Tutorial - How to Make Paper Seedling Pots

Because we didn't have enough toilet rolls to house the seedlings for our veggie garden, I decided I would also make some paper seedling pots. Here is how I made them.

You will need:

Newspaper
String (Jute)
Scissors
A can
Seedling Mix

Here is how you do it:

Take a sheet of newspaper. Fold it in half and then in half again:

Pop your can on top of the newspaper like so:

Roll the can up:


Secure it with string:


Turn the can so that the bottom is facing up:


Fold in the edges, like so:


Shake the can out (while holding the bottom in place with your hand):


Still holding the bottom in place, make four cuts (around an inch long) around the top of the paper pot and fold down:


I then tuck my cut edges in under the string, just because it is more aesthetically pleasing:


Next put your paper pot onto a flat surface (I use an old baking tray) and fill with seedling mix:


All done!

I actually prefer to use toilet rolls for my vegetable seeds as the paper pots use a bit more seedling mix than I would like. These pots would be perfect for growing cuttings in though!

When you go to plant the seedlings that you grow, simply put the whole paper pot in the ground. The jute and the newspaper will break down over time. Yay!

Growing An Organic Vegetable Garden (Part 2 : Planting the seeds)

Today we were a little more productive than yesterday and managed to plant, mark and water the seeds - huzzah!

After we dropped Matty off at work, I set Corben up with a spray bottle and got him to make the seed raising mix a little damp. I thought he'd find it fun, but he kept muttering "Hard work....hard work"! Since he didn't find it enjoyable, I guess it could be seen as child labour to some?!? lol

While he did that, I cut up some straws to use as markers so that we could tell which vegetables would be growing in each tube. I then made a kind of legend, because I just know that I will forget which colour represents each vegetable!!

We got our seeds from here because we've bought through them before and found their service to be delightful. Today we planted the seeds for Red Brunswick Onions, All Year Cauliflower, Little Finger Carrots, Matador Spinach and Epicure Climbing Beans, as instructed by a friend of ours who does a lot of vegetable growing.

We used the end of a pencil to make a hole in each tube of potting mix, before we popped the seeds in. We then covered up the seeds, stuck a straw at the side of each tube and gave them a little watering.

Just a word of warning, if you're doing this with a toddler you may need to supervise closely. After being distracted temporarily, I turned around to find that he had placed more markers into most of the tubes:

Awesome....NOT!

We will hopefully be getting our raised vegetable beds in order over the next week or two so we can plant the seedlings that we grow. I will show you how we prepare those as we go.

Enjoy your day!