Make Biodegradable Plant Starting Pots from Newspaper

Instead of spending money on expensive seed starting pots or pre-formed peat products, this year make your own biodegradable starter pots from paper. Make these little pots from old newspaper. They are very easy to make, and children enjoy helping. Making your own paper plant starting pots is a great earth-friendly activity for classrooms or scout groups - a wonderful way to illustrate do-it-yourself recycling of a common waste material. These little paper pots are plenty strong. They will last from the time you plant seeds until the seedlings are ready to set out in the garden.

To make these paper pots, you only need old newspapers and a plastic drinking glass/tumbler with straight, non-tapered sides. Use a plastic drinking glass for safety reasons. Any cylindrical object will work, as long as one end is closed and one is open. Your finished pot will have the size and shape of the cylinder you use. Use only regular black and white newspaper; most black inks are soy-based and safe for the plants. Colored inks and shiny printed pages often contain toxic chemicals.

1. Begin with one full newspaper sheet, one that has the fold in the center so it is in a regular two-page format. Fold it in half lengthwise, and then again lengthwise. You now have a strip of folded paper with eight layers.

2. Place the tumbler along one end of the newspaper. The mouth of the tumbler should be about half the distance across the narrow width of the long strip.

3. Roll the tumbler, rolling the folded strip of paper around it. Roll all the way to the other end of the paper.

4. About half of the width of the paper strip should extend beyond the mouth of the tumbler.

5. Holding the roll around the tumbler so it stays in place, tuck the edge of the newspaper down into the mouth of the tumbler. Crease it along the mouth of the tumbler.

6. Slip the paper roll off the tumbler. Twist it a little as you slide it off, if necessary.

7. Place the paper roll on a table or flat surface with the tucked, folded edge down. It will be a ring of newspaper standing up on the table. Reach inside the roll with your fingers, and push the folded edges down flat onto the table to make the bottom of the pot. Push the bottom of the tumbler inside the roll. Use the tumbler to press the folds of the bottom of the pot tightly into place.

8. Your paper pot is ready to use. Fill it with starting medium and plant seeds, or use these pots when you separate tiny seedlings into individual pots.

Customize your paper pots by using different sizes of cylinders and different folding methods.

When plants are growing in these pots, the paper will be moist. Be sure to protect the surface under the paper pots by placing them on a leak-proof tray. You can water your seedlings by watering the tray. This encourages the roots to grow down towards the water.

When it is time to transplant your seedlings into the garden, carefully remove the paper pots. Simply tear the soft, moist paper away from the plant. Put the used pots into your compost pile, and they will decompose. Tear them into smaller pieces if you desire. Small pieces also make good mulch.

You will find that earthworms are attracted to moist newspaper in the compost pile. Shredded newspaper is often used as bedding material in containers for raising earthworms. They churn through it, quickly turning it into rich castings.

Complete How To Slideshow of this article is here.

Read my other organic gardening tips.