Recycled Newspaper Pots Tutorial

Here is a free, quick and easy project to use up old newspapers and recycle them into pots that can be used to germinate seeds, strike cuttings, or to pot up seedlings. They'll reduce your garden start up costs and the best part is that they can be planted straight into the garden, meaning no root disturbance for the plant. The plants roots will grow through the paper and they will eventually rot away or be eaten by worms. If you use a thicker paper, just tear away and compost the paper before planting.

There are special kits being marketed to make pots like these, but they are absolutely unnecessary. Just use materials you already have on hand. Generally newspapers these days are printed with soy-based inks so using them for vege and herb seedlings is fine, but it's better to use the black and white sections just to be sure.

What you'll need: newspaper, a glass or jar, scissors or ruler to tear paper, compost or seed raising mix.

How to do it:
Fold or tear paper into an oblong and wrap around bottle.

Leave a few cms of paper overhanging the end of the bottle.

Fold in the edges underneath the bottle.

Fold over the top edge to secure the paper in place.

Fill with compost, and you're ready to go! It's best to keep them in a container to retain moisture and to stabilise the pots.

Variations: Use old phone books, junk mail, flyers or any paper that is unbleached and non-glossy. If you are uncertain of the inks used, or if it has been chemically bleached, use the paper pots to grow non-edibles to be planted in an ornamental garden. Use glasses, tubes, pipes, cans, jars etc to roll the paper around. Different sized pots are useful for different applications.