DIY pots for seedlings. peat pots

Spring is a troublesome time for gardening enthusiasts, because it means for them, first of all, working with seeds. The modern assortment of various seedling containers and pots is really huge, but still, most gardeners prefer to use improvised means in order to save money. Do-it-yourself cups for seedlings are made by the most different ways, and you will learn about the simplest and most accessible from this article.

Jars of canned food, coffee or tea are, so to speak, classics. In the bottom of each container, you need to drill a couple of drainage holes (preferably from the inside), and for easier extraction of young plants, additional incisions can be made on the walls. If the cups will be used for several seasons, instead of cuts on the bottom, it is better to lay a strip of polyethylene or thick paper - so you can remove the earthen ball without damaging the root system (you just need to pull this strip). Cut beer cans, toilet paper, PET bottles, and more can be used in the same way, but more on that later.

An excellent seedling container can be cups from under baby food and yoghurts. But the bottom of such jars needs to be cut off, and instead of it, lay a cardboard or tin circle of the appropriate size.

When transplanting seedlings is required, it will only be necessary to press on such a bottom with a stick.

Note! Not the best option for seedlings are disposable plastic cups, which is explained by the risk of slowing down the growth of plants.

Cups from old newspapers

A small stack of newspapers is quite useful for making disposable cups. Tellingly, such containers are more convenient than the options described above, because when transplanting plants, you do not need to shake them out - instead, you need to break the glass. As a result - root system will not be damaged.

For the manufacture of such cups, we need a form. A small bottle or tin will do. The algorithm of actions should be as follows.

First, take a sheet of newspaper and fold it in half.

We fold the edges of the resulting container and its bottom.

Fill the glass with soil mixture.

Note! If you are not sure that the cup is strong enough, you can tie it with a thread or an elastic band.

Seedling cups from toilet paper

The next manufacturing option is based on the principle of papier-mâché. Here we need a spray bottle, glass cups and toilet paper itself. The technology is extremely simple: we wrap the glasses with toilet paper, moisten them abundantly with a spray bottle, and then carefully press the paper against the walls. We dry the workpiece for a day, and then remove it with careful circular movements.

Note! Such cups are good because they can be simply broken to transplant seedlings into the soil, as mentioned above. Or, alternatively, plants can be planted together with containers (which will subsequently collapse naturally).

The original version of the manufacture of newspaper cups

It will require all the same newspapers, as well as a scrap construction profile. The latter, if necessary, can be easily found among construction debris, so you don’t have to buy anything. In our example, two sections of profiles are used, each approximately 20 cm long. The width can be different, depending on the specific culture (for example, wider cups are needed).

First, take a newspaper, cut it lengthwise and across.

In one hand we take a cut of the profile, in the second - a newspaper folded in half (i.e., two layers). We wrap the form with newspaper as shown in the image below.

Where the bottom of the cup will be, bend the corners one by one.

We do not extract the profile yet - it is much more convenient to fill the cup with soil mixture with it.

When the cup is full, carefully pull out a piece of the profile.

Filled cups are placed in a box, previously covered with polyethylene.

As a result, you should get something like the following.

Paper cups - an improved version

Another option for making containers from old newspapers is to use the original fixture. For the convenience of visitors step by step guide presented in the form of a table.

Table. Master class on creating paper cups.

Note! As for the dimensions of the container, they will largely depend on the dimensions of the box itself. Although on average it is from 2x2 to 4x4 cm.

Using toilet paper rolls

The advantages of this method are the same as those described above - the bushings are an environmentally friendly material, they do not contain third-party impurities, therefore seedlings can be planted in the ground without removing them from the cups (the latter will rot in the ground without a trace). If the cups are to be used for large plants, we can use the bushings as a whole, in other cases they (the bushings) can be cut in half. The manufacturing process itself is not complicated.

Table. Workshop on making cups from toilet paper rolls.

Video - Making cups for seedlings

Film cups

To create such cups, it is recommended to use PET film for greenhouses. We also need a simple stapler and a base that has the desired shape. First, we cut the film in strips, wind it on the base, and then fix it with staples. The result is a nice square cup. Although there is a simpler option - to make small tubes from the film with curved upper edges (required for rigidity). These tubes are placed on a pallet or in a box and filled with soil mixture.

Note! The film must be dense, otherwise it will easily lose its shape!

You can also use packages from under fermented milk products. To begin with, we tuck these bags, fill them with soil, sow the seeds and turn the edges back. In the future, as the seedlings grow, the earth will have to be gradually poured. The disadvantage of this method is the instability of packages. To achieve greater rigidity, it is desirable to strengthen the edges with cardboard strips.

We make cups from a plastic bottle

Any plastic bottle will do here (in our example, a 1.5-liter bottle). The algorithm of actions is given below.

Table. Master class on making seedling cups from plastic bottles.

How to sow seeds in such cups? There is nothing easier! As an example, consider the cups described above, made from plastic bottles.

So, we take a ready-made glass and fill it with soil mixture - store-bought or prepared with our own hands.

We fill the container completely or only 2/3. We place a couple of seeds, peppers or any other crop on the soil.

Then lightly sprinkle the seeds with soil mixture and water well.

We cover the cups and place them in a warm place, waiting for the emergence of seedlings. As you can see, even from such a seemingly useless thing - a plastic bottle - you can make excellent seedlings.

The ideal soil for planting should be light and loose, have a porous structure and sufficient aeration, and also match the crop intended for cultivation in this soil. Read more in.

Alternative option - make nutrient cubes

For the manufacture of such cubes, we prepare:

• 1 soddy soil;
• 5 - humus.

There is another option:

• 1 part of humus;
• 3 - peat.

We mix the prepared ingredients, and add ammonium nitrate (15 g per 1 kg), potassium sulfate, superphosphate (50 g per 1 kg) to the resulting mixture. In addition, add water - such an amount that ready mix had a creamy texture. All this is placed in a pallet with a layer 80-100 mm thick, and then cut into cubes of the required sizes. You can move the cubes a little apart to make it more convenient to work. At the end, we sow the seeds.

Video - How to make seedling cubes yourself

As a result, we note that no matter what kind of cups you use, they are in without fail must be rigid, sufficiently capacious, with low thermal conductivity and opaque walls. In addition, you should take care of drainage - it will protect the plants from an excess of moisture. If all these requirements are taken into account, then the seedlings will grow healthy and strong, and adult plants will surely delight you with a rich harvest or abundant flowering!

Video - Making cups for seedlings

Spring for gardening lovers is a hot time, which primarily involves working with seeds. Modern stores offer gardeners a whole range of various containers for seedlings, but for the sake of economy, most gardeners prefer to make do with improvised means and materials. There are many ways to make DIY seed growing cups, and below we will talk about the easiest and cheapest of them.

The classic version is a container made of metal cans from canned foods. Several holes should be drilled in the bottom (best from the inside), and in order to make it easier to remove the seedlings from the container, several cuts are made on its walls. If the cups are supposed to be used more than once, it is better not to cut them, but simply put a strip of thick paper or polyethylene on the bottom - in order to get an earthen ball and not damage the roots, you just need to pull it. In a similar way, you can use beer cans cut off at the top, as well as plastic bottles and toilet paper rolls.

Plastic yogurt cups can serve as a container for seedlings of vegetables and flowers. First you need to cut out the bottom of the jar, and instead put a circle of tin or cardboard of a suitable size.

When the shoots need to be planted, it will be enough to press on the improvised bottom with a stick. It is important to note that transparent disposable cups are the worst for seedlings, since the roots in such containers do not receive enough light and shoot growth slows down.

Cups made of paper or newspaper

A container for seedlings made of paper or newspapers is made in several ways. For the first, you need a suitable cylinder (you can use plastic bottle or a tin can cut off at the top) as a base, as well as strips of paper of a suitable width. If the paper is thick enough, three strips will be enough to make one cup, and if it is thin, it is better to add 2-3 more. paper stripes you need to attach to the base so that they protrude beyond its edge by at least 5-6 cm (depending on the radius), then wrap it in paper (not too tight so that the cylinder or jar can be easily removed). The protruding edges must be pressed well, thus forming the bottom of the cup. After that, the base can be removed, and seedlings can be planted in the resulting container.

Seedling cups can also be made according to the papier-mâché principle. This will require several glass glasses, a bowl of water and old newspapers or even toilet paper. Soak the newspapers well and form a future container on a regular glass. If toilet paper will be used to make cups, instead of a bowl of water, you need to take a spray bottle. Toilet paper is wrapped around the mold, after which it is well moistened with a spray bottle and pressed well against the walls of the glass. The workpiece is dried for 24 hours, after which it is removed in a circular motion.

Paper or newspaper cups are convenient primarily because the seedlings are subsequently very convenient to plant in the ground. You can simply tear the paper and throw it away, or even plant the shoots along with the container (the paper will collapse over time natural way), without damaging even the smallest roots.

Film cups

To make cups for seedlings from plastic film, it is best to take a film that is used for greenhouses. In addition, you will need a base of a suitable shape and a regular stationery stapler. The film is cut into strips, wrapped around the base and fastened with staples, after which a square cup is obtained. An easier option is to make tubes out of the film, bend the top edges for rigidity, install them in a box or pallet and fill them with earth. In this case, the most important thing is that the film is dense enough, otherwise it will simply lose its shape.

If a lot of bags of fermented milk products have accumulated at home, they can be put under seedlings. The bags are tucked up, seeds are planted in them, after which the edges are turned off and poured required amount land as the shoots grow. The only disadvantage of this method is that the packages are quite unstable and require additional support. For greater rigidity, it is recommended to strengthen their edges around the perimeter with cardboard strips.

In which cups is it better to plant seedlings?

It is quite difficult to answer the question of which cups are best used for seedlings, since it depends on the characteristics of the crop that is planned to be grown and other factors. Today in gardening stores you can buy different containers for growing plants: peat cups and tablets, as well as plastic containers different forms and sizes.

Peat tanks

Pressed peat containers have a number of very valuable advantages. Firstly, they provide maximum survival of young plants, as they can be planted directly into the ground with a container, without injuring even the smallest roots. This is especially valuable when growing delicate crops that "do not like" transplanting to a new place. Secondly, the material from which the container is made does not just break down in a natural way, but turns into a nutritious fertilizer.

Peat cups are both round and square - the latter are very convenient, as they do not take up much space on the windowsill.

When buying such containers, it is important to remember that in order to reduce costs, some manufacturers add cardboard to the material, and such containers are not suitable for growing seedlings - when planted in the ground, shoot roots do not pass well through a thick cardboard layer, which is why the plants begin to grow poorly . In addition, planting seeds in peat pots requires knowledge of some rules:

• containers must be placed on expanded clay or sand;
• the earth must constantly be moistened, since the water from such pots quickly evaporates, as a result of which the seedlings will grow poorly (although excess moisture can lead to the appearance of a tribe on the walls of the cups);
• as the shoots grow, they need to be moved away from each other so that the roots of young plants do not intertwine with each other.

There are also peat humus tablets on sale, which are no less convenient for planting seedlings - when wet, they can significantly increase in size. If it is not possible to buy such tablets, they can be replaced with nutritious self-made nutritional cubes.

DIY food cubes

To make cubes you will need:

• humus (5 parts);
• sod land (1 part).

• peat (3 parts);
• humus (1 part).

The components must be mixed together, after which, for each kilogram of the resulting mixture, add 15 g of ammonium nitrate, the same amount of potassium sulfate, 50 grams of superphosphate and water so that the mass has the consistency of thick sour cream. It must be laid out in a pan with a layer of 8-10 cm, and then cut into cubes with a sharp knife required size. For convenience, the cubes are slightly moved away from each other and seeds are planted.

Video - Do-it-yourself pills, cubes for seedlings

plastic containers

Plastic containers for growing seeds can be of two types: ordinary pots and cassette containers, which look like cells fastened together. Pots are more suitable for domestic plants, since it is quite difficult to transplant shoots from them - the roots are very tightly intertwined with each other, as a result of which they are severely damaged. If the seedlings are going to be grown in plastic containers, it is very important to choose the right size.

Cellular, or cassette containers are small pots fastened together, in each of which one plant is planted. They are made of high-quality smooth plastic, so it is very easy to get an earthen ball without damaging the roots. When purchasing such containers, it is better to choose containers with a pallet, otherwise you will have to make it yourself.

The disadvantage of this method of growing seedlings is that as the shoots grow, they begin to crowd each other. That is, such a container is not suitable for seedlings that need to be grown for a long time, but it can be used for plants that do not gain a large mass of leaves: for example, asters or cabbage.

In any case, when buying ready-made containers for growing seedlings, you need to pay attention to the following factors: sufficient capacity, rigid, opaque walls with low thermal conductivity, as well as the presence drainage system, which will save the seedlings from excess moisture. Under such conditions, the shoots will grow strong and healthy, and the plants will delight the gardener with a rich harvest.

Video - Do-it-yourself cups for seedlings

The choice of containers for seedlings is huge. But not every summer resident can fork out every spring for a purchase or. Healthy and strong seedlings grow in homemade containers - especially if you take the time to make nutrient pots for seedlings with your own hands.

Such home-made seedling pots compare favorably with purchased options in that their composition is under the control of the grower.

In Runet there are several dozen recipes for preparing a substrate for nutrient cubes. The main thing is that such mixtures meet the requirements of breathability, moisture capacity, high nutritional value and be free from diseases and pests.

The composition usually includes peat, garden, turf and compost land. To normalize acidity, lime is sometimes included in them, and to give looseness - straw cutting, sand, sawdust. Supporters of "mineral water" add complex fertilizers to the substrate.

The binding component, thanks to which the container retains its shape, is mullein soaked in water.

Let's look at the optimal proportions of each of the components in the manufacture of pots for seedlings with our own hands. Please note that for different cultures they will be different.

For squash, zucchini, cucumber and pumpkin, take five parts of decomposed peat, three parts of humus soil, one part of soddy soil and one part of fresh manure (preferably mullein). If peat is not available, use mature compost in the same ratio instead.

An equally good result is obtained if prepared for pumpkin vegetables a mixture of this composition: seven parts of ripe humus, two parts sod land and one part fresh cow dung.

And here is a simple recipe for making universal pots or cubes for growing seedlings.

1. Combine equal parts garden compost and humus soil.
2. For 8-10 liters of the mixture, add 1.5-2 cups of ash.
3. Mix one part cow dung and nine parts water.
4. Moisten the soil mixture with the nutrient composition so that it does not crumble into pieces during molding.

Just do not add too much mullein, otherwise the substrate will become very compact and the roots of the plants will experience oxygen starvation.
It is convenient to make pots for seedlings with your own hands from paper. To do this, you will need a 1.5-liter bottle and paper blanks measuring 25 x 16 centimeters or 20 x 12 centimeters (for smaller cups). The diameter of such containers will be 7 and 6 centimeters, respectively, and the height - 10 and 8 centimeters.

I advise you to make the cups two-layered: the bottle is wrapped around the first strip along the chosen height. And the second is applied so that its middle falls on the seam of the first. Then a free piece of paper at the bottom is pressed to the bottom of the bottle. And everything your free seedling pot is ready to use.

For growing seedlings, a variety of containers will fit. For this purpose, milk bags, glasses of sour cream, ice cream, mineral water, buckets of mayonnaise and so on are suitable.

Just do not forget to make at least 5 holes with a diameter of 2-3 millimeters each in the bottom of the cups before laying the soil mixture. This will facilitate the access of air to the roots of the seedling and prevent them from getting wet during excessive watering.

I also advise you to read a detailed overview of all options,.

Watch the video tutorial on how to make seedling cups in just 5 seconds.

Each summer season begins with the cultivation of seedlings. Everyone understands why this is being done - you can significantly increase the growing season and get not only an earlier, but also a much larger harvest. On the territory of our country there are regions in which heat-loving vegetables cannot be grown in any other way.

As the first stage of development passes, so the subsequent ones will continue - this is the law of nature. To improve the development of plants, many gardeners and gardeners use peat pots. How to use these little helpers? Should I buy them for growing seedlings? Consider the pros and cons of such glasses.

What are they made of?

Before you buy peat pots for seedlings, find out what they are made of. Such devices are made from peat, to which cardboard or wood is added. Most of all, gardeners praise cups with a ratio of the main substance of 70% and additives of 30%. beware low-quality goods, it happens that unscrupulous manufacturers increase the percentage of impurities, or even use only cheap cardboard. Before you buy agricultural machinery, read what is written on the package.

Environmental justifications

Peat products have many advantages over their counterparts made of plastic, paper or ceramics. For plants, this will be a real ecologically clean house. The peat used for the manufacture of containers for growing seedlings does not contain pathogenic microflora, there are no weed seeds. In such products, the content of harmful toxic substances is much lower, for example, heavy metals, residues of benzopyrene and pesticides. The concentration of such substances will be several times lower than the permissible agriculture norms for growing plants and crops. Peat, light in weight, is safe for use, it does not contain pathogens of various diseases of vegetable and flower crops.

When choosing peat pots for growing seedlings, carefully inspect them. For good quality products, the wall thickness should be one to one and a half millimeters. Such walls will be strong enough to last the entire period of plant development, but at the same time, seedling roots will be able to develop unhindered. After planting in the soil, a quality pot will begin to quickly disintegrate, thereby facilitating the work of harvesting the fields. The decay period for quality products lasts approximately 27-32 days.

Peat pots for seedlings. Pros of using

1. Due to the porous walls, the best air-water regime of the root layer is provided. During planting in the ground, plants freely take root through the walls and bottom.
2. Such containers do not contain pathogens and toxic substances, while they have high mechanical strength both in wet and dry conditions.
3. When planting seedlings together with a pot in the ground, the survival rate reaches almost 100%. Later, when decomposed, the pot will serve as fertilizer.
4. Due to the accelerated survival of seedlings, an earlier harvest is harvested, mainly for this, seedlings are planted in peat pots.

How to use? General requirements for the use of peat pots

1. The containers are filled with preliminarily slightly moistened nutrient soil, slightly crushed. After that, it starts in peat pots. You can sow bulbs, cuttings or seedlings.
2. Place prepared cups on pallets, pesos, polyethylene film, gravel or soil layer.
3. Seedlings should be watered frequently to keep the soil moist.
4. We must not allow the peat pots to dry out. How to use them correctly? Wrap each unit with foil - this will help prevent drying out. Otherwise, the salt contained in the ground may crystallize and, in concentrated form, pose a danger to tender seedlings.
5. When the plants begin to grow, the pots should be spaced more freely to increase light and aeration. In addition, with a more spacious arrangement, the interweaving of the root systems of neighboring plants is prevented.
6. Growing seedlings in peat pots ends with planting in the ground. You do not need to dig up the plants, plant them directly with the old container.

Seedlings of zucchini, cucumbers, pumpkins, eggplants, squash

Seedlings of these crops do not like transplantation. In order for the plants to take root, take peat pots for growing. How to use them? What size would be preferable?

For seedlings of cucumbers intended for planting in protected ground, pots with a diameter of 11 cm are suitable. The cultivation period is approximately 30 days. How to plant in peat pots? One germinated seed is sown in one cup.

If vegetables are to be planted in open ground, then for seedlings of zucchini, squash and cucumbers, you should choose containers with a diameter of 8 cm, for pumpkin better fit 11 cm and planted one in each pot. Planting depth 1 cm. Cucumbers can be planted 2 pieces in one container.

On average, pumpkin seedlings will be ready in 20 days, and other vegetables in a month. You can calculate yourself optimal timing landing.

Ready pots are placed on pallets close to each other, carefully watered and left in a warm place where the temperature is maintained at 25-30 degrees until germination. When yellow-green sprouts appear, the temperature should be reduced to 20-22 degrees. Such temperature regime supported 2-3 days.

Watering

Cucumber seedlings should be watered with warm water heated to 25-30 degrees. If it will be cold watering plants can get sick or even die.

hardening

To prevent plant diseases after transplanting into the ground, they are hardened - 7-10 days before planting - they often ventilate the premises, lower the temperature to 15 degrees, and water less often.

Landing in open ground

Prepared plants are planted in the soil directly in pots. Some gardeners break cups before planting or pull out seedlings along with an earthen clod. That's how you can do it too. However, gardeners who used peat pots to grow seedlings leave the following planting reviews - they believe that it is better to make holes in the containers beforehand. Decaying, the cups will nourish the plant, helping to get a big harvest.

cabbage seedling

In March, cabbage is sown in special boxes. After the appearance of seedlings, they swoop down, and planting in peat pots begins. Cups with a diameter of about 7 cm are suitable. You can use round specimens or peat blocks, in which there are 6 cells at once. At the end of April, you can start landing in

lettuce seedling

Lettuce seedlings for planting in protected ground are prepared by picking seedlings into pots. Suitable pots measuring 50x50 mm or, as they are also called, peat cells. In about a month, the seedlings will be ready for planting in a greenhouse or greenhouse.

The roots of many plants can penetrate the bottom and walls of peat cups. However, most gardeners do not wait for this - they are guided by the size of the aerial part of the seedlings.

Experienced gardeners claim that if, before planting, peat pots are immersed in warm water until the release of air bubbles from the walls stops, then the soaked walls and bottom will not create obstacles and will be easily processed by soil inhabitants.

Disadvantages of peat pots

1. Not all plants tolerate the acidic environment that is inherent in peat. Some manufacturers add special mineral fertilizers to the products, as well as lime and chalk, which reduce acidity.
2. Requires frequent watering.
3. Evaporating from the surface of the pots, the water greatly cools the soil, as a result, the root system develops much worse.
4. Some plants cannot break through the peat walls, they have to be taken out of the containers when transplanting.
5. Often mold appears on low-quality pots, the walls are destroyed
6. The high cost of peat cups, especially when growing large volumes of seedlings.

Unfortunately, some unscrupulous manufacturers give out pots made from ordinary cardboard as high-quality peat products. Gardeners complain that sometimes in the fall, when digging up a plot, they find undecomposed pots with the remains of roots.

Sowing seeds for seedlings is a matter that requires preparation, but it is not at all necessary to go to a store or market and spend money on special containers. It is enough to use our tips and make cups for seedlings yourself.

Most of the homemade pots for seedlings described below can be made from natural, which means materials that are useful for plant development. An undoubted advantage of each of these methods is the possibility once again save.

1. Citrus peel

If you like to squeeze juice from citrus fruits (orange, grapefruit, lemon, pomelo, etc.) with a juicer, then you probably have many halves of the peel of these fruits. Why not use them as seedling cups?

In a half of the fruit peeled from the pulp (in the bottom), make a small hole for the outflow of moisture, then fill the peel with soil for seedlings and sow 1-2 seeds per "pot", depending on the "dimensions" of the future plant and the size of the citrus peel. Subsequently, the seedling can be planted from open ground directly with a "pot".

2. Eggshell

Egg shells are an excellent homemade container for small seedlings or for growing seedlings before transferring them to larger containers.

Take the shell and make a hole in the bottom. To do this, you can use a pushpin or a thick needle. Fill each shell halfway with soil and sow the seeds. Place egg "pots" with seedlings in a plastic egg container. To create a greenhouse effect, close the lid of the container. When the time comes for transplanting or transshipment, plant the grown seedlings along with the shell.

3. Trays from eggs

The egg tray is also used as a container for seedlings. Such containers are conveniently placed on the windowsills. To begin with, a hole is made in the bottom of each cell of the container (if the tray is plastic, you can heat the awl and pierce it with it). Then the cells are filled with soil and seeds are sown.

After some time, the roots of the plant will be braided with an earthen clod, and for further picking, it will be enough to carefully remove the seedling with a clod with a fork.

4. Newspaper pots

Old newspapers can be an excellent material for making seedling containers. To do this, you will need newspaper sheets (it is better to give preference to black and white pages), a cylindrical object (bottle, narrow tin can), flour and water.

We invite you to visit the page with our master class on making cups for seedlings from old newspapers or paper.

You can plant seedlings in a greenhouse or open ground directly in cups, but if you wish, you can cut or break the "pot".

5. Plastic bottles

From a plastic bottle, you can make not just a container for seedlings, but a functional pot with an automatic watering system and greenhouse effect. Cut a clean plastic bottle in half, do not remove the lid, but make several holes in it using the same heated awl, needle or nail. Pull a synthetic cord through the bottom hole (this will be the wick).

Turn the top with the neck over and insert into the second half of the bottle. Pour the soil, sow the seeds. Take the half bottle of potting soil out of the tray, pour water into the bottom of the pot, then push the plant half back into the tray. Take another bottle of the same size, cut off half of it and use it as a lid for such a seedling "pot".

You can do it differently: from a bottle (a square-shaped plastic bottle with a capacity of 5 liters is perfect, for example, from drinking water) cutting down side part, and the rest most use as a container for seedlings.

6. Plastic cups

Excellent seedling containers are obtained from yogurt or sour cream cups, disposable plastic and paper coffee cups. To make pots, first wash these containers thoroughly, and then cut a hole in their bottom to drain excess water. If the hole is too large, place a cardboard circle on the bottom of the glass. For convenience, you can write on the cup with a felt-tip pen or marker the name of the crop and variety that you are going to grow.

Place containers with seeds sown in them in a box or on a tray - it is more convenient to store them. The advantage of such home-made pots is the convenient extraction of an earthen clod when planting seedlings in open ground - just lightly press on the bottom of the cup and the clod can be easily removed, remaining intact.

7. Filter bags for coffee machines

If you're brewing coffee in a coffee maker, don't throw away used paper filters—they can make great seedling cups.

Half fill each filter bag with soil and place in a plastic box or tray with high sides to give the "glasses" stability. They will stand tightly to each other, which means they will not fall. Sow the seeds and place the crate of coffee "pots" on the windowsill.

8. Toilet paper rolls

The cardboard tubes left over from toilet paper rolls are easily converted into biodegradable seedling cups. You can also use paper towel rolls.

If you need a low cup, cut the sleeve across into two parts. Next, do the following with each part: fold it lengthwise and make cuts with scissors about 1/3 of the height of the tube so that you get 4 blades. Then straighten the workpiece and fold the blades one on top of the other, bending them, as is done with cardboard boxes to make the bottom.

Seedlings can be planted in a permanent place without removing them from cups, since paper and cardboard are biodegradable materials.

9. Waste paper and cardboard

To make such pots, you need to mentally return to school years and remember the familiar, but slightly forgotten papier-mâché technology. So, you will need paper or cardboard, water and a form. Glass cups can be used as a mold, but it is most convenient if you have a metal mold for cupcakes with several cells.

Tear the paper into small pieces and put in a container of water, leave to soak. Then wrap the mold with the resulting mass: if you have glasses, then from the outside, if the baking dish is from the inside. The blank must be left to dry for a day, and then used as a regular cup for seedlings.

10. Ice bins

An unnecessary tray (form) for ice can be an excellent container for growing seedlings before picking and serve in this role for more than one year. Make a drainage hole in each cell (if the plastic is strong, use a drill), take a suitable pallet and place the container in it.

Next, fill the cells with soil and sow the seeds. After a while, spread the seedlings in a container bigger size. Just as in the case with eggshell, in such a container it is better to grow plants with a small root system, since they can become cramped in small cells.

11. Tetra Pak bags

Probably one of the most popular options among hand-made seedling containers is Tetra Pak bags. This multi-component material is distinguished from paper and cardboard bags by increased strength and durability.

Tetra Pak is used for packaging juice, dairy products; in addition to cardboard, it includes foil and polyethylene. Preparing such bags for sowing seedlings is very simple - cut them into 2 parts and the cups are ready! You can also make a seedling tray by cutting the package not across, but along.

Be sure to wash containers thoroughly before use.

12. Tea bags

The original way of growing seedlings in used tea bags can compete in efficiency with growing in peat tablets, since tea has a beneficial effect on the development of the plant.

Cut off each bag upper part, then put soil for seedlings inside with a spoon and sow the seeds. Such "pots" are best placed in a pallet, for example, a container with low sides. When landing in open ground, the bag is not removed.

Read about how else you can use sleeping tea on the farm in our material:

A little ingenuity - and you can adapt almost anything for seedling pots. The main thing is to ensure the outflow of excess water when watering seedlings in cups and use a tray to collect liquid.