apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Really?? You need a product to help with this? You can't just roll the newspaper around a glass or something? This seems more than a little unnecessary... I'm all for encouraging people to garden and re-use where possible, but purchasing an unnecessary block of wood? This doesn't need to be encouraged.

You don't need to buy anything to do good for the environment. You *can* make newspaper pots WITHOUT a product that requires a tree to be cut down, cut to size, polished, and shipped to your house using fossil fuels: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Newspaper-Seedling-Pots

Yes, you can certainly make seedling pots using a variety of techniques, and this is just another one that came recommended from someone who really liked it said it made the process a bit easier.

Happy Gardening,
Rachel

This looks like a neat little device. I am trying to use cardboard egg cartons as seed starters, partly because I have hardly any space and they conveniently fit in my kitchen windowsill.

I would appreciate instructions for a sturdy "origami" style pot, using newspaper strips or even 8.5x11 inch office paper.

Sunny, wish I could help but I've experimented and haven't had much luck with this. Most of mine fell apart. The sturdiest box I've found is this one:

http://www.origami-instructions.com/origami-box.html

You could make it with maybe two sheets of office paper for reinforcement, but you're still stuck with squaring off the paper. Personally I wasn't wild about the wide, shallow shape.

Nessie, I've tried egg cartons without much success, admittedly it's partly because they dry out quickly and I didn't water them enough. The other problem is twofold: 1) the compartments are so short they don't allow good root development, 2) the carton is so thick it doesn't decompose fast enough for the roots to break through.

You might be able to get around this by doing a couple of things: keep them really really well watered; the paper will absorb the water, so the water-seeking roots may be able to embed themselves into the paper. When it's time to plant, get them super wet and poke a few holes in the bottom, or make cuts. Then, make sure the whole carton is buried, because if it isn't, it will draw water out of the ground which will evaporate through the exposed area, and leave your seedling bone dry. Good luck.

I was lucky to find a bunch of peat pots at a thrift store. When those run out, I'll be trying pedalpowered's solution.

I use milk cartons that I already have on hand to start my plants. I just cut off the top and poke holes in the bottom for drainage. They're very sturdy.