home sectionInstead of buying expensive peat pots to plant your seeds in, make these spiffy planting pots by rolling recycled newspaper around a glass or jar. The finished pots are sturdy and will break down quickly once they've been planted in the soil.
Lay a full sheet of black and white newspaper flat. Don't use shiny, colored paper as it may contain heavy metals.
Fold the paper in half lengthwise twice to form a long, narrow strip of folded newspaper.
Lay the glass on its side and place it on one end of the strip of paper. Roll the newspaper around the glass. The glass is used only as a form to roll the paper. About 1/2 of the strip of paper should overlap the open end of the glass.
Push the ends of the paper into the open end of the glass. This step doesn't have to be neat and tidy; just stuff the overlapping newspaper into the glass.
Pull the jar out of the newspaper pocket so you have the newspaper pot in your hand.
Push the bottom of the jar into the newspaper cup, squashing the folded bottom to flatten. This step will seal the bottom of your pot. Once the pot has been filled with soil, the bottom will be secure.
Pull the jar out and you have a finished paper pot.
