I'm pretty much well on the way with my seedlings for Summer but I just wanted to write a quick line about a wonderful discovery I made this year.
Whilst trawling the internet looking for anything new and exciting in the gardening world, I found a great video link for making square seedling pots from newspaper. This, in my opinion, is fab as it meets many of my criteria for a good gardening tip -
1) it recycles something I have in my home,
2) it saves me money on buying pots, and
3) it's easy
(this last one is VERY important as being a busy wife, teacher and mother I don't have time to be clever!!!)
pic from dirthappy.blogspot.com
Another great thing about these pots is that they can be planted in the ground with the seedling inside them so you don't have that whole "my plants will die when I transplant them" thing going on!
The pots will rot away into the soil and provide some form of compost for next year's crops. Clever hey? Some 'green' folk may be worried about the ink going into the soil but most newspapers nowadays use vegetable based inks and if they don't, THEY SHOULD!
Round newspaper pots have been around (excuse the pun) for ages - you know the ones, made by rolling sheets of newspaper around a glass then pulling out the glass and tucking in the bottoms - but I always found them difficult to stand up and there were always gaps between them when I put them onto trays.
These square ones though are brilliant because they're very strong and sturdy and when you stand them together all filled with soil they support each other and don't fall over!
Truly wonderful!
So, I hear you ask, how about sharing this link? Well, here it is. You can find it on
which is a great website and has tons of interesting stuff, not least, a video on how to make the pots!
So, go to it! Fetch that pile of newspapers from your garage and get folding!!!
Get the rest of the household involved and maybe have a competition to see who can make the most pots in front of the TV tonight - but they MUST be made properly ... no slapdash pots please!
Let me know who wins..................
I haven't seen the square ones before. I really must try them because at the moment I'm buying those coir thingies that you soak in water and then pop a seed in. They're good but a waste of money when you can make your own. I'm looking forward to reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteSquare pots are a great idea! :) I tried wintersowing in newspaper pots last year, but that didn't work so well...but I think they would be fabulous for starting seeds indoors.
ReplyDelete