A New Toy
I recently bought something that I hope will become one of those indespensible tools in the garden. I've been thinking about getting one for years, actually. It's a seedling pot maker:
This simple wooden device helps you make little seedling pots out of old newspaper. First you roll a strip of newspaper around the cylindrical part. Next, tuck the ends into the dent in the bottom - I've found that doing this in three parts works well. Last, set it on the base and give it a few firm turns. This tucks the bottom of it in tight so it stays together.
I found the process pretty easy to learn. In fact, once you've made up a stack of newspaper strips, the simple rolling and twisting procedure is kind of zen. None of my first attempts were very pretty, but they don't need to be.
I squeezed eight little pots into an old ice cream container, scooped potting mix in with a spoon, and planted sunflower seeds. These ones are small, decorative sunflowers in a range of colours - good for popping into empty nooks in the veggie garden. The little pots look pretty prone to tipping over once you've filled them with soil and watered them, so I squeezed in two more pots so they could all hold each other up. The last two were yellow crookneck squash.
So far so good. I'll see how it goes when it comes time to plant them out.
Why make seedling pots out of newspaper? It's economical, for one thing. I've already got old issues of the local free newspaper lying around - they send it to you uless you put a sign up on your letterbox. Even if I get around to putting a sign up, newspaper is easy to source from friends and family.
The second reason is ease of planting. You can plant the seedlings, newspaper and all. The paper easily breaks down in the soil. This not only makes them easy to plant, but minimises root disturbance versus having to scoop them out of a pot or seed tray to plant out.
The third reason is a matter of sustainability and anti-consumerism. I'd rather be upcycling what would otherwise be sent to my recycle bin than buy a new product from the shop.
My previous seed sprouting methods also involved compostable pots. When I first started gardening I learned how to make seedling pots out of toilet paper rolls. These come out about the same size and shape as the newspaper ones, by the way. But when I went to pull out old plants at the end of the season, I'd find the toilet paper roll in the soil, still intact. I have to assume it was restricting the root system somewhat. I don't know for sure, but I figured the toilet paper rolls weren't doing my plants any favours.
Next I switched to peat pots that you plant along with the seedling. I was extra short on time, and these saved me the work of making my own. I also hoped they would do better at breaking down in the soil. But after a couple of years using them, I've noticed that they have the same problem as the toilet rolls. For something with big, strong roots like silverbeet or corn, the roots bust right through the pot and break it apart. But for things with delicate little root structures, like my corriander, I'd find the pot still completely intact in the soil at the end of the growing season.
This is the issue I'm hoping the newspaper pots will address. I am fairly certain that newspaper will break down a lot faster and more reliably.
And then there is the fact that one little pack of 20 peat pots costs me 15 dollars, which is roughly what the newspaper seedling pot maker costs. A one-time purchase for a lifetime of tiny compostable seedling pots. That's a pretty good deal. And it feels nice to go back to using something recycled, not store bought.
The question remains of how well the will perform. My concern is that the thin, damp newspaper will be fiddly to work with when it comes to planting out. Like so many things in the garden, I will just have to wait and see.
This simple wooden device helps you make little seedling pots out of old newspaper. First you roll a strip of newspaper around the cylindrical part. Next, tuck the ends into the dent in the bottom - I've found that doing this in three parts works well. Last, set it on the base and give it a few firm turns. This tucks the bottom of it in tight so it stays together.
I found the process pretty easy to learn. In fact, once you've made up a stack of newspaper strips, the simple rolling and twisting procedure is kind of zen. None of my first attempts were very pretty, but they don't need to be.
I squeezed eight little pots into an old ice cream container, scooped potting mix in with a spoon, and planted sunflower seeds. These ones are small, decorative sunflowers in a range of colours - good for popping into empty nooks in the veggie garden. The little pots look pretty prone to tipping over once you've filled them with soil and watered them, so I squeezed in two more pots so they could all hold each other up. The last two were yellow crookneck squash.
So far so good. I'll see how it goes when it comes time to plant them out.
Why make seedling pots out of newspaper? It's economical, for one thing. I've already got old issues of the local free newspaper lying around - they send it to you uless you put a sign up on your letterbox. Even if I get around to putting a sign up, newspaper is easy to source from friends and family.
The second reason is ease of planting. You can plant the seedlings, newspaper and all. The paper easily breaks down in the soil. This not only makes them easy to plant, but minimises root disturbance versus having to scoop them out of a pot or seed tray to plant out.
The third reason is a matter of sustainability and anti-consumerism. I'd rather be upcycling what would otherwise be sent to my recycle bin than buy a new product from the shop.
My previous seed sprouting methods also involved compostable pots. When I first started gardening I learned how to make seedling pots out of toilet paper rolls. These come out about the same size and shape as the newspaper ones, by the way. But when I went to pull out old plants at the end of the season, I'd find the toilet paper roll in the soil, still intact. I have to assume it was restricting the root system somewhat. I don't know for sure, but I figured the toilet paper rolls weren't doing my plants any favours.
Next I switched to peat pots that you plant along with the seedling. I was extra short on time, and these saved me the work of making my own. I also hoped they would do better at breaking down in the soil. But after a couple of years using them, I've noticed that they have the same problem as the toilet rolls. For something with big, strong roots like silverbeet or corn, the roots bust right through the pot and break it apart. But for things with delicate little root structures, like my corriander, I'd find the pot still completely intact in the soil at the end of the growing season.
This is the issue I'm hoping the newspaper pots will address. I am fairly certain that newspaper will break down a lot faster and more reliably.
And then there is the fact that one little pack of 20 peat pots costs me 15 dollars, which is roughly what the newspaper seedling pot maker costs. A one-time purchase for a lifetime of tiny compostable seedling pots. That's a pretty good deal. And it feels nice to go back to using something recycled, not store bought.
The question remains of how well the will perform. My concern is that the thin, damp newspaper will be fiddly to work with when it comes to planting out. Like so many things in the garden, I will just have to wait and see.
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