[...] I was always dubious about the idea of making small pots out of old newspaper. Surely they'll fall apart, I thought, and can't possibly be worth the bother. How wrong I was.
Don't dismiss an idea until you've tried it! I should have known better really, but I was always dubious about the idea of making small pots out of old newspaper. Surely they'll fall apart, I thought, and can't possibly be worth the bother. How wrong I was.
Someone gave me a kit of wooden block templates last spring, so I set about wrapping them with strips of newspaper, and crimping over the base to make small pots. Filled with compost, I sowed peas in each pot, then grouped them together in a tray to keep moist. Within weeks beautiful well-rooted plants had developed, ready for planting directly outside without risk of disturbing the rootball.
Following this success I've tried growing other crops in newspaper pots, including beans and courgettes, and am now hooked.
It's actually quite therapeutic setting up a little paper pot production line as I watch the evening news on TV, cramming trays with pots ready for sowing. And of course, the pots are free, biodegradable, and don't need washing once you've finished with them.
My blog on recycling in the garden last spring brought a wealth of great ideas from our blogging community, highlighting just how useful many items classed as waste can be. Cardboard items can be used as pots, while packaging and other plastic items can be put to good use for raising seeds.
Plain cardboard is never wasted in my household. If I don't need the toilet roll tubes, egg boxes or plain card as pots, I always shred them into small pieces and add to the compost heap where they quickly break down.
As we all know, the more we recycle the less needs to be disposed of or go to landfill, so every little helps. So if anyone has any spare old newspapers I know a gardener who would love them!
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