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We Tried Starting Seeds In Newspaper Pots. Here's How It Went
By TIFFANY SELVEY
There are many options out there for starting seeds for your garden, from yogurt cups to peat pots, but we wanted to give free, environmentally friendly newspaper pots a try.
We gathered the basic supplies at the dining room table. All you need is newspaper and something around which to form pots, like a soda can, a cup, or a glass jar.
Next, we made our own seed-starting medium by blending equal parts garden soil, compost, and vermiculite in a bucket. Finally, you’ll need a container to put your finished pots in.
We wrapped the newspaper around the can with 1 inch of paper hanging off the end before pulling the can out. Then we filled the pot with soil mix and placed it in the container.
After filling the pots with seeds and watering them, we put them under grow lights. The downsides to this method are that it’s messy, and the paper pots break down quickly.
It was also difficult to water from the top as it displaced the seeds. However, since the newspaper constantly wicked water to the top, it did keep the soil consistently moist.
Overall, we loved how environmentally friendly the newspaper pot method is. An added benefit is that the newspaper attracts worms, whose droppings are a great source of nutrition.