DIY Seed Starting Pots

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Why pay for seedling pots when you can make your own? It is simple and you can use items you have on hand. No fuss – no muss…well, almost. Just look around your recycle bin and I’m sure you have a greenhouse in the making.

Newspaper – A few folds, twists and bends result in a perfect potting solution. Here is all you need:

·         Empty glass jar or can (size is up to you, but for seed starting think small and short).

·         Newspaper (black & white only - because it is generally made of soy ink and harmless to plants and the environment.)

·         A little bit of time and patience.

Take one full sheet of newspaper and fold it in half lengthwise. Fold it in half lengthwise a second time. This should give you a long narrow strip of paper.

Starting at one end, roll the paper around a glass jar. Push the ends of the paper into the glass jar. Then remove the glass through the open end. Push the bottom of the glass into the newspaper pot to squish the bottom and flatten it. Take the glass back out and you have your finished pot. All that is left is to fill with soil and plant your seeds.

Egg cartons - Used egg cartons are perfect for raising seedlings. Make sure it is clean, poke holes in the bottom for drainage, fill with seed started mix and pop in a few seeds. Shutting the lid on a plastic egg carton results in your own homemade mini-greenhouse. Cardboard-carton pots can be transplanted straight into the ground. The cardboard will eventually decompose in the soil, allowing the roots to poke through.

Toilet Roll or Paper Towel Tubes – Extremely easy, a great way to recycle and save some cha-ching!$! With a pair of scissors, cut ¼” wide strips all around one end of the tube. Fold each strip down. The strips will start to overlap each other making a bottom that will hold your soil. Fill with potting mix, pop in a seed and water.

Yogurt/Pudding/Cottage Cheese Cups - Wash and save the single-serving-size cups, poke a hole in the bottom-center of each container, and fill with seed-starter mix or a sterile all-purpose potting soil. After sowing the seeds, cover each container with a piece of perforated plastic (cut from newspaper and magazine baggies, then punched all over with a needle), held down by a rubber band, to maintain the moisture and humidity that promotes seedling growth.

The beautiful part – other than the cost – is how your organic pots will break down in the soil when it comes time to add the seedlings to your garden.

Give it a try!