Potting Shed News: Eco Plant Pot Maker

As regular readers will know, I'm trying to develop a range of eco-sensitive products which can be handmade out of sustainable materials. With all the time I spend in the greenhouse growing our food, a paper pot maker has been on the list for a while! Well this weekend we had a go, putting the lathe into service and making a functional finished product.

I've seen them before and wanted to see if we could make one. It seemed like a good investment as it means never having to but plastic seed modules or pots ever again! Using them instead of plastic modules means less disturbance to the delicate new roots and less chance of me getting carried away and planting way more seeds than I have room for once potted on!  It turned out well and now I have no need to use plastic plant pots for my seedlings! We are now going to add these to the range in our Etsy shop, for all of those that don't have a lathe and so can't make one at home! My father has a huge pile of wood donated to him buy various friends that know he does woodwork. We're not always sure what sort of wood it is, but if we can we try to label it as it comes in and before it is put away to dry.  

The pot can made from recycled newspaper or (old/damaged book pages!). I prefer to secure mine with a little twine, just to make them neat, but this isn't vital as they'll work fine without securing. After a while the paper will start to break down and the whole thing can be potted on into something more permanent or planted out in the garden. 

To use you get half a sheet of newspaper. I've decided to make mine thicker, but you can make them using half as much paper, though the walls of the pot will be quite flimsy, especially once wet!

Fold the paper four times (in half and then half again)

Wrap around the pot maker and fold in the ends. You can tie with twine at this point if you like.

Firmly push into the pot maker base. This compresses the bottom so that it keeps its shape.

Carefully pull off the paper pot and it's ready to use! I line all of mine up into a seed tray, just to hold them upright and it's worth remembering that the less you can handle these the better once wet.

I've just listed my eco-pot makers on Etsy with worldwide shipping available. Although I would prefer people to source things as locally as possible to reduce pollution miles, I will post these out if you're unable to find a local, ethical maker! Woodturning is a popular hobby, so why not see if you have a local crafter willing to take commissions? To view our listing visit our Etsy or Folksy shop.