Making Growing Pots from Newspaper

Cheap, easy and good for the planet: making growing pots from old newspapers is just a good idea.

There are millions of newspapers thrown away every day. Many are recycled but wouldn’t it be nice to put them to some practical use that can be seen and felt? Making growing pots is a good start.The tools with which to make the pots are in every home: newspapers and flat-sided bottles. It couldn’t be easier. Flat-sided bottles are preferred because molded ones tend to make it difficult to remove the finished pot, though if the taper goes from the top to the bottom it will work nicely.Smaller pots can be made from beer bottles (perfect for propagating), and a wine bottle is well suited for seedlings. Any bottle will do, however, even catsup or a mason jar.

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Making the Pots

To make the pots just take a single sheet of a tabloid or half of a page of broadsheet (torn down the centre vertically.) Lay the sheet out with a long edge perpendicular to the bottle (see the second image 'bottle position'), leaving a width of the bottle below the bottom, and wrap it around. Starting with where the seam is (where the end of the newspaper is), fold the paper at the bottom in several times until it is all tucked in.At this point, tape could be used to secure it, but standing the bottle up and pushing down while rotating the bottle will work lovely. Carefully remove the bottle. The ‘pot’ can now be filled with soil and used for planting.

Watering Indicators

There are wooden and metal devices which can be purchased to make these pots but a bottle works just as well. The pots themselves act as soil moisture indicators as they will be damp when the soil is damp and will dry out when it’s time to water, or well past time to water if completely dry. Some people suggest the pots can be planted in the ground or pot intact since they will biodegrade in a couple of weeks, but plants with weaker roots tend to get bound up before this happens. Ripping the bottom out before planting can solve this issue.Most newspapers are now printed with biodegradable ink but it doesn’t hurt to check first. There are some inks that can harm plants.This is a great activity for kids as not only can they decorate the pots, but it makes a rainy day better. Using this technique will save money as well as put some eco-credits in your pocket.