As promised on Facebook, I will share here on the blog the tips and tricks I have learned so far with my ‘balcony farming’ as a friend calls it. Please, meet my biodegradable, homemade, pretty much no-cost, seed or plant pots:
What you need:
- Empty toilet or kitchen paper rolls
- Scissors
- Kitchen or newspaper (tissue or toilet paper works as well)
- A waterproof container
- Soil
- Seeds
Step by Step Instruction
- Flatten paper roll and cut horizontally in half, or, in the case of kitchen rolls, in threes.
- Make cuts, one in the middle and one at each side half way up the roll.
- Press back into shape and fold the cut bits overlapping each other, just as if you would close a cardboard box.
4. Place a tiny bit of kitchen paper or similar in the bottom to avoid soil leakage.
5. Put soil and seeds in it and place in any water proof container you have at hand.
6. Water well and then continue to keep soil moist but not soaked.
7. Place in a warm, sunny spot.
8. Watch seeds germinate.
9. When the plants are ready to be transplanted into bigger pots or in your garden/backyard/allotment, simply open up the folded corners at the bottom so that the roots can emerge more easily.
That’s all!
Not my idea, but as I forgot to bookmark the blog where I found it, I sadly can’t give due credit to the inventor(s). But the photos are mine and what is in these pots now are ‘dwarf winter beans’ that can be grown here in Galicia pretty much all year round.
A win-win for everybody and Mother Nature; we save money by recycling empty paper rolls and less plastic needed for these kind of growing/germinating pots that in the end would end up in the rubbish. The less plastic we use (especially use only once) the better for all of us!
If you found this blog post helpful, feel free to buy me coffee, you know to whom it will go to anyway: https://egeria.house/santiago-day-neighborhood-pantry-fundraiser/ And any further questions, just leave them in a comment below 😉
