Newspaper Pots & DIY Seed Starting Setup

DIY Seed Starting Setup with Newspaper Pots and Takeout Trays

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Need a cheap seed starting setup? I’m going to show you how to do it. It’s not that seed starter kits are terribly expensive but if you hate wasting anything, love to recycle, and are trying to spend as little money as possible, I’m your girl. We’re going to make newspaper pots (any paper works) and use take out containers to make mini greenhouses for starting seeds indoors and moving out to the garden later.

So yesterday I randomly decided to make the pots because I was out of egg crates, and didn’t want to devote a full seed tray to what I was planting. I was starting pansies and violets so I needed small containers that would fit in my closet for the dark germination period. There isn’t much space in there.

I probably get this from my mother, but I tend to save every takeout container. It’s not like we even get much takeout for the same reason I don’t buy brand new everything for my garden, we’re on a tight budget. Maybe that’s just a nice way of saying I’m cheap but we have to run a tight ship around here. I save anything I can. I can’t be alone in this. Takeout containers are great for sending people home with leftovers, but I also figured out pretty quickly that they come in handy for the garden.

I might sound like a pack rat but I’m not. If you think saving containers is a little much, my grandmother used to save the cotton from Tylenol bottles. I don’t go that far.

Why Make Your Own Seed Starting Setup?

• You will save money as I already mentioned. I use newspapers, school papers, junk mail, and takeout containers. All of these items are trash free.
• Less waste. Reusing stuff you have is better for the environment. Even if you recycle, takeout containers usually still end up in a landfill. The percentage of plastic sent off to be recycled that actually makes it there is very low.
• Easy to make and convenient. I’m impulsive and decide to plant extra seeds on a whim and don’t feel like running out to the store for seed trays. I can make newspaper pots in just a few minutes.
• Ease of transplanting. Your newspaper pots are biodegradable so you don’t have to remove the dirt and risk damaging fragile seedlings when you move them up to a bigger pot or put them in the ground.
• Size. If you’re working with a small space, smaller containers you can place near windows might work better than the larger commercial seed starting trays. I like having a mix of both. I tend to move my stuff around a lot to take advantage of the natural light when I can.

What Kind of Containers?

For takeout containers, my favorites are black plastic with clear lids. You can save Styrofoam but it’s not as sturdy. Any opaque container will come in handy for seeds that need to germinate in the dark, which is what I used for my violets. See my photos for examples of good containers to save. I did this all year round and kept them in the broom closet.

Other convenient items to save for a DIY seed starting setup are egg containers, muffin packages, and small condiment containers with lids to save seeds from your plants later on. Ok, let’s move on to making the pots.

Supplies Needed for DIY Seed Starting Setup:

• Paper – for your newspaper seedling pots, anything you have laying around should work, but to avoid any potentially toxic inks or paints I stick to the most basic. I wouldn’t use wrapping paper or anything too fancy. Nothing with a plastic coating. I mostly used my 5-year-old’s worksheets that come home in his backpack every day.
• A small jar, scoop, or cup – this will be how you shape your newspaper seed pots. A shot glass is a perfect size for seeds. I wish I thought of it first. I used a random scoop I had from protein powder or something like that.
• Scissors – self-explanatory, you will have to cut strips of paper to make the pots. You could just fold and rip them if you don’t have scissors.
• Containers – takeout containers work perfectly but what if you haven’t saved any? Get creative, I’m sure you have something laying around. Tupperware, a small plastic bin or even a shoe box would work. You will want to have a waterproof tray to put it on, which could even just be an old cookie sheet.
• Seed-starting soil – you can make a seed-starting mix yourself or buy a commercial mix. I might talk about that more in another article or edit this later, but right now I’m using Burpee Organic Seed Starting Mix. I’ve used various brands and most were fine. This one is a decent price and quality, uses coco coir instead of peat, and worked well for me last year so I’m sticking with it.
• A large bowl or bucket – for mixing your dirt. Don’t just scoop it straight from the bag. I’ll explain more in a minute and save you a giant headache.

How to Make the Newspaper Seedling Pots

This part is really easy! I promise you, I am not THAT crafty. Thrifty yes, but I’m a clumsy disaster. You don’t have to have any special skills to make these. This isn’t some fancy origami thing. If I can do this without throwing a temper tantrum so can you.

I will try to explain how in words and with pictures, but I’m also going to put up some short video clips. I didn’t invent this idea but I also didn’t really look up how other people do it. I’m just showing you what I did. It’s quick and painless.

1. First have your supplies within reach. Dump some of your seed starter soil into a bowl to pre-dampen it. Pour some water in and mix well. It doesn’t have to be soaking wet like mud, just not bone dry. This makes your life easier later and I’ll get to that.

2. Cut your paper into strips according to the size of your cup. You will want it to be long and wide enough to wrap around the cup once and overlap a bit. You will also need enough height to cover the bottom.

3. Flip your cup upside down and wrap the paper around as shown. Fold one side over the bottom, then the other. It’s kind of like wrapping a present, which I also never do neatly. Flip it over into your palm and remove the mold.

4. Scoop some dirt into your newspaper pot. Place the pot in the container. The dirt should be enough to weigh down the bottom and keep it steady.

5. Repeat until you have enough pots in the container. Make sure they fit snuggly, they will hold each other up. Your little pots will want to fall over if there is too much space between them.

6. Plant your seeds. Pour a little bit of water on the bottom of the tray, and mist the tops.

That’s all there is to it. Not a bad little hack huh?

Tips and Tricks

Don’t use too tall of a cup for your tray, make sure you can close the lid before you make 20 of them and find that out later.

You can use a piece of tape on the bottom but I didn’t bother or feel it was needed. It isn’t biodegradable so kind of defeats the purpose if you plan on burying it directly in the dirt later.

About pre-moistening your seed starter soil. I’ve forgotten to do this so many times and it is SUCH A PAIN to water it once it’s in the pot. It will pool up, pass through, not absorb and you’ll have dry pockets.

You should have seen me last year trying to mix up every little cell in a seed tray with a BBQ skewer because I forgot to pre-mix with some water. If your soil is bone dry when you put it in a pot, it just does not want to absorb water when you pour it in. It almost becomes water resistant. Learn from my mistakes and do that in a bowl or bucket first, not in the tiny little seed pot after the fact. You’ll be glad you did.

That’s it. You’re ready to germinate your seeds according to their needs. Hopefully, in a few weeks, you will have thriving sprouts. I’m going to talk more about starting seeds indoors in an upcoming post, so be on the lookout for that very soon.

When your little plants are ready for the next step, you’re going to place your entire newspaper pot with the seedling into a bigger pot or right into the ground. The newspaper will break down, there’s no need to remove it unless you want to.

Where I Buy Seeds and Soil

If you’re looking for seeds on the cheap, see this post for discounts from Seeds Now. They offer a free seed kit with every purchase and have daily deals for 50% off.

For seed starter and soil, I’m always first to support my local family owned garden centers but unfortunately they aren’t open yet as of writing this. The Burpee organic seed starter I previously mentioned is excellent, and when I can get it locally I go for Coast of Maine anything. Their lobster compost is literally black gold for your garden. I’ve never used anything better. I’ve been using their products for about 12 years now.

I compost at home too but I never have enough. Coast of Maine is pricey online because of shipping, but if you can find it at a garden center it’s usually much more reasonable. Last year a big bag of lobster compost was around $12.

Good luck and let me know how it goes in the comments!