The More You Know...The More You Grow

I recently bought some peat pots for my seeds. It came with about 24 pots for around $4.00; which isn't a bad price. I loved them because I didn't have to transplant my seedlings from one container to the ground; which always causes a little "shock" to the plants. Once the seedlings grew a bit I was able to plant them directly into the ground. This was an added bonus since the dirt in my backyard is pretty dry, so the pot contained the plant well. Peat pots are a definite bonus in my eyes.

I stumbled upon a few articles on how to make your own peat pots from newspaper. Although the cost of the peat pots is minimal, in this economy every penny counts. Most newspapers are printed with soy ink, and is biodegradable. Many gardeners use newspapers for mulch, so why not as a peat pot.

What you need:
*Newspapers
*A glass, rolling pin, or soda can
*Fingers


1. Split the newspaper down the center either with your hands or scissors.



2. Take one half and split/cut in half again.



Basically you've taken the full paper and cut along all the folds.

3. Take the paper and fold it in half lengthwise to make a rectangle.



Make sure all your creases are tight.

4. On one of the long sides of the rectangle: fold over 1 inch to make a small flap.



5. Lay your glass/can/rolling pin over the paper so the the end without the flap is extending beyond the glass/can/rolling pin.



6. Wrap the newspaper around the canister so the paper overlaps. Turn upside down, keeping your fingers on the seem. Fold the ends of the paper over. This may take some practice with one hand. Just think of it like wrapping a gift.





7. Once all the edges have been folded over, flip over and remove the canister...remember to keep holding the seam so it doesn't fall apart.



8. To "seal" the pot, take the outside layer's flap and carefully lift it up and fold over the inside flap.





9. Fill pots with soil and seeds. I decided to use the seeds from seeded paper I made recently.



Happy Potting!

Growing Junk

One of my favorite blogs is Michelle Kaufmann's Green It Yourself. She's got some great ideas on there and I decided to try out her paper making tip. I love the idea of taking your junk mail and turning it into home made paper with seeds. You can then create cards from the paper and when your friends receive the card they can plant it and yield beautiful flowers, veggies, or other plants.

What you need:

*Blender
*Shredded paper
*Water
*Frame with wire mesh
*Bucket
*Packet of Seeds

1. Shred some paper - use junk mail or any other paper you would normally recycle.



2. Fill your blender with the shredded paper, then pour in water to cover the paper. Pulse until combined.

3. Place meshed frame over a bucket. I was lucky and found a wire frame at my grandmother's house. My frame is about 4" x 4". Watch Michelle's YouTube video to see how you can make your own frame.



4. Pour contents from blender over the frame, catching the pulp. Continue to mix and pour until you have nice coverage over the wire frame. I made 1 blender mixuter for my frame.

5. Pour seeds over the mixture. For my frame it took 1 package of seeds.

6. Leave to dry, until its not dripping anymore. Remove paper and place between towels or newspaper while using a sponge to extract the remaining liquid. Leave to dry for 12-24 hours. I'm lucky so I just placed mine outside in the sun.



What I learned:

- Considering I was using a small frame, I will use less mixture next time as my paper came out really thick. If I try to bend the paper I think it will crack.

- I also waited too long to pull the paper out to remove water with a sponge. By the time I went back the whole thing was dry....which could be the reason its so thick.

- I will definitely try this again, but will not add any seeds until I perfect the paper portion.

- Its still a whole lot of fun to make mistakes...and at least I can plant this one and have beautiful flowers.

Don't feel like making it, then buy it from my friend. Brynne creates her own stamps and hand makes each of these cards. Check out her site Backward Prints!