paper plant pots

[tel]

Having just watched a video of someone making paper plant pots ( with the round wood tool and base unit) I thought I would have a go, when my tool arrives,but first there is a couple of question that I would like to pose to anyone:-- 1) when you have made the pot would it be o/k to staple the top to make it a bit more robust 2) When you are ready to plant the pot into the ground does the bottom of the pot need to be opened up to allow the roots to grow thro' or will the pot allow the roots thro' as it disintergrates.In advance thanks for any replies.
Tel

[bearded bloke]

Never used them but if you want to secure the top of the fold & keep it totally bio-degradable you could make a paste with flour & water,better ideas will no doubt follow from those who have actually made/used them

[KittyColdNose]

Hello tel.

I would avoid using staples if it was me, although there are staple free guns available that you can use. Not sure how they work exactly but I am sure it would be friendlier to the plants - unless you are going to remove the staples before you plant the pots on.

The paper will be wet and decompose in the ground, I don't think you would need to open the bottoms up.

*bottoms up? Time for a cuppa

[Barking Postlethwaite]

I find that if you wind them tightly and stand them in a seed tray, box or other container they will support each other and won't fall apart. They should hold together while you transplant them without any problem as well, so you really shouldn't need to pin or glue them together.

I've not had any problems with things growing out through the bottom.

[Bren In Pots]

Make sure you wrap enough newspaper around the former double layer is usually plenty that way you get decent pot that doesn't drop to bits as soon as you water.

[darcyvuqua]

can i ask what tool your on about i would be inclined to save on the tool and use a rolling pin or something along those lines

[Alison]

You don't need to stable at all, I make dozens of the things every year for all my tomatoes, peppers, chillies, aubergines and tomatillos and have never had one come unwound. I make them out of the free paper and cut the paper into strips the full double width of the paper and whatever the recommended depth is on the destructions. As they are only little pots they are potted on fairly quickly into plastic pots and I've never found any problems with them not breaking down, am guessing if you use heavier quality paper then there might be a bit of an issue but certainly not with newspaper.

[Alison]

Save your cash. There are origami pot instructions of paper pot making on my blog. Spend your £10 on compost or seeds instead.

I've done ones as per your blog (and several other ways too) and for me the formers are well worth the money. Its much quicker to use and for the amount I make that really makes a difference and I've found that they stay together better too.

[green fingered]

I have one, didn't cost much £3 and it's fantastic. You can use a jar and lid to make the pots too. They shouldn't come undone and shouldn't have to open bottom when you plant outside will degrade and roots grow through the paper on their own.

[Bren In Pots]

can i ask what tool your on about i would be inclined to save on the tool and use a rolling pin or something along those lines

I made my potter using this link :-

Newspaper Pot Maker

using some old bits of pipe we'd got laying around and instead of the Dome Slip Cap I found a piece of wood to bung up the end of the inner pipe.

On Mothers day our daughter bought me one of those wooden ones it makes a bit bigger size pot so its handy to have different sizes, then if I want a larger pot I use Zaz's link.

[snakeshack]

I got the former as a christmas prezzie 2 years ago and was suprized how good it is you can vary th height of the pots too for beans etc.No problems with roots penetrating the base on planting out an have never found staples /glue necessary either,once they get damp they show no tendancy to spring apart either

[growerkari]

I brought mine a couple of weeks back from home bargains for £2.99, worth every penny I've stood mine in a seed tray, so that they stand against each other and stops them falling apart

[zazen999]

I've done ones as per your blog (and several other ways too) and for me the formers are well worth the money. Its much quicker to use and for the amount I make that really makes a difference and I've found that they stay together better too.

Mine are made by able bodies and disabled kids in class, don't cost a penny for the former and we make hundreds and hundreds. If they fell apart I'd not use them. We made another 50 today. So by all means use the former but please don't make out that they don't stay together because they are just fine.

[Yorkshire.Dave]

Think I will take a look at the origami pots on the blog :-)

[Jimmy]

I used to make bottomless pots out of scrap A4 from work.
I would half the A4 and wrap around a coke can.
Then staple to get a ring.
Used them in a seed tray with a base of compost in it.
I used them mainly for getting the beans off to an early start.
It worked OK until one year the plants look very pale and distressed.
All I could think was that A4 had coloured ink, it was previously black.
Potted plants on and they recovered a bit.
So watch out for coloured paper it may or may not be OK.
Jimmy