Waterless home nurseries - start yours now!

Feb 08, 2018

Cape Town is facing a severe drought. Residents in the city face water restrictions, and it becomes increasingly difficult to use water for irrigation. In response to this, Communitree is rolling out a waterless home nursery programme. We are inviting volunteers to take care of specific plant species that can thrive even if they do not receive water for several months. This is done by creating a mini greenhouse. How? By using empty bottles! 

To create a "greenhouse in a bottle", all you have to do is:

• Cut the bottle in half
• Fill the bottom with sandy soil and plant the offcut
• Water the offcut (you only do this once in the beginning!)
• Make some vertical cuts in the top half and slide it back on the bottom half
• Leave the bottle with the lid on outside of direct sunlight

That's it!

If you have empty bottles (1.5 litres or larger) available, then you can now start your home nursery! Communitree has seeds and offcuts of indigenous vegetation available that can be planted. If you can take care of these plants for 3-4 months, then we can plant them out in public spaces to help green Cape Town!

Communitree works throughout the city, but for the 2018 winter season we have identified various priority sites. Click here to see our map with the different greening sites including our priority sites. If you sign up as a volunteer to create your own home nursery, then we will provide you with the right plant material. All you have to do is get your bottles ready, get some sandy soil, and sign up online.

Sign up now