How to Start Seeds in Newspaper Pots

Gardening season is here! If you’ve never tried starting seeds, it can be really rewarding—and really frustrating.

Take it from me, starting seeds for the first time is a challenge. You wait and wait and wait. Then finally the little seedlings emerge—or they don’t. You have to tend to them to make sure they’re thriving. And it takes quite a while until they grow big enough to transplant to the garden.

Buuuuuut when you do, it’s so rewarding. It’s crazy to think that you started that little sucker from seed and now you’re eating tomatoes off of it! Here’s how I do it.

Folding newspaper pots

I like to start seeds indoors in newspaper pots. You fold sheets of newspaper origami-style into little pots to hold your seedlings. After your seeds grow big enough, you can even transplant the newspaper pot straight into the ground because it breaks down into the soil.

I learned how to make newspaper pots to start seeds by watching this video. After a few tries, you’ll turn into a newspaper pot-folding machine.

How to grow seeds

After you finish folding your newspaper pots, fill them with soil. Then, use tweezers to place  a seed (or several) in each pot under the soil about 1/4 of an inch. Water the soil evenly. Keep an eye on your seedlings and follow the care instructions on the seed packet and you’ll be growing your own newspaper pot garden in no time.

Voila!

Bonus tip: I like to use leftover water to water my seeds. By that I mean, the water I used to soak a dish (so long as there’s no soap in it) or the water sitting in the glass on my nightstand from the night before. That way I don’t spend any extra money watering my seeds and I reuse water that would otherwise just go down the drain.

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