by Dawn Merritt
Water Bottle Color?
2:43 pm in made from scratch (without a kit), Materials and Resources by Dawn Merritt
Just putting together my new Windowfarm, which I’m trying to complete with as much recycled materials possible. Do I need to paint the bottles white to stop sunlight from getting to the roots? I have 4 new spray cans of paint at home, enamel in blue, black, & hunter green, and one gray primer can. I also have many cans of old wall paint lying around, as I stated, I’d like to recycle or use what’s collecting dust! Many thanks!
Hi Dawn, It’s great that you are trying to use what is available at home. That is what I did with my windowfarm. BUT, I did not like the spray paint that I had purchased so I used a brush and painted the bottom part of the bottles dark brown and then for better looks I covered the brown with white. Roots must have a dark place to grow – that is why we windowfarmers somehow make the area as dark as we can. Happy windowfarming and good luck. Sylvia from Indiana USA
You basically are just trying to stop the light from coming in. I use black myself because I have a spray paint bottle of it.
As long as its opaque its fine. Recycle away!
If roots receive light, they will grow into stems instead. So the bottles must be opaque. The water reservoir should be opaque as well to prevent algae growth. Once I get my system running properly, I intend to switch to opaque tubing as well.
others comments are spot on. I’ve even used aluminum foil successfully. No spray VOC that way. (But it looks tacky, of course.)