basil in self-watering containers

So I've finally found time to make images of this basil project of mine. The first true leaves have sprouted and I figured this is as good a time as any to post about my burgeoning green pinkie (thumb's still quite black, I killed the cilantro plant that's the backdrop for some of the basil pictures). Considering my mother can kill plants with her (literally) withering glance, it's pretty amazing that I haven't totally killed these seedlings. I'm pretty sure this luck in gardening is due to the self-watering containers I've made for the seedlings...

These self-watering containers are made of 2-liter soda bottles according to Topper's website. One of the perks of working with electronics is the multitudes of soldering irons lying around. I then found that the bottles filled with soil and stagnant water to be a little unsightly since they were going on my livingroom windowsill. So, I cut 1" wide strips of plastic grocery bags (white and blue from Albertson's; orange-ish from Safeway) at a bias and knit up some bottle cozies. The orange-ish cozy is knit with a horizontal herringbone pattern discovered on Ravelry. The white and blue cozy is done in stockingette with short-row shaping to make the wavy scallops.

I found that one bottle worked well to house around 3/4 of a gallon of soil (which, according to the internets, is a good amount for a single basil plant). I refill the reservoir with water every couple of days, though this last weekend (2 weeks after planting) I scrubbed out some greenish gook before refilling. I'll start pinching off the smaller seedlings soon. Pesto, here I come!

More pictures to come as me pretties mature...