Food Storage Garden – Make Your Own Pots for FREE

Posted on April 13, 2009 by Jodi
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As you may remember from my “It’s Garden Time” post a few weeks ago, I am a big fan of gardening and especially in how it relates to food storage. Now that our Food Storage Made Easy (eBook) Binders are completed and available, I’ve actually had a bit of time to focus on gardening again. This weekend I took a bunch of my seedlings that I started in Jiffy Pellets and transplanted them into small pots to allow them space to grow some more. I even found a way to make my OWN pots out of newspapers so it was all FREE except for buying the potting soil. I just had to share this new method with you because I was so excited about it.

How to Make Your Own Plant Pots – Video

How to Make Your Own Plant Pots – Instructions

  1. Take a single full sheet of black and white newspaper (color paper can have chemicals that may leach into your soil so it’s best to avoid it).
  2. Fold the paper on its seam. Fold in half one more time. If your paper is larger in size you may have to fold it once more. Make a good crease on folds.
  3. Take a glass and place it on its edge halfway onto the newspaper. Wrap the newspaper tightly around the glass and then shove all the edges down inside the glass.
  4. Pull the newspaper off of the glass. Take the inside edges that you had previously folded into the glass and unfold them a bit to make the base of the pot. Press them down hard (you can use the base of your glass to really get it sealed down in there.
  5. Transplant (or plant) your seeding into the newspaper pot with some good potting soil and place it in a tray and put it into direct sunlight. I use a little indoor greenhouse I found online.
  6. When ready to move the plants into your garden simply remove the newspaper and place the plant in your garden.


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  • Lammorat

    or plant the newspaper and all!!! It will compost into the soil and you won’t need to disturb the roots!

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  • http://www.largepot.net/information-news/what-you-should-know-about-choosing-garden-pots/ large garden pots

    Please give me more information. I love it, Thanks again.

  • http://kobialkafamily.blogspot.com wishtrish

    I have been making these for years, and I think you are brilliant to put this up here. I love doing my potting this way. Is it okay for me to share your video on my garden blog? http://trishsgarden.blogspot.com It’s a desert gardening site, and it’s really too late to start most seedlings here, but it would be good info for my readers come fall when we get ready to plant again. Thanks!

  • http://kobialkafamily.blogspot.com wishtrish

    I have been making these for years, and I think you are brilliant to put this up here. I love doing my potting this way. Is it okay for me to share your video on my garden blog? http://trishsgarden.blogspot.com It’s a desert gardening site, and it’s really too late to start most seedlings here, but it would be good info for my readers come fall when we get ready to plant again. Thanks!

  • Elizabeth Golly

    This is awsome…. my son and i resently planted som sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds in a little window box to help my son understand where food comes from and this is great! i can’t wait to try it. do you know how long before you HAVE to transplant?thanks again!!

    • Jodi — Food Storage Made Easy

      I just transplant when the roots are starting to get squished on the sides of the pot (or sticking out of the jiffy pellets). Just make sure to wait until the weather is warm enough to move them outside.

  • Elizabeth Golly

    This is awsome…. my son and i resently planted som sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds in a little window box to help my son understand where food comes from and this is great! i can’t wait to try it. do you know how long before you HAVE to transplant?thanks again!!

    • Jodi — Food Storage Made Easy

      I just transplant when the roots are starting to get squished on the sides of the pot (or sticking out of the jiffy pellets). Just make sure to wait until the weather is warm enough to move them outside.

  • Jana

    Thanks so much! I saw a wooden tool that makes the newspaper pots in a garden catalog. Now I can make larger pots for free! :)

  • Jana

    Thanks so much! I saw a wooden tool that makes the newspaper pots in a garden catalog. Now I can make larger pots for free! :)

  • April

    Fantastic idea!!! The greenhouse you have, Walmart here where I live Canada has them. I bought 3 of them..only $40 each.

  • April

    Fantastic idea!!! The greenhouse you have, Walmart here where I live Canada has them. I bought 3 of them..only $40 each.

  • http://mybugsworld.blogspot.com/ Jane

    Y’all are just so awesome. I saw this and said we are going to try it I have already made 15 pots just sitting on the floor with my little one. We are having so much fun. This is so cool. I was debating on weather to go buy pots. Not gonna buy them now. Thank you all.

  • http://mybugsworld.blogspot.com/ Jane

    Y’all are just so awesome. I saw this and said we are going to try it I have already made 15 pots just sitting on the floor with my little one. We are having so much fun. This is so cool. I was debating on weather to go buy pots. Not gonna buy them now. Thank you all.

  • Lindsey

    Yes, you can plant with the newspaper still on. It will decompose. Actually, that’s why many people like to use this sort of thing for seedlings. because you can plant it directly in the ground without disturbing the roots.
    However, if you like, you may want to open up the bottom to help it out.

  • Lindsey

    Yes, you can plant with the newspaper still on. It will decompose. Actually, that’s why many people like to use this sort of thing for seedlings. because you can plant it directly in the ground without disturbing the roots.
    However, if you like, you may want to open up the bottom to help it out.

  • ctdaffodil

    you could use a utility knife and make slices into the newspaper pot before transplanting. We’ve done this before and never had a problem with the newspaper decomposing….

  • ctdaffodil

    you could use a utility knife and make slices into the newspaper pot before transplanting. We’ve done this before and never had a problem with the newspaper decomposing….

  • Cynthia Z

    yay! Thanks for sharing! I’m needing to transplant my little seedling into pots for a while before they hit the garden, and I found I only have 9 little pots, so this is exactly what I needed to know! I went ahead and lined the pots with newspaper, in hopes that they will transplant easier. Thanks again for the tip :)

  • Cynthia Z

    yay! Thanks for sharing! I’m needing to transplant my little seedling into pots for a while before they hit the garden, and I found I only have 9 little pots, so this is exactly what I needed to know! I went ahead and lined the pots with newspaper, in hopes that they will transplant easier. Thanks again for the tip :)

  • http://frommomtomom.blogspot.com/ lvlc @ FromMomToMom

    I have seen this idea before and is great! Is nice that you can just plant it directly in your garden!

    I started my seedlings already but I used other ideas to do it. For example using Strawberry and Blueberries boxes. They are perfect since they have the lid to create the green house for the seeds to sprout, they are clear to sun come in too. Then when the seeds have sprouted just take out the lid and put to the sun or growing light.
    I will post some pics this week in my blog of my seedlings! :) they are so cute, thought some have been lazy! :)

  • http://frommomtomom.blogspot.com/ lvlc @ FromMomToMom

    I have seen this idea before and is great! Is nice that you can just plant it directly in your garden!

    I started my seedlings already but I used other ideas to do it. For example using Strawberry and Blueberries boxes. They are perfect since they have the lid to create the green house for the seeds to sprout, they are clear to sun come in too. Then when the seeds have sprouted just take out the lid and put to the sun or growing light.
    I will post some pics this week in my blog of my seedlings! :) they are so cute, thought some have been lazy! :)

  • http://www.everythingprepared.com Jim

    Great tip. Can you plant it with the newspaper still on?

    • Jodi

      I would pull the newspaper off. I don’t think it would biodegrade fast enough to prevent the roots from getting rootbound.

  • http://www.everythingprepared.com Jim

    Great tip. Can you plant it with the newspaper still on?

    • Jodi

      I would pull the newspaper off. I don’t think it would biodegrade fast enough to prevent the roots from getting rootbound.

  • sandra

    Great Idea! I will be using it. Thanks for sharing!

  • sandra

    Great Idea! I will be using it. Thanks for sharing!

  • Shauna

    After watching “Bedtime Stories” this weekend, I am totally saying your title like Adam Sandler when he wants a ferrari for freeeeeeeee!

    Thanks for showing how to make those pots…I think I might have to try making some when my seedlings are ready for a bigger living space. This is my first year trying a garden in my mountain home so I hope it works. I’ve had luck in other places but the climate and short growing season here has always turned me off even trying. This year I decided to take a chance on it. Wish me luck!

  • Shauna

    After watching “Bedtime Stories” this weekend, I am totally saying your title like Adam Sandler when he wants a ferrari for freeeeeeeee!

    Thanks for showing how to make those pots…I think I might have to try making some when my seedlings are ready for a bigger living space. This is my first year trying a garden in my mountain home so I hope it works. I’ve had luck in other places but the climate and short growing season here has always turned me off even trying. This year I decided to take a chance on it. Wish me luck!