Make your own seedling pots.

rosie383

Someone passed this site on to me and I think it's great and gives really clear instructions.
So I'm passing it on to you all here. Apologies if it's been posted before.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-organic-planting-pots-using-old-newspa/

4li5on

I always make paper pots for my seeds on my propagators.

I bought a kids plant pot maker from Tesco about 3 years ago for a couple of quid.

It's wooden and you roll the paper around it. You then tuck the paper underneath and push it into another piece of wood and it securely fastens the bottom so nothing gets out.

EDIT - not a particularly clear description but there is a somewhat more expensive version here! (exact same item, but much less MSE!)

It's been used so many times and saves a fortune. The used pots can be put in the compost bin when they're no longer needed and can easily be planted straight into pots or growbags without disturbing delicate roots!

rosie383

Wow, that is expensive compared to what you paid. Correct me if I'm wrong, but do you not have to use just a single layer, or take the paper pot off before you plant them if there are more than one layer of paper? That one on ebay looks like you have to use a few layers.

4li5on

What the instructions said on the one I've got is to open a normal sized newspaper out flat and cut into 4 equal strips the full width of the paper. Then roll that around the maker, so yes, it's several layers thick and has a sturdy bottom.

Once the compost is watered and the paper gets damp, it soon bio-degrades. It keeps long enough to get seedlings to the transpant stage, but I suppose it depends on how many times you handle them - once they are wet you can easily put your finger through them.

I keep mine in the individual seed tray bit in my propagators, so by the time you want to lift them out to transplant them, the paper is saturated. If the plant has established good strong roots that need more space, they can easily get through the wet paper.

Once the plant is established and ready for transplant, you can peel the paper pot off (which I have done on occasions) but the plants are fine left in the paper.

No need to wash pots out, no need to look for something for them to sit on so they don't wet the windowsill, just generally so easy!

I've never had any problems at all with them. I've had some really strong healthy seedlings for veg and flowers for a couple of summers now and I wouldn't consider using anything else!

charliee_3

that is a good idea.. i am pretty clueless, how many seeds would you put in each one? or do you grow the seeds in a tray then thin them into these little pots before planting out?

4li5on

No, sow straight into them or it defeats the object of not disturbing their roots.

Purely depends on what you are sowing, but usually 1 seed per pot.

tangojulie

I've just been experimenting with using jars, pipe lengths etc to form pots and by far the best is a length of pipe insulation. The thick walls make it sturdy to use and the hole in the bottom is just the right size to jam the overlapping paper into. It kind of locks together to make the pot rigid. And then the pipe insulation comes out easily because it's a bit squidgy. Pot made in one go.

chrisaj

Toilet roll holders are great for seed planting, especially for plants which don't like root disturbance. When they're large enough, just plant the whole lot out into the garden

molerat

I use a square pot, easier to put in trays and no tools or formers needed http://www.blogcatalog.com/search/frame?term=newspaper%20pots&id=86fdeb7cac463a551bbcf2b4d9308fa6

kimmee

chrisaj wrote: »

Toilet roll holders are great for seed planting, especially for plants which don't like root disturbance. When they're large enough, just plant the whole lot out into the garden

I used loo roll middles for my sweet peas (this is first time I've had a go at them) and I've found that they dry out and the compost dries out really quickly, is this ok?

I've just had a bash at making the newspaper ones using an empty glass jar and they were soooo easy. I'm going to sow my peas in them after misskool advised me this was the best thing to use.

chrisaj

Never had a problem with compost drying out, I keep the tubes quite moist. If the compost dries out too much it's very difficult to get the water to soak through again.