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You know those cute little six-packs of veggies you pick up at the garden center? By wrapping TL’s mini-pots around a SQUARE spice container instead of a round one, you can make your own.
1. Tear in half one sheet of newspaper and fold into thirds. (Please ignore the dirt, I’ve been moving seedlings around and sprinkles got everywhere.)
2. Wrap around square spice jar and tape. (Recommend masking tape–biodegrades)
3. Fold the bottom end like a present, tape, and crease edges.
4. Waa-laa, square pot!
5. Now, use all the little slivers of uncooperative masking tape that didn’t come off the roll right to connect your pots.
Ivory
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
This is a great idea. I tried it this past spring, but the bottom, with so many layers of newspaper didn’t break down fast enough. The roots, after I dropped them in the ground, got a little choked from not being able to spread out. I recommend opening up the bottom of the newspaper planters before putting them in your garden so the roots have room to spread out.
I’m starting some seedlings for the first time indoors, inside eggshells. I just cracked the top off and filled ‘em with dirt. I keep them all in their original carton. This idea is cute too… the containers look so adorable! Too bad we canceled out newspaper subscription years ago. (Saves money… can read it online… blah blah blah.) I’ve found so many uses for old newspaper online recently, that I’m almost ready to reinstate my subscription!
I just have to point out one of my all time pet peeves: It is not “walla.” Rather, it is “voila.” It is a French word.
Harvey—Je pense que c’est drôle de dire des mots mal.
brilliant! now i know how to do it
Have you considered using home made wallpaper paste to “glue” it all together. It is made of water, starch and salt. I thought it would be more biodegradable than tape. Should be easy to rip the bottom open to make room for the seeds if that was needed. I am actually going to be trying organic gardening for the first time this spring and am researching it now, so I am no expert. I just thought I would add this because it seemed a more enviromentally safe method to me, and not because I actually know anything
I have made these for years^_^ You are using way to much paper. 1 & 1/2 wraps around the round or square object of choice(I use M&M mini’s tube lol) is plenty to hold in the potting soil and not too much to make root bound seedlings.And given a good soaking just before planting in the garden allows you to pinch off the folded bottoms without arming the tender roots.
i am definitely making these to start my garden this year! i am wondering though, has anyone tried the flour/water paste to hold the bottoms together; and if so, did it work? i am going to give that a shot since the kiddos and i will be making seed tapes with newsprint strips as well. thanks for the info!
(ps: also love the watkins spice container-i sell watkins
!)
You don’t need tape or glue! Just fold the bottom in and then set the container on a hard surface, push down and twist to make a nice crease. This works best if your shaper container has a metal lip (like a soup can or watkins spice tin). The bottom doesn’t really need to hold much. Place them all in a watertight tray, fill with moist soil, then water the tray so the water soaks up from the bottom.
Im going to try this…peet pots are not all that expensive but every penny counts in our home! We don’t even buy the newspaper….i will collect the old ones from our local coffee shops!
And i think opening up the bottoms is a good idea…i always cut my peet pots bottoms off(lol!)
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