Posted by Suzanne McMinn @ 5:06 am | Permalink
The Country Garden, Tips & Ideas
I miss flowers! I’m always eager to start seeds indoors so I can get flowers in my pots on the porch as soon as possible. And not just flowers, I like to start herbs and vegetables inside for a head-start, too, and my favorite way to do it is with the little biodegradable seed pots you can buy then later pop right into your pots or garden without any mess, so when I came across this idea for making your own biodegradable seed-starter pots using empty rolls of toliet paper, I was thrilled! FREE seed-starter pots!!!! And with four of us in this household, we have plenty of empty toilet papers rolls! Note: I found this tip in Mother Earth News. I thought the directions left something to be desired, so I’m here, to fill in the gaps with step-by-step pictures.
The directions in the magazine said to take an empty toilet paper roll and cut it in half. Cut it in half which way? I know! You’re all thinking, Suzanne, how stupid are you?! But just in case anyone else is as easily flummoxed as I am……
THIS is the right way to cut it in half.
By the way, I am thinking one of these empty toilet paper roll photos is surely my winning ticket to beat that slice of cornbread in next year’s Black Walnut Festival photography competition, don’t you?
Not that I’m not totally over that or anything.
Now cut four half-inch to three-quarter-inch slices at the bottom of each half to create four equal-size flaps. I’ve never been a well-coordinated box flap weaver, but I managed to tuck the little flaps together to make a tidy bottom to the pot.
And there you have two little seed-starter pots out of one empty roll of toilet paper. Is that cute or what?! I was so proud, you’d think I’d given birth to them! I filled the little pots up with soil, popped in a few seeds, and set them out in the light of the big windows in the cellar porch. Around here, it’ll take no time to come up with enough additional empty rolls to get this tray filled up. Empty paper towel rolls will work, too, to make several pots. No more wasted empty paper towel or toilet paper rolls! Free seed-starter pots for everyone! This would also make a fun project to do with kids. And when it’s time to plant outdoors, the pots can either be peeled off and thrown out or left on (my preferred method) to degrade over time.
Isn’t that fun?
