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Past Articles Library | Plant Propagation | Make Newspaper Pots

You can use these as you would any pots to grow seedlings for a flower or vegetable garden, or for cuttings for plant propagation.

When it's time to plant the seedlings or cuttings, simply place the entire pot in the ground. The newspaper will break down in a couple of months and become part of the soil.

Note: Make sure the edges of the pot are completely buried. If exposed to the air, any free edges can wick away and evaporate significant amounts of moisture from the young plant.

You can make these pots any size you want, we're just showing you the basic idea to follow; you can make alterations as you see fit.

You will need:

• Black and white newspaper. Don't use colored sheets because they may contain toxins.
  
  
• A tube, or an empty drinking bottle, or a drinking glass, anything that is about 3 to 4 inches (7.6 to 10 cm) in diameter. You can also use something smaller like a tomato paste can.

Step 1 1. Fold a sheet of newspaper in half - lengthwise.
Step 2 2. Make another fold about 3 inches (7.6 cm) in from the folded edge.
Steps 3 & 4 3. Place the tube about 4 inches (10 cm) from the unfolded edge, and roll the paper around the tube into a cylinder. 4. Starting with the innermost loose corner, fold in the newspaper to the center of the tube.
Steps 5, 6, 7 5. Pull out the tube from the open end of the cylinder. 6. Use a fist or flat end of a drinking glass to compact and form the closed end of of the cylinder from the inside. 7. Secure the pot's shape and form the rim of the pot by folding the top edge over twice. That's it, you're ready to fill with soil and plant!