 | Many gardeners are becoming increasingly aware of the impact of their hobby on the environment and it's common to begin exploring veg growing as a way of becoming more in touch with the sources of our food as well as engaging with the living land herself. Using only organic seeds and fertilisers is a big part of sustainable and respectful gardening... But what about all the plastic pots? Terracotta is a great choice for bigger, more substantial planting but not very affordable (or practical) for getting seedlings weaned out of trays and into the cold frame before they make their way to the beds. Nik's been exploring newspaper as a material for seedling pots and after a few trials (and only minimal tribulations!) he's become a dab hand at knocking up these rather attractive little paper pots for seedlings. All you really need is a couple of sheets of newspaper per pot and a medium jam jar, though you may also like to use some small lengths of string to secure your pots a little more. It's not totally necessary, however; it's been an aesthetic way of using up off cuts of macramé cord for us! Best to avoid colour print newspaper pages lif you can. It's unlikely that your local free paper uses vegetable inks! |
How to Make Paper Pots:
| If you're a visual person, you'll definitely get a better idea of the process by checking out the 'How To' gallery photos but I'll have a bash at describing the process too! Start with your two pages of newspaper (layered one on top of the other) on a flat surface and fold them in half length ways, twice. (e.g. Fold the bottom edge of the newspaper, as if you were reading it, to the top, and then again in the same direction) You should then have a relatively narrow band of newspaper, eight pieces of paper thick and a quarter the height of your original newspaper sheets. Align one long edge of the newspaper with the bottom of the jam jar and roll it up, tight enough not to crease the paper but not so tight you'll struggle to get the jar out. Put the bottom of the jar flat on the table and push the paper that extends above the rim down into the jar. Slide the jar out and turn it over, then push the bottom of the jar back down inside the paper tube, pressing it down firmly to compact the folded in paper and give your pot a base. Pull the jar out again and you have yourself a compostable, recycled pot! When the pots are filled with compost, they hold themselves together quite nicely but if you'd like to, secure it with a length of cotton or compostable twine. Do make sure you don't use polyester, nylon or acrylic as that won't rot down properly and you'll be adding plastics into your soil and potentially micro plastics into your lovingly grown veg, cooking pot and plate!  | |
The idea of these pots is not only that they make convenient 'half way houses' between seed tray and veg bed, or even to look pretty, though they serve both these functions. You can actually plant these little vessels directly into the bed, which is especially helpful for any crop plants that don't like their roots disturbed such as root veg and sweet corn. But yes, as well as being ethical and practical, they do look totally lovely. A gift to the garden on every level! Happy potting!
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