Today’s project was making newspaper pots to start some vegetable seeds in.  Last year I saved all of the containers that the vegetable starts I bought came in, but those got used up very quickly.  I saw in a catalog a special gadget that you use as a mold to make small newspaper pots with, but I wasn’t interested in spending $15 on it.  You can buy peat pots in the gardening store that are also biodegradable, but those cost money, too.  And I’m trying to be as frugal as I can in doing this gardening – you’d be amazed how easy it is to spend a lot of money on various aspects of a garden. 

Then I stumbled upon a way to make pots from newspapers for planting in without needing a mold.  What’s really nice about this idea of making pots from newspapers is it uses something free and truly recycles it!  Once the seeds have sprouted and are ready to transplant into your garden, you can plant the entire thing in the ground.  That’s better for the plants, because it’s easier for them to adapt than to be taken from the containers they’re in and then transplanted, and it’s less work for you! 

Here’s the way we were planning to do it:  http://www.geocities.com/newspaperpots/.  But then when I was ready to show the kids the instructions, the site was down.  They already had the newspaper out and were geared up to make them, so I quickly created a new plan.  I suggested they roll them in a circle, about the size of a juice can, and then fold the bottoms in.  I didn’t know if it would work but figured it was worth a try.  At first their pots were falling apart, but then they realized they needed to use a larger piece of newspaper so that the bulk helped hold it together.  They took one regular sized sheet of newspaper, folded it in half, then folded it in half again.  Then they rolled it, and folded the bottom in the way you would package a present, folding the bottom four times, working their way around in a circle. 

When they finished, they put each pot into a used aluminum 9 x 13 pan.  I saved a plastic cover for this pan, and will use it as a mini greenhouse for the plants we start.  We’re planning to start eggplants and peppers in these, since we’ve already started tomatoes and rhubarb.  But maybe I should do some more tomatoes, too.  Can you have too many tomatoes?  Hmm.  I’ll have to think about it. 

Anyway, whatever you decide you want to plant, these pots are quick and easy to make, and it’s a nice hands on project for the kids. 

Avivah