Allotments 4 All

Hi just made some paper pots easy to do.
i use a tin of Mr sheen and a news paper.
i open the news paper out and cut it in half,then i take 1 peice and fold it in half then wrap it around the tin with about an 1'' overhang at the bottom of the tin then just fold it in makeing sure its tight
             jj

Hi JJ,

We received a kit for christmas, three wooden rounds with a base to finish off the bottom of the pot. I thought it was a bit of a waste of time,but, with a spare hour or so the other Sunday started making pots. I now have early peas, Mangetout, Broccoli, 3 types of Tomato and two types of chilli growing in them. Makes a lot of sense to not disturb the roots and a lot less plant pots to wash up later. I have noticed that unless they are well spaced you can get mould inbetween the pots though.

Good luck with yours.

I wrapped a sheet of newspaper folded into three round a jam jar then scrunched another half sheet into a ball then squashed it down inside the tube, using the jam jar to press it flat inside- very quick, easy and effective.  I've potted up my cauli sedlings into them, so we will see how they get on- this is the first time I've tried newspaper pots, although I've used loo roll middles successfully for sweet peas.

Sounds a bit like using toilet roll tubes.

I have, when I have run out of toilet roll tubes cut and twisted newspaper into rounds and clipped them with a staple or two. They work perfectly well.

Also, you can get some damp proof course, cut it into strips and then tape them into shape.

These can be, used and reused. Again and again.

Frankly, a lot of the stuff they sell at some of these garden centres, and a few other shops  can be replicated at a fraction of the cost.

The other day I saw some plastic bags, two for £1.99 to use for planting potatoes in. My DIY store sells 12 refuse sacks, for £2.50 they are of the same size and quality and will do the same job.

There are a lot of people out there who want to try to grow their own and there are a lot of
'businesses aware' of keen new gardiners taking advantage of that fact. 

You could end up spending a fortune to get a tiny bit of home grown produce which is loads cheaper bought in the shops. Never the less you will be proud because you have grown it.

It is also important to learn how to grow.

The world has too many people and one day, those who export to us may say. We need that food for ourselves.

Then we have to grow our own or starve. In WWII people were lifting up their lawns to grow spuds and there is no reason to suspect, we wont need to go there again in the future.

So, today we need to re-learn how to grow and teach our kids too, in case, it is essential in the future and It very well could be.

I am new to the paper pot method, ... well truth be known this is my 1st growing season so I am new at everything.    I have tried several techniques an found the one that works best for me it to use either an empty tin or a paper towel tube (depending on the size of pot that you need) as the base to wrap the newspaper around.    I had tried using jars & glasses but found that their slight angles made it more difficult.  No worries about glass breaking.

It get me thinking though.  You are only limited by the size of tubing that you can get your hands on. 

I like to wrap newspaper round a longish tube such as the inside of kitchen roll/kitchen foil, then snip the newspaper tube into long or short lengths depending on the plants going into them, stapling them as I snip.

They don't need a base, as the tubes are put inside a container, filled with compost, and by the time the seedling is well rooted, the compost does not fall out of the bottom when you bury them in the plot.

I used the tin method once then purchased a wooden paper pot maker for £12 15 months ago.  Never used paper pots since - still using the plastic seed trays ::) ::) ::)

yesterday I sowed 60 broad beans in paper plant pots (rolled round toilet roll cardboard) and 60 peas - both pre-soaked for 24 hours (might speed up germination). I will report progress!

by the way the paper was from the sunday times and a lot of the pages were coloured - hope this does not affect the seeds...

I've used paper pots too. They work really well as do toilet roll innards...but found that sweetcorn did better in conventional pots