On Sun, 22 Feb 2004 15:45:51 GMT, Salty Thumb
wrote:

Made some newspaper pots the other day. Decided to pass on cutting them in
strips worry about them falling apart, so i just made little origami pots
(yes 2nd grade art class does come in handy). They fall apart readily ...
until you stick soil in them. The soil pressure seals the folds together
so they seem to work pretty well. Just fold up the corners of a square of
newspaper to make walls and then fold the tops in. Mine are 2 ply.
They've been watered from the top and seem to be holding up fine, despite
the newspaper turning slightly yellow after being out 30 minutes. They
are in plastic try and are heavier from light watering ... wouldn't
surprise me if the bottom might fall out if I were to lift them out now.

I did the strips and yup they'll fall apart if you try to move them
before they're to the stage when the roots have filled the ring of
paper, that's why you make them various sides from little finger or
ring finger diameter for something you want to move when it has a
leaf or two, and has a tiny seed to begin with, to say the toilet
paper roll size ring. You choose the container size to meet the size
of the ring.

The rings appear all too fragile, but when they're all filled, with
some soil between them, that single sheet of paper is *just* enough to
encourage those young roots to turn and grow within the ring. Once
they're full enough of roots, I just use a popsicle stick or old knife
of spoon to poke down the side of the plant's news paper ring and pop
it up and after one is out, I find that my index or index and middle
finger sufficient to gently slip under and lift the plants and yup the
rings do break open easily at that point but the roots hold the soil
together long enough to go into the next pot or ground. And we want
it to break at that point to disintegrate and not retard any further
growth of the plant.. the thicker paper will break down, but not as
readily.

When I first read about making those newspaper rings in the book.. I
think it was Grow Vegetables the Chinese Way, or Grow more vegetables
the Chines Way. It was a Sunset book or one like them, thin,
paperback book my dad bought, I was skeptical about something so
flimsy as a piece of wet newspaper being strong enough to start
seedlings in, but I tried it and it worked!

A friend of mine made the little pots too. I'm not that talented or
dexterous, and I don't have that much newspaper, so I just make rings
and fill 'em up with potting soil and wet 'em down and plant seeds in
'em and pluck 'em out as needed!

I imagine if you tear the origami types open on the side and bottoms,
when you plant, they'll work ok too!

Have fun! ;-)

Janice