Frugal Gardening: Make Your Own Seed-Starting Pots

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

Every year, sometime in the middle of winter, my oldest son, who is five, ask me about our garden. "When are we going to pick out veggie seeds?" he says. You have never seen a Kindergartner so excited about vegetables. My only rule is that he has to eat some of whatever vegetables we grow. So far, this little trick has worked. He loves watching the seedlings spout into baby plants, and then later plant them in our garden.

For a five-year-old, and his two-year-old sister who will probably want to get in on the act this year, the easiest way to plant seeds is with those little peat starter pots. They are small enough to handle and makes watering and later planting very easy for young hands.

While growing your own vegetables is fun, educational and saves money, there can be some costs involved, such as those little peat pots. And the pots can only be used once, something, with the exception of food and toilet paper, we don't allow in our house. So our family came up with some ideas to make our own starter pots, using common recyclables and a little ingenuity.

We did some research on the web and experimented with several materials and designs. The following two types of make-your-own starter pots worked out to be the best.

Newspapers

When using newspaper, it is important to only use paper that is in black and white, because it is generally made of of soy ink and harmless to plants and the environment.

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. Any kind of glass will generally work, but we like juice glasses or empty and clean pasta sauce jars. The wrapping doesn't have to be perfect, so it is an easy step for kids to do, especially if you use plastic cups instead of glass.

Push the ends of the paper into the glass. 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. Just fill with soil and plant your seeds. The newspaper will break down nicely in the soil when it comes time to add the seedlings to your garden.

Toilet Paper Rolls

Cut the toilet paper tubes in half. You can then simply fold the bottoms in and fill with soil or simply stand the rolls up on a sturdy surface, such as a plastic plate or a reused plant flat. Again, just fill with soil and plant your seeds.

When the plants are ready to go into the ground, simply lift them out of the roll or gently peel the roll off the plant. I don't like to leave the tube on the seedlings, although it can be done. The rolls take a little while to break down, and if any part of the tub is left above the ground it can wick much-needed moisture away from the baby plants.

Personally, I prefer the newspaper pots. They are a little extra work in the beginning, but they are easiest to use when it comes time to add the seedlings to the garden.

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Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, online content manager, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania in the middle of the woods but close enough to Target and Home Depot.

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