Do-It-Yourself Plant PotMaker from Newspaper

This wooden pot maker is simple to use and allows us recycle our newspapers into biodegradable pots to start our seeds in. The pot maker is made of wood so it's sturdy enough for my 8 y/o granddaughter to mash the paper down without breaking it!It's easy to make paper planting pots quickly. I just cut the newspaper into approx. 3" strips then wrap several strips together around the body of the pot maker, then fold some over the bottom and press it into the base (sort of like origami). It's simple to either leave a slight gap or make a small hole in the bottom when folding so your seedlings won't become root bound. That's all it takes to make a paper planting pot.Suggestions: Place your paper planting pots in a level plastic (or metal) tray with sides touching before spooning your planting mix in so they won't fall over and so you have a surface beneath the pots to catch any drainage when watering. Newspaper is biodegradable so you can plant your paper planters directly in the ground. I stick to the black & white printed section because the ink is soy based and I'm not sure what sort of dye they use for colored sections.

This is one of the best purchases I've ever made. A sturdy, simple product that does what it says. It works great with newspaper or brown paper grocery bags. I can get 20 pots from a single grocery bag! Sure, it may take a few practice pots to get the hang of it but after that you will save a lot of money and keep some bags and newspapers from going to the landfill. If I could give it 6 stars I would.

This simple device is relatively simple to use but I found a little tape helps hold things together while making the pots. As you learn by doing the process of making the newspaper pots gets faster. This saves a pile of money as compared to peat pots and other commercial plant starting stuff. It will keep on saving for years to come. These little newspaper plant starter pots hold up well during early growing stages and pop easily into the garden soil, where they protect the tender transplant from cut worms and root shock.

Well, we thought the pots it makes would be a little more sturdy. We are in the process of putting some seeds in them and seeing how they hold up. If they last until the seeds have sprouted and are ready to transplant, will update this review.

I love my little pot maker. A guillotine paper cutter makes cutting the strips super easy and from one newspaper I have enough to last me a couple of years. My sunny windowsill is now a nursery where I start my seedlings and then transplant outdoors when they're big enough. It's important to acclimate your new seedlings before putting them into the ground. I've successfully transplanted flowers and vegetables.

The pot makers came in a shipping envelope, had fallen out of their boxes, the boxes were crumpled and ripped, thus making reading the instructions impossible! One of the potmakers was chipped and I don't have time to send it back as it is a gift. If I were to buy more I would buy them from a different company. I do NOT recommend this company!!

This potmaker gets very good reviews, so maybe I'm just a dufus or something, but I can't get it to work right.The bottom wood piece needs to have a deeper groove in order to form a more substantial pot bottom. The bottom just ends up too flimsy.Geez, really? Your kids get the hang of it? If anyone wants to share any special hints or tips, I will take them.THanks!

Very easy to use and the pots are holding up great! I am excited because I've been able to start alot more plants this year because the expense of the little plastic pots or biodegradeable pots wasn't there! This is not only a way to recycle newspaper, but a huge cost savings that will go on for as long as I don't lose my potmaker!