Making Paper Pots For Starting Seeds
Goodbye plastic containers, hello upcycled newspaper seedling pots! I love these things. I love making them and planting in them. From beginning to finish they’re high performers, holding up well with regular watering as well as bottom watering. Plus they’re super simple to make, as you can see here in my first DIY video. They’re recycled and, if you’d like, you can plant the whole thing, paper and all, straight into your garden once your seedlings are ready for transplanting.
What can I say? I’m convinced once you tried paper pots you won’t want to go back.
Extra Tips:
- Make with children. Kids love making these and planting in them. I’ve found that even the youngest of the bunch can become a paper pot making expert.
- Try placing your paper pots, once planted, into a tray such as a baking sheet or another container that will hold a little water. However, be careful not to submerge your seedling pots.
- I generally topwater with a spray bottle or light flow watering can gently soaking the pots and allowing water to collect in the bottom of the tray. This allows me to go away for the weekend, etc. without worrying about my seedlings drying out.
- Paper pots can easily tip over when alone and unsupported. This is not a problem if you plant several at a time and organize them in a container with sides.
- Have fun and write me with any questions or comments!
Read more on how to make paper pots for planting seeds:
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About the Author: Emily Murphy
I tried this yesterday when I was moving my seeds to their starter pots and grow lamp setup, and I found some pros and cons.
The pros were pretty much what you stated. I like the fact that I can just plant the whole newspaper pot into the ground. It’s also super inexpensive, and very easy to do.
The cons were as follows:
– It takes a long time to build out 50 of these. I did like 6, and realized it would take me all day to do the rest so I resorted to plastic cups with a whole in the bottom.
– I had to use latex gloves, because the ink was getting all over my hands.
– The paper makes me a little nervous being so close to my grow lights. I know they don’t put off much heat, but still makes me a tad uneasy.
– Plastic cups may let in a little more light than the newspaper holders, especially if the soil is a little low.
If I was only doing a few plants I would definitely do the newspaper cups. But because I had so many this year, I just didn’t have the time to put these together. Maybe if I plan my potting process out next year better I’ll be able to do more of them.
Thanks for the tip.
Thank you so much sharing your experience! This is all great information and food for thought. And always good to keep the task at hand in mind. Good luck with your planting! Sounds wonderful.:)