Origami Newspaper Pots for Seedlings: The Movie
This movie demonstrates a simple technique for making pots for seedlings out of newspaper. I use them for potting up seedlings and hardening them off before transplanting into the garden. I’ve found that the newspaper holds up well to repeated waterings — indoors or out — without any added tape or staples. If you want something sturdier, brown paper grocery bags cut to size work well, too.
There are a couple reasons you might be convinced to spend your evenings doing origami: It produces multiple pots for no more than your local paper or grocery bag costs you, and you can plant them into your garden plot or container, where they will break down quickly and add carbon to the soil. This is why I prefer them to peat pots that take longer to break down in my garden bed.
Sheila
Cool!
Karen Anne
Great directions, very clear.
Also, peat bogs are endangered.
Sharyn
Me and my trustee helpers (kids) are trying these but our local paper must be a different size than yours. We end up with a tiny flap at the end which is not large enough to fold down. Please give me the size of your paper so we can adjust ours.
thanks
Grow Peppers
Hey! I tried this afternoon after I have read the blog. I was amazed with the result. You are actually recycling the newspaper into pots and the best thing about it is that you are saving the world from garbage noxious waste. But I have a concern about the durability of those pots made of newspaper. I hope my finished product is durable.
Pam
Thank you thank you thank you! I’ve been trying for days to figure it out to no avail – watched an instructional video and followed written instructions and came up with nothing more than a wadded up pile of newspaper. Your instructions are the first ones I was able to follow from beginning to end without confusion. Bless you!!!
Kate
I’m so glad it worked for you and I hope it continues to. It’s been a couple years since I posted the video, but these are still my go-to. It’s so satisfying to make at home instead of buying trays every year, at least it is for me, because I don’t start a lot of seedlings yet, and for some seedlings it’s better to have this kind of pot. I think they allow more air flow for the growing roots, which makes for healthier roots, and it’s just so danged easy to pop them in the ground (or peel away the newspaper) when you’re ready to plant. Especially good for tricky things like squash seedlings, and pea seedlings, although not many people do that — but if you’re like me, it’s stuff like this that beats TV, and it’s just fun to push the envelope and see what’s possible with plants.