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Post by desertwoman on Mar 23, 2023 21:17:55 GMT -5
Has anyone made their own biodegradable seed starting pots using recyclable materials? Sometimes I have certain plants that do better in a biodegradable pot so the roots don't get disturbed when planting out.
I have been recycling plastic starter cells for years and am getting to the end of my stash. They finally are wearing out. Don't want to buy plastic or peat starter cells. I'm thinking newspaper or toilet paper/paper towel tubes- this way I can make decent sized pots and hold off potting up for at least one round. Newspaper would give me more flexibility in sizes as I could wrap the paper around different sized jars, bottles or cans to form the pots. And the ink is soy based so shouldn't have to worry about contaminants. Any thoughts or tips to pass on?
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Post by emmsmommy on Mar 24, 2023 8:40:00 GMT -5
Go for it! I'd probably opt for newspaper pots as it would be much easier to access newspapers in quantity than toilet paper tubes. My only concern is that my experience, biodegradable pots tend to dry out quicker than plastic or perhaps they just seem to have more area exposed to evaporation. I have zero experience with using one of the wooden pot-maker devices but did utilize some folded newspaper pots in my previous garden life 25+ years ago. With an estimated 500+ transplants this year I'd have to get a head start to have an adequate amount for the season. I've also considered a soil-block maker several times over the years after watching Elliott Coleman use one on an old gardening show in the late 80s. Price was an obstacle then but it would have paid for itself many times by now.
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Post by binnylou on Mar 24, 2023 9:36:39 GMT -5
Many years ago, I saw a form for making the folded newspaper pots. It was way overpriced, so hubby made one. I made the pots, they worked. Even back then, I started plants too early, so by the time my plants were ready to go out to the garden, the pots were breaking down.
I’m sure I still have that form, somewhere. Haven’t seen it in years.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Mar 24, 2023 23:59:24 GMT -5
I made one of those forms, too, many years ago, but I had that problem with the newspaper pots breaking down too early, unless just using it for things that don't take long before transplanting, like squash. Still, I can't remember the last time I used them.
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Post by ahntjudy on Mar 25, 2023 8:54:32 GMT -5
Made these a bunch of years ago. Just a simple origami fold. They hold up well.  |
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Post by emmsmommy on Mar 25, 2023 9:59:38 GMT -5
ahntjudy, that looks like the ones I made many years ago.
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Post by pepperhead212 on Mar 25, 2023 10:32:23 GMT -5
That's much like mine looked, and seeing them lined up like that reminded me of another thing that I didn't like about them (besides the paper degrading) - watering from the bottom (my usual method) wasn't really something I could do. I had to water them one by one.
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Post by gianna on Mar 25, 2023 23:59:59 GMT -5
While I enjoy working with paper in general, paper planting pots were not that successful for me. I did not use them very long so I didn't learn all the tricks, but in general, I found them to be not sturdy enough. Here is a fun video for making some quick ones. There are other videos on YouTube too, but didn't watch them now. www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV3LGGKMP-o |
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Post by desertwoman on Mar 26, 2023 8:49:03 GMT -5
That made me chuckle gianna, and she is so practical and casual. I had watched 2 others and they also used bottles and jars, but were more precise. Watching this video, I'm confident paper pots will serve my needs. |
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Post by lilolpeapicker on Mar 26, 2023 9:12:19 GMT -5
What a great idea! I didn't want to buy the tool they use to make the pots; this video makes more sense. TY gianna I do have plenty of pots presently but I won't have to buy them anymore, hopefully. I might even try planting beets; I have such bad luck growing these. Thanks desertwoman |
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Post by desertwoman on Mar 26, 2023 21:19:01 GMT -5
So here is my experiment. I made 5 newsprint paper pots and 3 TP rolls and planted them with hollyhock seeds today (they don't like their roots disturbed , when put in the ground, so will see how they do with these biodegradable pots) nestled in a plastic container that pre washed greens come in. I put the top over the container and it makes a great green house  |
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