a bunch of empty pill bottles with no clear second use.
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Repurposing them for propagating plants is a great way to make use of what you already have to create new plant life, and they can also make unique gifts for friends.
As the OP testified, these propagation bottles are effective while being space-saving. The tiny bottles also make it easy to reduce wasted water, with less required compared to small jars or vases.
Others have used empty pill bottles to create useful fire starter kits, seed storage containers, and to keep craft supplies.
These are all creative ways to reduce and recycle plastic waste, which diverts extra trash from landfills and stops these items from contributing to planet-warming pollution.
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What everyone’s saying
Commenters were impressed with the ingenuity of this DIY project.
“Holy smokes, this is a superb idea for all my extra bottles!” one user commented.
“That’s a cool idea,” another commenter said.
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