Paper Potter - any good?

[mrdinkle]

Hi There,

In a bid to be a bit more environmentally caring - blah de blah de blah. I was thinking about investing in a paper potter.

Anyone got one and are they any good? Seen them on fleabay for about a tenner delivered - is that av price?

[hypnophil]

Hi mrd
i think the potters are usually more,
there are threads on here which show you how to make paper pots yourself, i tried and they are surprisingly good.
I am sure there will be a grape along to give you proper advice but if not i will try and give you some instructions,
good luck!

[mrdinkle]

Oooo making my own would be just as good. I'll have a search for the thread.

[willowstar]

i made my own last year from instructions found on here somewhere and they worked really well!!! the only thing I would do differently this year is to try and break them up a bit when I plant them out as I found that they didn't always break down very well and I am not sure if that affected the roots or not.

[mrdinkle]

Yup, I was just reading that they take 1 - 5 months to degrade.

I will try some!

[Alison]

I have a paper potter thing and it was indeed about a tenner - been using it for seeds for the past two years and it's fab. Don't know how long they take to degrade but they've defo disappeared by the end of the season. I plant all my chillies, toms etc in them and then pot on into 3" and 5" pots before eventually planting out.

[lainey lou]

Here's the link, they're great, started my broadies of in them the roots just keep on growing through the bottom so not a problem if they take a while to degrade.

Newspaper Seed Starter Pots
Edit... that didn't work, will try again!!

Edit.... OK try this...

Newspaper Seed Starter Pots

[Matt.]

I borrowed a paper potter last year. It worked great so if you want one go for it.

However, I think you get just as good results rolling the paper round a glass tumbler. Overlap the end and tuck the excess into the open end. The crease forms the base edge and the pot is done. Once filled with compost and standing against each other they keep upright.

As for root disturbance you need not worry. Once watered the paper becomes weak and roots can easily push through the paper fabric. If you want to make double sure just peel off the base when you transplant. They are a good green method of getting seedlings going.

[mrdinkle]

I am gonna try it with some broad beans and my runners in a few weeks!

Ta

[mapcr77]

I found this, may be useful, it has some instructions on how to make paper pots:
Cut the Cost - cheap gardening ideas. Make your own newspaper pots and homemade growbags.

[mrdinkle]

cool thanks!

[Potter]

I make my own paper pots using the 'tumbler' method and they work great. I didn't want mine to unravel (wanted to able to stand them individually) so sucured mine with some small paper stickers I had. I also had a variety of different sizes through changing the tumbler size. I very pleasant few hours spent rolling and sticking while watching strictly come dancing !

[mrdinkle]

I very pleasant few hours spent rolling and sticking while watching strictly come dancing !

Hahahaha! I had a very pleasant few hours making paper pots whilst my wife was watching the dancing!

I had earphones on with loud music blaring!

Did not use paper stickers, though will bear that in mind for next time!

[Jenny22Cumbria]

I bought a paper potter (from Harrod horticulture I think) and I'm v impressed with it - it cost about £10 and they do aluminium ones now for the same price. Mine's wooden and it's great for sealing the ends. (I think if I used a tumbler it'd just all fall out the bottom - I'm not v good at that sort of thing!)

My pea seeds had sent roots out of the bottom of the pots before I'd even put them outside so there's certainly not a problem there!

I wet the edges where they meet so that they dry stuck together, then I don't have to be so delicate with them. Our dog Amy finds them very attractive and carries them off very gently in her teeth when I'm not looking. All but one have survived until now though!

[terrier]

I just had this vision of filling the tumbler with potting compost before wrapping the newspaper around it so that when the paper pot is formed, you tap out the compost and you get a ready filled paper pot. Anybody tried it?