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Seed Starting Pots From Newspaper

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I’ve begun to gather supplies I will need to start seeds for my garden.  Mike was busy yesterday hanging plant lights while I made little pots from newspaper.  I have some plastic starting trays, but not quite enough for the seeds I plan to start, so rather than purchase more plastic, I recycled newspaper into pots. I made 8 dozen pots in under an hour. Here’s how it’s done:

Cut each full sheet of newspaper into four.

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Fold each square into thirds.

Roll the folded paper around a small juice glass so that about an inch or less of it overlaps the bottom of the glass. Tape with a small piece of masking tape which will eventually decompose along with the newspaper.

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To form the bottom of the pot, fold the newspaper down on the bottom of the glass and tape.

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Press down to flatten the bottom of the pot.

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Remove the pot and you are done!

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300 x 250To learn how to build a garden that builds healthy soil, be sure to check out my eBook The Art of Gardening: Building Your Soil. You really can become a better gardener, and you really can grow healthy, nourishing produce. It’s all about the soil! Click here to buy now.

Thank you for visiting Learning And Yearning. May "the LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace." Num 6:24-26


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  5. Great post! I had actually requested a carved wooden thing called the NViroPotter for Christmas to do this specifically. I clicked on your post because I was going to show my sister, thinking “hey that woman has that little tool I wanted but didn’t get!” but then I saw you used a juice glass, which is even more awesome. I will definitely try it! I’ve been saving toilet paper and paper towel rolls for seed starting. 🙂

    Reply

    • I think the toilet paper and paper towel rolls are a great idea! I’ve seen the wooden thing to which you are referring but I thought I could figure out a way to do the same thing without it. It’s really easy, too.

      Reply

    • Rosalyn, I just planted a bunch of seeds using toilet paper rolls, but have found that the glue tends to come loose when I water them and they unravel. Make sure that you have the rolls packed tightly in a box or something to hold them together.

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      • Hi! Thanks for the comment–I did plant my seeds in toilet paper rolls and I did notice a couple of them starting to unravel. Most of them are intact now, just because I packed them pretty tightly (one pumpkin seedling pushed the roll up and off as if it was taking off a sweater or something!). I’ve been meaning now to get some newspaper pots made so I can transplant some of the bigger seedlings into something with a bottom, so their roots don’t spread out around the rolls. That is another little drawback. But for the most part, they work pretty well. 🙂

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        • That is my plan too. I need to transfer a few of my seedlings, and the paper pots seem to be the right size. I agree that the rolls worked pretty well. I did this as a project with my kindergarten class. The rolls were easier to use with them, but I intend to use the paper myself.

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  10. Terrific idea! – thank you for sharing. I linked onto your site from the Homestead Barn Hop. I do have a couple questions for you. Do you use regular potting soil to fill each of the cups? When you water them before transplanting, does the newspaper hold up well? I made about 30 of them tonight with today’s paper and was wondering how to use them now that they are sitting here waiting so patiently! Any more advice you can share would be wonderful. Glad to have found your site!

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    • Hi! Glad you found us as well! Your questions are great. Rather than potting soil, I purchase a mix made specifically for starting seeds. These are generally soilless and are less prone to disease. A good garden center should be able to help you. I have found that the newspaper holds up just fine. By the time I am ready to set my plants out in the garden they have begun to decompose but are not falling apart.

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  12. Thanks for sharing your idea. Anything that we can do to re-use and recycle is terrific. Now we all want to see the terrific seedlings that you are going to grow in all of those little pots! Happy Spring!

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  15. Excellent! free and biodegradable. Love this. Thank you so much for sharing at Rural Thursday Blog Hop — I’m sure everyone will love this tutorial. 🙂

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  21. Sure hopes this works for you better than it did for me when I tried it last year! The pots grew so much mold in our cool house that the seedlings were stunted. 🙁 I’m back to using my recycled plastic pots.

    Glad you shared at the TGP and I really look forward to seeing more of your garden (and how those pots work) !

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  23. Hi and thanks for the tip- long story short, I’m preparing to work with our Keepers 4-H club on starting seeds for a butterfly garden project for our local library. I was looking for a way to recycle things we have “in our hand”….I’m excited about reading more. I also glanced at “Born-Again Dirt” and just made it my #1 item on my birthday wish list!!

    We live in a lovely rural NC community – I have a heart for sharing God’s creation with others- we’re working on establishing a Monarch habitat/butterfly garden/ outdoor classroom at our library, so the timing for this is perfect!!

    Blessings,
    Deb

    Reply

    • Hi Deb, your projects sound so wonderful! I was incredibly blessed by “Born-Again Dirt” and I hope you will be as well. If you are inclined, when you do decide to order, please click through my link. That way, I make a small percentage. I’m just trying to off set time I spend on my blog. Thanks for visiting!

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  24. I have tried the toliet paper rolls last year. The theory is great, but they are not practical. The way they hold water (or don’t hold water) is the hardest part to keep up with. Once you get that figured out and you need to move things around they have no stability, they simply fall apart. They also can mold, so you really need to keep a fan going. I love to recycle and be thrifty, but in my opinion you should not waste your time with these methods, as well as the egg carton (not enough room,etc). Save your seed trays from year to year. Taking care to not crunch them, and wash and bleach with a 10% solution every season. I have had some for 5 years! I don’t want to offend anyones ideas, but I have tried first hand.

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    • Hi Heather, thanks for stopping by and sharing your experience. I’ve used the newspaper pots for several years and have had success. Perhaps you are overwatering, if you are having a mold problem.

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    • Hello All- I used toilet paper rolls last year to transplant my aspargus that I started from seed. It worked out really well since I left the TP roll up about 1/2 above the soil. It made it easy to water them (water pooled inside) and easy to find them. I’ll have to see how they look once the snow melts- they will be 1 year old and ready to transplant from the nursery bed to the permanent bed. I’ll use this method since I ran out of tp rolls last year. I’ve got some ornamental grass seeds in a 1 lb fresh green mix plastic box in tp rolls. These packages make excellent little green houses. I save all of mine and raid the recycle trash of my local organic restaurant for their plastic containers with covers. With tp rolls holding the baby grass plants I will not pull them up with the regular weeding.

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  25. I like this idea, but I too was thinking they may collapse when wet. I might try and few and see how they work. If not for seeds I may find another use for this little trick. Thanks. 🙂

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  28. I never seem to have enough newspaper to do this. Hmmm, I will have to search for paper that is being tossed out. Thanks for sharing this on The HomeAcre Hop!!! Can’t wait to see what you share this coming Thursday 🙂 Here’s the super easy link to the next hop!
    http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/02/the-homeacre-hop-8.html

    If you haven’t checked out Wildcrafing Wednesday yet, please do! 🙂 It’s a hop I co-host for herbal remedies, natural living, real food recipes, and self sufficient living. Here’s the link for tomorrow’s hop:
    http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/02/wildcrafting-wednesday-10.html

    Reply

  29. I love this idea since I am trying to garden this year without spending more than I will save! (Although healthy and handy veggies are a reward in themselves, being frugal about it makes it even better!) here is my question: can anyone tell me why it is important to start with small seed-starting pots and continue to transplant into bigger sizes until they are ready to transplant outside?

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    • Well, I don’t. Since seedlings are generally in their pots for only 6 – 8 weeks, I don’t find the need to transplant.

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  32. What a great idea. I used the cardboard egg cartons to start mine in this year. This is my first year of starting seeds for a real outdoor garden, instead of just doing container gardening.

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  33. Thank you so much for sharing this great tip – this will greatly help me since I more often than not forget to buy such pots (those that are environmentally friendly of course) and end up with having to use plastic pots. I hate that. Moreover with newspaper I think I use recycled stuff that is biodegradable. Am I right? Wrong?

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  35. This is a great idea. I just did a blog post on how to use toilet paper rolls (and I fold the bottom not glue them and they are working well). I have a question though. How does the paper hold up under regular waterings?

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    • Hi Audra, the paper has held up just fine for me; the only problem I have ever experienced is that if I over water, it molds.

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  36. I’ve tried the paper pots a couple times and got mold each time. I see your warning about over watering and will watch that. I used potting soil instead of a seed starting mixture and wondered if that also increased the likelihood for mold.

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    • Hi Kristel, I tend to be an overwaterer myself, and that’s the only time I get mold. I know that it’s not recommended to use potting soil to start seeds, but I’ve not used it myself to know if that could be part of your problem.

      Reply

  37. This is my first time starting seeds and I used toilet paper rolls as well as these newspaper pots. I got a mold problem within a few days. Is it pretty much an over-watering issue? I am very new at this – how much do new seeds need to be watered? Thanks so much for your help! I am learning (and yearning) so much! 🙂

    Reply

    • Hi Judith, yay for you for taking the step to start your own seeds! Yes, mold is caused by over-watering. The soil needs to be kept moist, but the paper pot itself should be on the dry side. If you go to a local garden center, they should have an inexpensive moisture meter to help you monitor the moisture if you are having trouble. Like this: http://amzn.to/10ZFj4u.

      Reply

    • Jimmy, only use newspaper with black ink – these are soy based and safe to use. Just be sure to avoid newspaper with colored ink.

      Reply

  39. I just use the weight of the wet soil in the starter instead of tape. I certainly don’t want to pick bits of plastic and adhesive out of my garden soil, let alone think of what nasties it’s putting in my soil/veggies! ew!

    Reply

  41. I did this today while watching Grey’s Anatomy. It was so easy and I used leftover ads from work : ) I love that I can just plant them in their containers!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  3. […] How to Make Seed Starting Pots from Newspaper, by Learning and Yearning. This is so awesome! We used pre-made mini greenhouses with peat moss pellets packaged inside, to get our garden going. But you can make your own little starter system with recycled newspaper! It biodegrades into the soil eventually, too. Doesn’t get much greener than that! […]

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  7. […] Decomposing seed-starting pots from Learning and Yearning – she made almost 100 in less than an hour! Frugal {Local} Kitchen shares one way to help picky eaters – or just encourage good food culture in your kids – by taking them on food dates. Personally, my preschooler always enjoys the farmer’s market (but Frugal {Local} Kitchen has even more ideas!). Ummm… these just looked delicious. Tessa the Domestic Diva does it again with these Healthy Homemade Fruit Cereal Bars (Gluten Free & Vegan – but it shares a non-GF option if you prefer) […]

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  8. […] Decomposing seed-starting pots from Learning and Yearning – she made almost 100 in less than an hour! Frugal {Local} Kitchen shares one way to help picky eaters – or just encourage good food culture in your kids – by taking them on food dates. Personally, my preschooler always enjoys the farmer’s market (but Frugal {Local} Kitchen has even more ideas!). Ummm… these just looked delicious. Tessa the Domestic Diva does it again with these Healthy Homemade Fruit Cereal Bars (Gluten Free & Vegan – but it shares a non-GF option if you prefer) […]

    Reply

  11. […] Decomposing seed-starting pots from Learning and Yearning – she made almost 100 in less than an hour! Frugal {Local} Kitchen shares one way to help picky eaters – or just encourage good food culture in your kids – by taking them on food dates. Personally, my preschooler always enjoys the farmer’s market (but Frugal {Local} Kitchen has even more ideas!). Ummm… these just looked delicious. Tessa the Domestic Diva does it again with these Healthy Homemade Fruit Cereal Bars (Gluten Free & Vegan – but it shares a non-GF option if you prefer) Have you been featured? We now have a button for you to add to your post or side bar if you have been featured, if you would like to. You can get different size buttons here. […]

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  14. […] know the kind your buy in the garden section of the store and pay a fortune for. Or you could use newspaper and make your own pots, or use toilet paper rolls, or egg cartons, or how about those cute k-cups, or 20oz soda bottles […]

    Reply

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