Square Paper Seedling Pots - Quick, Easy, and Biodegradable

In a previous video, we quickly showed off our square DIY Paper Seedling Pots, and a number of you asked for a tutorial. So today, we're going to do just that! :)

[@shelly5224]

I don't plant large scale but i just save toilet paper and paper towel rolls, make 4 small cuts on one end and fold them like a box top.

[@dachsymom5232]

I do this too. Method my Mama taught md and her Mama taught her. Works great! Best of all free and no using gas to go sourcing. Already on hand when needed. Reduces landfill. Win, win, win.

[@shelly5224]

@@dachsymom5232 EXACTLY

[@coldhandjacinth9069]

Brilliant! I'm trying this in spring if I survive the dark winter.

[@Alyn08]

And it works?

[@LuisC7]

I didn't understand??? Can you explain please

[@peggyhelblingsgardenwhatyo7920]

Oh my God, you two are brilliant! I just make news paper pots. I'm going to give Brown paper pots a try. I just started a KZbin channel for easy gardening tips. I'm 70 and have been Gardening for over 50 years. I find amazing how many "old" tips are becoming new again. I think Garden Smarter Not Harder is a game changer! Happy Gardening and I wish you great success 👩‍🌾👍

[@andreakent96]

Your little tips are things that can save people a lot of time and money trouble shooting for themselves. LOVE your videos ❤️

[@LWCtabby]

I've watched several other YT videos making paper pots - but yours is by far the easiest. The others use endless folds and creases - I just give up watching them. thanks for a simple and effective method.

[@BackToReality]

Thanks Elaine, I really appreciate that!

[@VioletFinds...]

I agree. This is a great solution

[@ViiveKaiRebane]

I love how you make the nature and environment he first priority! And wow your germination station is huge!!!

[@ElderandOakFarm]

Kudos! Great video! It amazes me that all of the old plastic trays and pots are just thrown out at garden centers! They're always willing to give them to me!

[@MS-te3ob]

I absolutely love your videos. I live in an apartment with a very small back porch, but I am going to try several paper pots....if not veggies then flowers. I miss having a garden.....thanks for enjoyable, enlightening and helpful videos.

[@omniocrom]

In Scandinavia only 1 percent of our waste goes to landfills. 49 percent of all garage are recycled from our households and 50 percent are used to heat households, water etc. In our household we recycle all glass, plastics, paper, metal and leftovers from food. We take all dangerous items, computers, lamps, furniture etc to a special plant and sort it in to different containers. It really feels good to know that garbage is going back in the system and not building horrible trash-mountains contaminating the world. 🙂

[@mulatadesanzala2920]

@Erica Nyström hej Erica ! Vad kull att träffas här ! How i miss my Sweden of my exile years ! After 50 years of Sweden i got a big shock when i emigrated to Minnesota not so long ago. Americans talk about recycling... what a joke! Exact as Erica said, recycling is something natural and part of our DNA. It’s natural and everyone does it automatically. In our plantation in Africa recycle, saving everything and improving was a natural way of life. When i went to Sweden, was easy but recycling become improved and like an art of living and caring for our planet. Coming to America was a discovery of environmental disaster to me... its time we start REALLY making recycling and environment a very serious matter. We use and abuse disposables here and create terrible hardships on flora and fauna. THANKS FOR A GREAT VIDEO!! EXCELLENT IDEA ! Please cybernauts out with more ideas like this.

[@peacelily720]

As South Korea does

[@naturenirvana1]

Wow, that's great :)

[@KrishnaYadav-xz3fj]

It's great Ms. Erica. Other countries and citizens must follow the same to save our mother nature.

[@timan2039]

Are you able to recycle the electronic waste in Scandinavia? I do want the USA to recycle like our lives depend on it, because it does. Denver, CO puts far more effort into recycling than the last three cities I have lived in but there needs to be more participation from people and of course better management and reducing outsourcing.

[@wifemamateacher]

Love this idea! Our kiddos love origami, and we include that as part of our handicraft time for homeschooling (helps train kiddos in precision, and aids in the development of both hand/eye coordination and fine motor control of the fingers), and they would LOVE to make these for our newly sown pepper and tomato plants when they reach potting stage! Thank you very much for sharing!

[@BackToReality]

Oh, that's a great idea! It's also a fun way to get them involved in their own food production at a young age. I really hope they (and you) enjoy them! :)

[@cherylirvin3919]

So many people talk about saving the planet but DOING something about it is more important than just talk! I hope you keep making videos with such great PRACTICAL ideas. Yes, I already use paper pots, but you have taught me a better way! Little things add up to a lot of saving ... money ...resources...and the planet!

[@BackToReality]

Thanks so much for this comment Cheryl. I'm really glad this was helpful :)

[@WanieB]

That design is great. At first they look quite large compared to a store bought seed starter kit but I think that is better as the seeds appear to be able to develop a nice root structure in the larger space to be healthier and more established until a good time to plant them. I will be trying your method this spring, thanks for the tips and video. Not to mention it gives you something to do while you wait on planting time and gets ya a little excited about planting.

[@theblueflame]

The video was filled with information that was delivered nicely and clearly with amazing graphics and visuals, I was entertained through the entire video (for all the video I have seen) it was high production, very high quality videos, but I think because of how high the quality they are they don’t leave room for stuff like harvesting videos and the like, for something like the garlic video I would have loved to see a follow up video showing the end result it would have been an amazing pay off for that video, the first video I watched was the potato video of you planting and harvesting the potatoes that Drew me in to the channel then watched other videos like the grass video and the grass tea video that I found amazing I never thought that I would be so attentive to something like grass then I watched your garlic video I loved it then started to look for the follow up video of the harvest , i was disappointed as there was no pay off to the planting but all in all I will be subscribing and waiting for more from you guys thanks for these amazing videos.

[@stacyclark5910]

Most helpful method & end results on biodegradable pots online I have found! Thx! & happy, good, fun & successful gardening!❤

[@mariekrasch503]

Excellent video! Graphics and information were wonderfully presented, and very clear and easy to understand. Great ideas were shared and narrator spoke clearly and enunciated his words so that the details could be easily followed.

[@BackToReality]

Thank you so much Marie. What a wonderfully complimentary comment! I really appreciate it! :)

[@TauhidAhmad]

Love your videos ,please make more frequent videos if possible :)

[@BackToReality]

Thank so much! I'm trying to make them more frequent. They just tend to take so much time. But I'm still working on it ;)

[@crazzie7]

Incredibly good info! I was just looking to buy some biodegradable pots for my 2nd stage seedlings. You guys are so clever! Hope you’re both well! ✌️

[@sanhitadatta9447]

Your attention to detail is really awesome.

[@louannad1]

GENIUS!!!! I loved this idea. Thank you for being smart and generious to share this idea with the rest of us do it your-selfer's.

[@PeterSedesse]

You missed one big advantage of paper pots over the cups. Less damage to roots.

[@timan2039]

I imagine the roots are less likely run in circles blocked by plastic and being square will help discourage this a bit more.

[@Flowergurl2000]

My favorite seedling paper pots were egg shell boxes and use eggs shells to start them inside also! 18 plant boxes a week in this house!!!

[@gardenlove2782]

Boy you have so much spare time to make hundreds of these! I’m jealous.

[@thelandofmint]

Just want to say you are the best American homesteaders, not hoarding food and cutting trees to build this and that, like the others I've seen on KZbin, you are a real custodian of this beautiful planet of ours. Well done and thank you💕👏

[@BackToReality]

Thank you so much Sue! What a kind thing to say! By the way, we're actually Canadian ;)

[@rickdees251]

Yes, "Newspapers are printed with Ink!" The Ink is biodegradable.It's made with Mineral Oil which is biodegradable and carbon a soil booster. Google, " Carbon (C) is an important indicator of soil health and an integral part of the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the soil". So use newspaper if you wish and you don't have to lose any sleep over it.

[@BackToReality]

Thanks! I'll check that out!

[@22jawky]

Carbon is a hierarchy term, you can burn any toxin and it turns to carbon. And just because mineral oil is an ingredient doesnt mean that all the ingredients are magically safe.

[@Serai3]

@@22jawky Why don't you try reading the article cited instead of assuming it's wrong?

[@22jawky]

@@Serai3 its based on false pretenses, specifically the ones I mentioned.

[@Serai3]

@@22jawky And why should anyone believe you? You've presented no evidence at all other than your own opinion.

[@cwgoodrich]

Can’t believe how much I enjoyed this video.

[@1acrehomesteader43]

What a great idea! I have a ton of that paper laying around. Now all I have to do is take the time to make me a few hundred pots. Thanks again for sharing this info! 🌱🌱🌱

[@ruthp7539]

I love this idea and will use them come this spring! Thank you for sharing!

[@guidingroamingsouls2682]

Yall are geniuses! I love the tips and appreciate you for sharing your passion with us!

[@Dimension640]

The idea of paper pots is really awesome

[@JustinR82]

This is my first season really going full force on starting a TON of seeds and my main concern was pots. After watching this, I think my problem might be solved!! I can't wait to get some paper and try this out!

[@jkeeton8781]

Love your animation! I’m trying paper bag pots in mass for the first time. Thank you for the tips.

[@kathrynhobbs8874]

That Mr Amazon sends me masses of paper in a lovely box to store the pots in, around every purchase…..thus justifying my online shopping 😊

[@RoyBlumenthal]

Superb! And I love your visual explainer tools! Excellent video, excellent communication! Thanks.

[@slaplapdog]

This could be a solution for selling starts!

[@thetechnohippies8622]

It must have been a crazy light bulb moment to realize you could "roll" the square pods! We will absolutely be trying this as fellow appreciators of efficient space management and low-impact materials.

[@bobt471]

EXCELLENT Editing and information! Thank you

[@whitecato]

This gave me an idea with all the paper bags that we got from drugstores and supermarkets, since plastic bags are banned in most of the cities in our country.

[@GrassrootsGarden]

What a great video!!!!! I came for a minute and stayed for the full 11.

[@tissuepaper9962]

You could take a bandsaw through that 36" wide roll to get two 18" wide rolls.

[@callingyouout3954]

I loved the origami pot, but couldn't see myself doing 500 - 1000 origami fold projects over months. This is a wonderful alternative.

[@HHeirloomIA]

I love the square idea. :) I will be using paper feed sacks for these! Yes, I made up MANY of the square ones. Love them better than the round so far!

[@SergeGrowsOrganicEndHunger]

Your videos are always interesting to watch and very informative, thank you. I'm definitely going to use this square pots

[@Rec_it_Roop]

Love that you take the environmental cost into consideration!

[@Cyrilmc222004]

Thank you so much I really really enjoyed watching your video, and it’s really helpful and useful too. I’m going to make some and I think you’ve got this just right too

[@nancynahnigoh3550]

Great ideas to do so great jobs

[@khanoclast]

Last year, I started some of my corn indoors in toilet paper rolls. A few cuts and folds on the bottom made them into a cup shape, and they unfolded easily when planting time came. The corn roots were very aggressive pushing through the wet cardboard, so much so that some of them actually worked their way into neighboring TP pots! I've got a larger collection of TP rolls this year (go figure), and plan to use them for the corn, beans, and squash for my new larger Three Sisters bed...

[@BackToReality]

I LOVE the TP pots. We haven't used any yet, but have also been saving them up. Any concern about the glues used in the rolls?

[@khanoclast]

@@BackToReality I personally don't, but I understand that others might. The glue residue on my rolls is very light, mostly just a discoloration on the leftover roll, not some globby chunk of booger glue holding on like Hans Gruber to the Nakatomi Tower.

[@BackToReality]

LOL! Ok, anybody who works a Die Hard reference into a comment about TP seedling pots... definitely deserves a "heart"! ;)

[@scrapshackfarms1349]

Thank you, always enjoy your video's. Y'all are so crafty. God bless

[@gioknows]

Very cool. I will try this. Cheers from Ottawa, Canada.

[@BackToReality]

Ottawa? You're practically right down the road from us then :)

[@gioknows]

@@BackToReality Ha ha... awesome!

[@rajannaik4963]

Incredible idea I am going to certainly implement this. Thank you so much

[@blockycore9701]

Amazing video!! As always!!

[@BackToReality]

Thanks so much! :)

[@CITAP1]

That's a creative way to plant. Holy cow, a Paula sighting. Take care.

[@BackToReality]

Lol, yeah the sightings tend to be a bit more rare these days, but she's always there in the background, even if not always visible. :)

[@lennapelayo3252]

Very ingenious love it'😍Thank you 😊

[@pearl7477]

I have a couple of suggestions- Instead of doing all that cutting, buy a roll of painter's masking paper. It comes in 6", 9", 12". I use 6". I have a scrap board that I have screwed a couple of 3" L brackets to(any hardware store carries them- they already have holes in them) and attach the masking paper roll between them with a kabob skewer. Then you can roll out your paper to desired length and use a ruler to tear the paper. If you mark your board, you can do it uniformly. 2nd suggestion: Fold back your 1/2 inch or 5/8 inch at the top and leave it folded EXCEPT for the end (the outer edge when rolling). About 2 inches from that end, unfold that and just tear your paper back to your 1/2" fold line and leave that part unfolded. Roll up your paper (I have a 2 inch dowel) to the end, fold in your bottom, remove your paper pot from your dowel, THEN fold that last 2" flap to the inside. Easy peasy, quick, inexpensive. The paper is light weight but perfectly fine for the duration on your seedling growth. For my 2 inch dowel, I use about 15" piece of paper. '

[@rachellerachelle6682]

Brilliant! Thank you! This is great

[@anniemalone8556]

Have been making my own pots too ,much appreciated at the local market....what I use is our thick brown paper grocery bags and the unwaxed animal feed bags using a square plastic pot to shape...

[@cynthiaj88]

Thanks for your informative videos! I live in the U.P. and I have to be creative, because we have such a short season. My husband and I use toilet paper rolls! No ink or bleach!

[@vIBEDoUT-Channel]

I love biodegradable stuff! #plasticfree

[@sailingsolar]

Seeds are biodegradable. So are you!

[@markom2928]

I'm so doing this this year! Also I've been collecting inner carton rolls of toilet paper rolls, so I'll use them to germinate red curry pumpkins and sugar baby watermelons. Love the channel guys ❤

[@Herschel1738]

I tried tpr pots this year & I found they dried out too quickly. The pots are small & don't hold a lot of dirt; and being round, the sides don't touch, so the sun & air dry out the cardboard quickly. But I was growing seedlings outdoors in a cold frame with a warm southern sun shining on them. They may work better indoors, under grow lights that don't get hot.

[@sherilynalexnder897]

The paper pots are a fabulous idea. Dollar Tree sells rolls of brown paper. Most grocery stores offer paper bags (free, if you don't count the cost of the groceries), although there is typically some printing on those bags.

[@twestgard2]

I have learned that it’s best to remove the paper before planting or if there are roots in it, tear it up as much as possible. The paper does block the roots a lot.

[@lightdark00]

If the paper is dry, yes. The paper should not be that dry. Remember kraft paper that is shiny has a starch layer, heavier grades have more clay, and you don't want to use wet-strength paperboard. Some packing paper may be wet-strength. Roots can break moist wood apart, dry layering is the only issue.

[@paulrelf-davies7508]

Have you come across 'soil blockers'? They are devices for pressing soil into various sized cubes, specifically for starting seedlings. The cubes are structurally strong enough to hold together from sowing to planting out. Imagine starting all your hundreds of seedlings, without having to make hundreds of paper pots...a significant time saving and no questions about the most appropriate paper to use....because...no paper needed! I came across the device last year and found it very successful for starting a variety of seedlings, of all sizes...tomatoes, brassicas, squash, etc.

[@CarlosJimenez_93]

Like always!! Awesome video!! I feel a book coming...

[@sewwelikecrumbs5825]

Love this I like quick easy and very affordable thanks

[@richardroyles1423]

I’m gonna try thank you. Kansas

[@megalepivolos]

excellent idea thank you very much

[@jarretv5438]

Great video👏

[@mytinyretirement]

I saw this idea on another channel and I'm just itching to try it.

[@mohandasnair9211]

fantastic. thanks for sharing

[@brettchampagne4440]

Excellent how to.

[@karensmith4546]

Great idea! I am thinking brown paper bags might work. I am inundated with those.

[@Blue-kt5ed]

What a great idea, thanks for the great tip

[@Killthebatsman]

Have you tried to take your 3 foot paper roll to your miter saw and just chopping the whole roll in half? That’s worked for me before with a fine tooth blade on the miter saw!

[@jerradcampbell74]

Love what you do, keep up the good work

[@BackToReality]

Thanks so much! :)

[@TravisPflanz]

You can also fold the top seam before wrapping the paper around the block.

[@46positivity]

I stopped putting bottoms on mine. I put a couple layers of paper in the bottom of the tray to hold the seed starter in place. As the plants grow, the roots hold the soil together enough so that you don't need a bottom to hold the soil together when you transplant. This method significantly reduces the time it takes to make the seed cups. Also, use a straight edge and a box cutter (razor knife) to cut the paper. Much faster than scissors.

[@46positivity]

For your straightedge: if you rip a board the width you need, you don't even have to measure the paper. Just place one edge of your board along the edge of the paper, and cut along the opposite edge. Keep moving the straightedge into position and cut. Reposition and cut. Reposition and cut. No need to measure.

[@michaelgibson2163]

I looked into paper planters last year and what i found was that newspapers use food grade dye. One of the few positive outcomes of having such fragile generations coming up. No newspapers want to be the ones to poison a paper eating teen so they are relatively innocuous. The non glossy newspaper only.

[@erickaluise9482]

Coconut leaves are also great alternative and also good compost

[@stonedapefarmer]

This is a great design. I like using soil blocks, but out greenhouse isn't finished yet and I have no practical way to make them work inside. I'm using some solo cups this year but I am pretty paranoid about reusing them as many times as possible, and even then it's not as good as I'd wish. I've been looking at paper pots as an alternative to soil blocks for plants that I give to others, and this design is definitely better than other's I've seen. Looking forward to using it in the future.

[@BackToReality]

Thanks Stoned Ape (very intriguing username, by the way)! It sounds like we're on a similar path. We've also just ordered a soil blocker, and hope to experiment with it (on a small scale) this year. But in the meantime, we've really loved these paper pots. I hope they work well for you also!

[@stonedapefarmer]

@@BackToReality I did a test of 8 different homemade mixes for my soil blocks since I couldn't buy anything in this year with the pandemic. FYI, the best blocks were the ones made only with my sifted deep litter compost without any other additions. The plants were easily twice the size of any of the other 7 mixes I trialed. I didn't have commercial potting mix to compare it to, but I don't see the point in using commercial mix after getting the results I got.

[@BackToReality]

@@stonedapefarmer That is VERY encouraging! Thanks again!

[@JBV-vb4dq]

if your in canada, Timm's ice coffee cups are wayyy better that red solo cups cus they are transparent cups that have a ticker plastic which lasts unlimied amount of times. the greatest thing is you can see when the soil is dry and you can see the roots and how root bound the plant is. you can transplant it before its rootbound! you can easily reuse it over and over and over again. not waste.

[@BackToReality]

We are in Canada! :) Thanks for the tip!

[@yvonnejackson323]

Splendid ..!.....thank you...!

[@Susileedean]

That’s a great idea. I’m going to try that.

[@nickacoutin2505]

You made it way to easy to make and I think we have a big roll of paper 👍

[@BackToReality]

Perfect! :) I'm glad you found it helpful, and I hope they work well for you, if you try them out!

[@Aelanna]

How well did these break down once in the garden? I tried compostable peat pots one year only to find out they broke down very little and held my plants captive in the garden bed. It took 2 or 3 seasons for them to fully break down.

[@cheongyei]

small kraft bags are available from U-Line.... A #1 bag is 3.5x2.4 inch footprint and 6.8 inch tall. just open the bag, fold in the edges for strength. Four cents each

[@claireanderson2078]

Thank you for another excellent video. Another benefit for me is that using paper pots will free up all that messy storage of new cups and used cups-with-holes. I'll just make paper pots when I need them. Question: do you bottom water your seedlings? Peas, sar

[@okpen1234]

If you have a worm bin, the paper bags can be reused as brown's if you are not pleased with the idea of having paper in your garden soil. The worms Will have a good feast.

[@bullkeusatough6693]

very impressive

[@Raytaotao]

you are a genius!

[@peaceandfreedom8931]

ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!!!

[@Serai3]

Don't the pots fall apart from watering the seedlings?

[@jackiee3449]

Ty for a great idea

[@emmadalrymple4102]

An excellent video!

[@grammydayao7581]

News paper ink today is very safe, I use it in my vegetable garden.

[@derekp6867]

Another idea you could try is a soil blocker. It makes a block of solid soil out of your soil to plant it. Doesn't use plastic or paper

[@wildedibles819]

Great information thanks for putting these points out there :)

[@sailingsolar]

Look at all those seed packs. Makes me wonder ,, how many years are seeds still viable and are those going to be used before the are no longer viable??

[@BackToReality]

Great question! Many of our seed packets have expiry dates listed, and most are good for 2 or 3 years max. Luckily, we did use most of them last year.

[@project1003]

While it is best to use them when you buy them, most seeds will stay viable for a few years, depending on storage conditions. Ideally you keep them in a low humidity, low temperature, low light environment. Oh, and that really isn't a lot of seeds. The guy I go to for gardening advice grows at least 10 varieties of tomatoes along with another 15-20 veggies and more herbs/flowers/ornamentals than I can count. All on less than 1/3 of an acre in suburbia. Old Italian guys are a friggin' treasure of gardening advice!

[@len10ten]

Well thought out!

[@RobinsTinyHomestead]

Great idea, I think I would just buy paper lunch bags and fold them down since I don't have a partner to help.:-):-):-)

[@BackToReality]

You're the second person who commented about using paper bags! This is such a great idea! It would likely cost a bit more in the long run, but my goodness, it sure would be easy!

[@RobinsTinyHomestead]

@@BackToReality I think you can get quite a few a the dollar tree in one package .:-):-):-)

[@Blackhuf]

Great video, as always :)

[@bluewolf4915]

Genius! Too late for this year, but next?

[@debbiekoortzen1154]

Thos was really inspiring, thank you.