Make a little seedling pot by cleverly folding newspaper. No staples, glue, or tape required :)
Plus, as Lifehacker points out: “You never have to de-pot these suckers — the newspaper will just break down and the roots grow through it once assembled and put into the ground” — or into a bigger pot, in my case.
I’ve never tried sprouting my own seeds before. Is it hard to do?
It’s super easy to sprout your own seeds, just make sure the soil stays moist and pick something that grows well in your area (easy to find plants that grow well in LA). You can set up a super-easy little drip system to make sure they get enough H2O…the common cause of the death of my container plants. I have a container gardening book I can send you…I think I’ve extracted the useful info from it and would be happy to pass it on.
The newspaper pots are cool! I just bought some coconut fiber pots that also break down in the soil (and are a good alternative to the peat pots my mom used to use, but that use peat (a new green no-no)) but I like the idea of origami newspaper pots- recycling & no plastic wrapper to throw away.
Comment by Summer — April 17, 2007 @ 4:21 pm
Sounds like a fun plan!
If only I had a garden to transplant these guys into later….
As an eco-nag, I’d like to urge everyone to plant california-friendly native plants, or at least non-invasive non-natives, if they are going to plant these outside.
Have fun greenthumbing it, everyone!
Comment by Rafi — April 17, 2007 @ 4:42 pm
one way to help keep planted seeds moisturized is to cover them (ie: a piece of paper bag or cardboard) until the sprout emerges…
ditto on the native plants. here’s link for some “where to get them”
http://www.bewaterwise.com/retailers.html
Comment by ecofriendly — April 18, 2007 @ 11:44 am
Great idea, here, and without the wooden wrap-your-newspaper-around-this-form-newspaperpot, at $16…seen on Martha Stewart yesterday, along with ‘bricks’ of coconut fiber you can wet, and break up into mulch or use to bulk out your potting medium with. Martha Stewart…who knew?
Comment by Dee — April 20, 2007 @ 1:45 am
Drip system. That’s definitely what I need…. Rafi — You don’t need a garden — just bigger pots –
Comment by Siel — April 21, 2007 @ 10:08 pm