Skip to main content

Get Your Newspaper...Pots, That Is !

I finally finished tearing up the patio enough to make a raised garden bed.  Last year we bought one that links together and just put it on top of the patio - it just didn't work out too well.  I think it needed to be deeper.  So I pulled up one layer of bricks, stacked the bricks to make a wall, and now I have a garden bed.


So I know that I'm a bit late on starting my seeds, but better late than never.  Two years ago my friend had mentioned that she made newspaper pots that can easily be put straight into the ground.  So I searched the web and found a video on making them.  I didn't want can size pots. I felt that was a bit too big.  I thought and then vaguely remembered my friend saying that she used toilet paper tubes to make the pots.  I didn't think that it would be much different than the video instructions, so I went with the tube. 

Tools:
  • Scissors
  • Measuring tape or ruler
Materials:
  • News paper
  • Toilet paper tube (or paper towel tube cut in half)
  • Seeds of choice
  • Dirt


First, I measured and then cut the news paper into 10 X 4 inch strips.


Second, I rolled the newspaper around the tube.  Make sure to leave about a 1/2 to 3/4 inch past the bottom of the roll.  You'll need this to fold in to make the bottom.


Third, I folded the bottom.  First, locate where the seam is.  You'll want to fold this part down first to help keep it together.  Once you fold that part down, fold the opposite side, and then the other two sides.  Sometimes I had to cup the bottom and press the tube to help make the bottom stay (that was in the video).  I also used my scissors to press down the folded parts from the inside to make sure that it stayed flat.


Once I did all that, I had a beautiful, little, decomposable pot for planting my seeds:


The rest is just planting history:  I put the pots in a tin casserole dish, filled them with dirt, put in my seeds, covered with dirt, labeled with popsicle sticks, watered them, and put them in the sun all day.  


Once it's completely warm enough and the sprouts are big enough, I'll just plant the WHOLE thing into the garden - newspaper pot and all.

Can't wait to see the first sprout!

How do you start out your seedlings?  In peat pots? In eggs? In plastic containers?

Now you can Do It Yourself Too !

~Stephanie

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A Tisket. A Tasket. A Wall Full of Baskets

Soo...after my new found obsession with Pinterest started, I came across this wonderful idea for small bathroom storage . Our upstairs "guest" bathroom doesn't have a lot of storage space, our sink is narrow with little cabinet space, and I'm not very in to the shelf/cabinet over the toilet idea.  So I was thrilled when I saw this picture.  I love baskets because they are a versatile way to store anything and they look good doing it.  I was also excited because the current towel bar over the toilet was not centered, which really bothered me, so now I had an excuse to take it down.   For the project: Tools Needed: Screw Driver Drill Putty knife (if needed) Paint roller (if needed) Paint tray (if needed) Level Measuring tape Pencil Materials Needed:   Towel Bars Baskets Something to attach baskets to bar - I used craft ribbon Spackling (if needed) Sand paper (if needed) Self-adhesive drywall joint tape (if needed) Primer and P

Fallin' For Tulle Wreaths

Pinterest is at it again.  While browsing Pinterest during my daily hourly look through, I found this pretty fall wreath : Since it is on Etsy, I started to look for an online tutorial on how to make a tulle wreath.  I've never seen one before, so I wasn't sure where to start.  Google makes searching for things so easy and I quickly found this  tutorial.  It was very helpful. I got most of my materials at a store called WOW Outlets in Pennsylvania while visiting my family (yes, another trip to PA).  The foam ring is 11" .  I originally started with a 12" ring, but felt it was too big.  I had almost the whole wreath covered with tulle, didn't like it, and took it apart for the smaller ring. I got some of the tulle at the same store, some at the $1.00 section in JoAnn's, and had some cut from a bolt at JoAnn's.  I also purchased some gold ribbon as well. The flower, leaves, and scarecrow are all from fall decorations I had lying around the ho

Spring Hanging Towels

I just wanted to share what I started over Easter break and finished yesterday in between church, hunting for Easter baskets, and eating tons of food.  My Gram's birthday and my godmother's birthday is in April, so I told them I'd make an Easter hanging towel for them.  I had four towels, so I was able to make 8 all together.  Only five are shown: Since I last made the shamrock one, I did find out that I can make a buttonhole with my sewing machine.  However, I can't find the manual so I still don't know how to use it.  So I'm still sewing snaps on the towels like I did  here .  I did figure out that I can sew the button on at the same time as the snap, so that made it MUCH easier than the first time I did it.  I actually like the snaps and will probably keep with it even if when I do figure out how to use it. I gave all of them away as gifts, except for one.  I think they turned out just springy :) I hope that you all had a blessed Easter !