Paper Pots

[Don Stephan]

Anyone have positive experience turning the form and base, and making paper pots for vegetable and flower seedlings? I have turned the two parts but my pots don't want to hold shape, and spring is springing.

[Bill Howatt]

Never made one but got a commercial one as a gift.
My wife tried it and said for the little expense the peat pots were, it wasn't worth her time.
Anyway, I just tried it and made 3 from a sheet of newspaper. 2 were pretty good and the third didn't want to stay together as well. If you don't want to use a bit of tape or glue or perhaps just a spritz of water, maybe making them as you fill them with dirt might help because of the moisture in the dirt. Just a guess!!!

[Richard Coers]

A little flour and water, paper machete, brushed on the paper will set it up nicely. Must be 50 videos or instructions on the internet of how to make them. But who gets a newspaper these days?

[Earl McLain]

A little flour and water, paper machete, brushed on the paper will set it up nicely. Must be 50 videos or instructions on the internet of how to make them. But who gets a newspaper these days?

ME!! but only 5 days a week (Tuesday-Saturday), and in the 8-12 page range. Comes in the mail, so i read it the next morning. Tuesday's news is usually from the prior Wednesday or Thursday, and i read it on Wednesday--so even the obituaries are out of date. Not much paper junk mail any more either, so i've had to get better at starting fires with tinder.

[Don Stephan]

My experience peat pots dry out to quickly, after planting in the garden if any of the pot rim remains above ground the roots dry quiickly, and I don't think after planting the roots easily penetrate the walls of the peat pots. My two cents, why I'm interested in the paper pots. Plus a good recycling of newspaper.

[Mark Wedel]

Never made paper pots, but I remember buying some cheap paper pots from Amazon and they sucked - basically turned to mush when wet.

I start my seedlings in 1.25" square peat pots. Once I know which ones have sprouted, and they are large enough, I then move them to 3" square plastic pots. The roots have no issues getting through the peat pots, as I noticed today as some pepper roots are now emerging from the bottom of the plastic pots. Early start for me, having a greenhouse and living in California, so I could safely start putting plants outside in a few weeks (though will leave them in the greenhouse as long as possible, as they grow faster there vs being outside).

I do use drip irrigation, so have never had an issue with things drying out due to peat pots. But for me by the time they are going outside, they will have completely grown through the peat pots and ideally be slightly rootbound by the plastic pots.

[Tim Elett]

Earl how do we get on the no paper junk mail list?

[Earl McLain]

Earl how do we get on the no paper junk mail list?

No idea. Even now that i'm over 65, i don't get a heck of a lot of healthcare mailings. My first wife, who hasn't lived here in 23 years, gets more junk mail addressed to her than i do.