I am getting so anxious to get my garden in. Many of us start our seeds for our garden inside about a month prior to get a head start on a longer harvesting season in the Midwest. Not to mention starting your seeds indoors is less expensive than purchasing plants the weekend of planting. Newspaper pots are easy to make with this DIY plant pot maker and you can make them over and over again.
Supplies:
2” dowel rod
tomato paste jar
chopsaw
tape measure
can opener
vice (to hold dowel while you drill into it)
Optional: washi tape
1. Recycle a tomato paste can. Sand down any sharp edges and wash clean.
2. Jo-Ann carries plenty of sizes of wood circles. I found 1” ones and stacked and glued them together to get a little more height. Or you can also find round wood wheels that would work too (circle to the left).
3. Once those are dry mix up some epoxy and then glue those to the center of the bottom of your tomato paste can. Set aside and let dry.
4. To make your plant pot maker cut a piece of dowel to 5” with a chopsaw. I got a dowel rod at my local big box store for $7.78. You can make 9 pot makers from one 48” rod.
5. Place your 5” dowel in a vice and mark the center. Next drill a hole with 1 1/4” spade bit. You can add tape to the bit as a marer so you don’t drill too deep. You want this hole slightly wider than your circle wood pieces.
6. Leave the can plain or bling it up. I can’t leave anything alone so I used some washi tape to decorate it.
7. Now you can start making your pots. Cut your newspaper 1 1/2” wider than the height of the pot you want. Wrap the newspaper around the dowel rod twice leaving 1 1/2” of the newspaper over the edge.
8. Tuck in the bottom edges.
9. Stick your newspaper covered dowel into the tomato paste can and press it and twist it in there making contact with your wooden circle you glued in the bottom. This will pinch the bottom edge making it able to stand up.
10. Remove the dowel and slide off your newspaper pot.
You can wet the side edge down and press it to make it stay.
You get a nice flat bottom so you can set several newspaper pots in a shallow tray. Add water to the tray and the roots will send down to where the water is causing nice deep roots.
I started these a week ago and I already have some sprouts. I have the beginning of green beans, sugar snap peas and squash right there.
Make a bunch of give to friends or just plant some seeds and tie a few newspaper pots together as a gift. Since newspaper is biodegradable you just set the newspaper right into the ground when you are ready to plant. Make sure the newspaper is fully covered by soil when you plant.
Happy Spring friends!
For more garden inspired projects click here…
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