Have you ever considered making your own paper pots for your transplants or to start seeds in? I've done it off and on for years and I actually think that the paper pots break down quicker in the garden than peat pots do. If you use empty cans to make them, you can change the size of them to whatever you want, anywhere from a small tomato paste can up to a big juice can. These work equally well whether you're starting vegetable seeds, flower seeds or herb seeds and are especially handy to use for starting the seeds of plants that resent root disturbance. I make up a bunch of pots, fill them with soil, then put them in a flat to see how many it will hold, then all Winter long, while watching TV at night, I make pots and put them in grocery sacks in quantities that will fill a flat, then I tie them shut and hang them on nails in the basement ceiling near my lighted plant stands. When it comes time to plant, I just grab a sack and they're all counted out and ready to fill with soil. Another way to store them if you have the room in a garage or basement is to fill the pots with dry seed starting mix and put them in flats as you make them. Because dry seed starting mix is light, you can just stack the filled flats on top of each other and when you're ready to plant, so are they, just water them from the bottom and let them wick it up. Roots grow through the pots very easily, so if you start your seeds in small pots, later on you can just whip up a few larger pots to transplant your young plants into, pot and all with no root disturbance. There's a link to a video showing how to make them below. Try it and make a couple. The most you'll be out is a few sheets of newspaper and I think you'll end up liking them as much as I do. John What the video doesn't show and something that I do is when I make these ahead of time to store empty, after folding the bottom, before pressing on it to crease it, I press it down on a wet folded washcloth. If you crease it when it's damp, it will hold it's shape better when it dries out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8qPAV-LDnM
I made 100 newspaper pots this year and will continue to make then every year. They were easy to make and there is always plenty of newspaper around.
That is an excellent tip that I will have to try out. I generally don't start things from seed but thought I might give it a whirl next year, 'cuz y'all do!
MaryAnn, if you're serious about trying it next spring, consider buying your seed starting soil or mix now before summer advances too far. In late Winter when I want to start seedlings many stores don't have their gardening stuff out yet and I can't find any. John
I had never heard of making newspaper pots until I saw it on here. I tried it and have successfully transplanted zinnias, lupines and poppies. The seeds germinated better in the newspaper pots than in the peat pots I tried before. Thanks for such a great idea. Plus it's "green" because I'm recycling old newspapers.
This is such a cool idea! I have 2 granddaughters here this weekend and can't wait to try this! Thanks for the info. Gransan3
I made a few of these over the weekend to use in my very first seed-starter-setup. Very simple to make (and fun!) I used a glass, and made them a bit thicker. They held the soil...soaked up the water and held together nicely.
