Create A Simple Seed Starting Pot With This Common Household Scrap

Saying goodbye to winter is an exciting time of year for almost every gardener. Planning the garden layout, deciding what to grow, and starting your seeds are just a few of the activities enjoyed once the cold weather has passed. If you're ready to get your garden started, you can make ideal seed starter pots from toilet paper rolls. These readily available household items are inexpensive, easy to get, and provide a great biodegradable seedling pot that makes it easy to move the seedlings outdoors once they are ready to replant.

There are many benefits to starting your own seeds. A large variety of crops to choose from, earlier harvests, and healthier plants are just a few of the benefits you'll see from starting seedlings yourself. Another great benefit is being able to control the spacing of your plants when moving them outdoors to the garden, which avoids overcrowding (a common mistake beginning gardeners make).

Toilet paper rolls can become too moist in wet conditions and cause mold to develop which can kill your seedlings. Starting your plants indoors will help prevent this from happening. Mold can also develop by overwatering your seedlings, so if you take care to avoid this common mistake, your seedlings and toilet paper seed pots should be just fine! If you have never started your own seeds, don't let that deter you from trying. Once you do, you will be hooked! 

There are a few supplies you will need for this garden project. Gather together toilet paper rolls (with all extra tissue bits removed), scissors, a tray or shallow box, seeds, soil, and a spray bottle of water. 

Begin by making four 1-inch cuts around the diameter of the roll so you have four equal length flaps. Fold each flap in toward the center of the roll so they form the bottom of the pot. If your pots are not standing up well, you may find that folding the flap all the way inside the roll and crimping it before moving to the next flap will help it stand up better. Place each finished pot into the tray or box and fill each one with soil. Spray the soil with water until it is moist, not too wet, and use this pencil eraser hack before adding two or three seeds per pot. As a bonus step, before replanting your seedlings, get the ground ready by using cinnamon to enhance your soil.

You now have easy and functional seedling pots that will start your plants off right. Place the tray of seedlings in a spot that gets plenty of sunlight and do not let the pots become dry in between watering. Once you are ready to replant your seedlings, you can place the entire pot into the ground, toilet paper roll included. The roll will become part of the soil and won't hinder root growth.