Newspaper pots are so easy to make and are great for the environment too.
These newspaper pots are so easy to make. There’s no messing around with staples or sticky tape. They’re great for the environment because you’re re-using old newspaper. Best of all though, you’re not using pots made out of plastic. Once your seedlings are ready for transplanting, you can plant the whole lot in the ground. That way the root system won’t be damaged. The roots will just grow straight though the paper when they’re ready to.
All that is required are an old newspaper, scissors and a bottle of wine or a soft drink can
Materials Required
You only need a few household materials to make these pots. An old newspaper; scissors and a cylinder of some sort. You can use anything really, a soft drink can, a soup can, a wine or beer bottle. Just pick something with the same diameter you want your pots to be. We prefer to use a wine bottle or soft drink can because it has an indented bottom.
Method
- Open out the newspaper to the middle and cut it in half. Cut those pages in half again so that you have a pile of pages one quarter the size of a full double-page spread.
Open the newspaper in the middle, cut it in half, and then again into quarters
- Take two of the sheets (double thickness makes the pots more durable) and place your bottle or can on top so that there is an inch or so of paper hanging off the end.
- Roll the paper around the cylinder.
Newspaper wound around a wine bottle
- Starting folding the end in at the join.
Fold the end over
- Flatten the base of the newspaper pot (this is why a cylinder with an indented bottom is best).
Flatten the end completely
- Slide the pot off the bottle.
Slide the newspaper pot off the bottle or can
- Add the soil. The weight of the soil keeps it all together, meaning you don’t need to use staples or sticky tape.
Add the soil to the pot to hold it all together. Then it’s ready for the seeds or cuttings.
If we have lots of pots, we usually use trays to keep them all together.
Once your seedlings are ready for transplanting simply dig a hole in the soil large enough for the pot and place the whole lot in. There’s no need to unwrap the paper.
I love this idea! A quick question ….. when you add the soil, do you also add seeds then, or do you sow seeds in a tray and then transplant into the newspaper pot? I gather watering would only be using a spray bottle? Many thanks. ROSIE @ EVPS
Hi Rosie,
I’d be sowing the seeds directly into the pots. When we’ve done this in the past, we’ve stacked many newspaper pots up against each other in a big tray. This has facilitated easy watering. However, the paper breaks down in time. You end up with one massive root ball if you don;t transplant out soon enough.
Good Luck and Happy Gardening!
Duncan
I love the nitty gritty detail here and will try this method. I have in the past used the cardboard inners of toilet rolls for the same purpose but those are fixed in diameter with no bottom support, and the soil sometimes falls out the bottom when lifted (if the root ball is not dense enough to hold it together); when transplanted out the remaining cardboard near the surface may take a long time to rot away and thus slows sideways growth of the roots Sure beats those instant peat pots (Jiffy Pots) which are reinforced with non-degradable plastic mesh, don’t contain any nutrients, are too small, are are not cheap. I have re-used plastic pots for years but they still require dislodging the seedling from the pot for planting and then washing and sterilising the pots before re-use. Has anybody tried lining plastic pots with newspaper (maybe 3 sheets thick?) so the seedling can be knocked out without losing half the potting mix and thus unwittingly compacting/damaging the roots while planting?
Hi Stuart, some great thoughts and experiments you’ve tried there. Great idea about lining the pots with newspaper.
Thanks for sharing!
Great I’ll try that as I’ve saved seeds from my favourite tomatoes
Good Luck!
I have been making newspaper pots today and have a couple of extra points to discuss. (1) How many thicknesses of newspaper should there be after it is rolled onto the bottle or other cylinder? If you start with two sheets and the paper goes around twice then there will be a 4 layer wall on the paper pot, is that too much (will it rot away quickly enough after planting?) (2) To get narrower pots you have to use a narrower cylinder and I found that a piece of plastic drainpipe of about 60mm diameter is about right for my needs. It has the added advantage that when you fold the bottom into the pipe, it won’t unfold itself again. Depending on how much paper you are folding in (e.g. 40mm hanging over the end) it might be sticking up inside the paper pot and can be squashed down with a narrower object such as an upside down spray can with plastic cap on it (say, with a diameter of 50 to 55mm) (3) To add seed raising mix to the paper pot, a really useful tool is a wide funnel, e.g. a funnel with a 55 mm outlet and a 120mm top opening. It is much easier to see in photos and i can send some if you like. Also, I am using cut-down wine boxes as short term trays (Wine stores have plenty to give away)
I can’t tell you how much I enjoy your newsletter. I have learned so much and look forward to each one.
Hi Carole,
Thanks for letting me know. I put a lot of effort into publishing them, so I’m glad to know you enjoy them.
Happy Gardening!