Start Seedlings in Newspaper Pots
Seedling in newspaper pot
As I mentioned in Saturday’s article, one of my favorite containers for seedlings is a newspaper pot I make myself.
Newspaper pots are just good, all the way around. They’re biodegradeable, and can be placed right into your garden, without repotting or disturbing the plant. As the newspaper breaks down, it nourishes your soil.
Surprisingly, the pot holds up to watering on your windowsill very well. I’ve never had a pot break down before I planted it in my garden. Once there, though, it breaks down very quickly.
While it’s on your windowsill, roots will grow right through the paper, so you never need to worry about stunting the growth of your seedling because the roots are cramped.
You can find directions online for making these, and you don’t have to have anything special. I did buy a wooden mold, though, to make mine, and I think it was a very good purchase. With the mold, you don’t need to use glue or tape to hold the bottom of the pot together. The mold is made out of wood and comes in two pieces.
Wooden mold
To make a pot, you just cut a strip of newspaper, wrap it around the mold, fold over the bottom, then give the bottom of the mold a firm twist. I’ve made these for years and usually pick an evening in front of the TV to crank them out. I can make about 50 pots in an hour.
Best part of newspaper pots? At the end of seed-starting time, there’s nothing to store! No containers to clean, and no need to find room for anything except this little wooden mold.
One of the first articles I wrote for The Roanoke Times was on newspaper pots, so if you’d like to learn more, check it out.
February 24, 2013 - 7:15 PM
How about some dimenions KH. and some pics of how to make a pot that smooth and perty. Not nearly enough information.
wd – the dimensions vary depending on your mold. Mine makes a pot with a diameter of about 2.25″. I cut a strip of newspaper about 3.5″ wide and the length of the newspaper. It would be hard to give meaningful photos because it’s so easy. You just wrap it around the mold, fold the overlap to cover the bottom, twist the mold and the mold does the work. They come out that pretty every time!
A friend gave me a pot mold years ago and I wish I’d kept it. I’m going to try a glass jar for a mold. If the paper is long enough that I can fold the bottom and tuck the final fold under an earlier one, it may hold. A milk or juice carton with drain slits in the bottom makes a sturdy pot, but with the waxy coating, the carton has to be peeled away when transplanting.
One other thing I’ll mention is that when I first got my mold, I assumed I was going to have to create another one to make larger pots for tomatoes. I never have needed it. The roots grow right through the paper, so, for me, this size has been fine.
What you have is similar to a pedestal and mortar. You’re saying wrap the paper around the cup. Do you mean around the mortar or plunger? What holds dry newspaper together? If prewettened, I missed that in your post. Also how deep is the cup part?
Wrap the newspaper around the large part of the mold. That piece fits into a “cup” that’s about 1″ deep. If you have a mold, you don’t need to wet the paper. Twisting the cup of the mold forms the newspaper into a pot that holds itself together. If you are using your own glass or other object for a mold, you are probably going to need a piece of tape or a little glue to get the bottom to stick together, but with the wooden mold, you don’t. That’s one the main reasons I think purchasing the mold was a good idea.
Burpee has more photos online at http://www.burpee.com/seed-starting/potmaker-prod001209.html. Their mold is $19.95, but I think I saw them at the Blacksburg Farmers Market last year for under $10.
Nice little stocking stuffers for your gardening friends. I wonder if DIY has a pattern so you could make your own??
KH, you mentioned you didn’t like tape or glue. I hit me about an old timey method kids used to use when making kites. Good ole water and flour paste. It would stick anything together.
wd: if I were going to use glue, flour and water is exactly what I’d use. I just prefer the mold. No mess, nothing more to create, and very quick to make. But, sure, you can do the same thing with a glass and some flour paste.
KH. I couldn’t for the life of me figure what kept the paper from unraveling off the pedastal. I went to searching and found a pic of one showing the bottom of both pieces, then it became clear. The concave ram simply twists the paper up in the convex bottom of the cup. Made all kinda sense then.