If the idea of creating a mini-forest of PVC trees seems unsightly, I think it SHOULD work without a lot of pipe sticking above-ground, as long as you water the pipes more often, and throw in a shovelful of compost every so often.
Carried to an extreme, the two ideas are almost the same, if you buried foraygardengirl's bottles more deeply, and filled them with compostable materials. (And, probably, poked the holes open if they get clogged.)
Now I recall that the person who originally posted the idea loved worms, and liked the idea that worms would be attracted to the pipe, crawl in through the holes, and back out again with a gut-full of composty stuff.
