newspaper planting pots??????

someone, i think seeds of change, sells a little device of turned maple that's for making paper planting pots. it looks like an oversized pestle in a very shallow mortar. ive never used one.

i have folded newspaper into little cups like we made in grammar school and that worked ok. but if u dont know how to do that it'd be hard to explain on a computer.

 

Someone on the board had a good alternative to the turned maple thingie: use a glass jar the size you want to make and wrap the newspaper around that. That's even better, in my mind, because you can alternate the sizes between green olive (skinny) jars and small jam (not so skinny) jars as you need.

What you do with the end is to staple it if I recall correctly...

 

I tried to post this earlier but the board was acting up (or was it my pc)

Here are some sites to check:

Newspaper Flower Pots

Newspaper Flower Pots

Shredded Newspaper Flower Pots

 

We too saw the implement for making pots. The $15 seems like a lot but if it works we might consider getting one. Does anyone have one?

 

I don't know if I am the one or not but I have posted here before about using the different size jars. When I use them I just cut the strips of the newspaper wide enough so that when I fold the paper at the end of the jar it extends over half the radius of the jar. I have never used staples and not sure if they would help or not. The thing I like about the jars is the different sizes you can have and as the glass is smooth it is usually easy to get the finished pot off the jar. When I transplant the plants I usually take the paper off as I would think that they would act as a wick like the Jiffy pots will which will allow the mosisture to be drawn from the plant. Hope it works for you I too like to save money.

 

Thanks wingnut - I'll be using that this year !!
Pickles look good too !!

 

There should be an article somewhere in the Countryside archives, but I know for sure there is one at the BWH site... Its simple, but hard to explain (they have diagrams etc.). Its for squared pots, so you won't lose space if you do lots of them. The article is on the web archives.

I am still flipping back and forth between the paper pots and cut pvc tubing. for about $3 - $5 I can do 48 2x2 rounds (they are bottomless, and set in pea gravel or sand)... Storage might be a problem, though.... Hmmmm..

Any ideas??

SueD

 

I suppose if 48 is all you need, but I need far more than that. I like that the paper is biodegradable and single use, so I don't have to worry about cleaning as you would with the pvc. Tender seedlings are far more vulnerable to an assortment of ailments that could be carried by fragments of old dirt.

Thanks for the pictures wingnut.........makes it so plain and simple to do. I have been sterilizing and reusing 3 and 4 inch pots and I like that I could sit by the fire and make these from things at hand and avoid all the mess of the pots.

 

You can also use egg shells to start your plants in, especially plants that require calcium such as tomatos. Instead of breaking the eggs in half, break the top off to empty the egg then you will have a little cup to start a plant in. You can use the egg carton to hold the egg shell/plant in. When time to transplant just place egg shell and all in the ground.

 

The addy for the BHM article on paper pots is:

<http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles/polachic49.html>


Diane - If all I needed was 48 pots, I wouldn't be having the confusion of which to use!! The cost I mentioned was for the pipe, and my time in making the pots.
My time is worth a lot more to me than to spend it doing 600 - 1000+ folded and stapled paper pots, that's all.... I sell, too, and its hard to get folks planting their 'yuppie' suburban gardens to understand the benefits of rotten paper - assuming, that is - that one of the selling points would be simply tearing the bottom open and planting the whole thing - which is what I do when I grow my own that way. I'm just having coniptions over the potential storage problem. While its a lot quicker/easier to let the paper rot in the garden and enrich the soil, pvc has its selling points. A partial gallon of bleach and a bottle brush are a lot cheaper than my time as well.

SueD

 

"Diane - If all I needed was 48 pots, I wouldn't be having the confusion of which to use!! "

Sorry.....I guess I didn't understand your prior statement. :no:

There are numerous supply houses that supply the conventional pots, or you can reclaim them like I do. The conventional pots would make the most sense to me if you were selling, as they are cheaper than the pvc would be.