Make Your Own Biodegradable Newspaper Seedling Pots

Photo courtesy of jspatchwork at Flickr.com.

Here’s an organic gardening practice that’s also an effective way to recycle your newspaper. All you’ll need is the newspaper itself, some biodegradable tape, a tin can (the kind canned vegetables usually come in), and some scissors.

First, cut the newspaper lengthwise into strips about eight inches wide. To create a pot, place the can at the end of a newspaper strip, with the bottom of the can facing to the left, at a point about two-thirds over from the left edge of the strip. Then roll up the strip around the tin can, making sure the edges remain as even as possible. When you’ve run out of strip, tape the free end to the rest of the newspaper to form a cylinder.

Next, bend over the edges of the free end of the cylinder until they’re flush with the bottom of the tin can, and tape them down. The most effective way to do this is to bend over opposite sides to create flaps, and then smooth them over and tape them to each other (not the can). Next, just slide your creation off the can.

And there you have it: a little pot that’s sturdy enough to hold a seedling until you get it into the ground, and that will biodegrade very quickly thereafter. It takes less than a minute to make, and is immediately ready to receive both soil and seedling.