Whether you are an avid gardener or just starting out, you may want to avoid using peat pots and pellets to grow your seedlings. There are concerns over the environmental impact that commercial harvesting has on peat bogs. The selling point of peat pots and pellets is the fact that you plant your seedlings in the pot and the pot decomposes in the soil over time. It’s an easy way to seed, but it does cost a little money upfront. You can get this convenience without resorting to peat pots by using a more environmentally-friendly method that recycles an everyday household item. Find out how to use toilet paper rolls to improve the seeding process.

Depending on how many seeds you’re starting, you will need a few toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls. It’s wise to begin saving the rolls prior to planting season so you have a good supply on hand.

Benefits of Toilet Paper Roll Seed Starter Pots…

Save money – seed starting equipment isn’t cheap! Even though you can use it year after year, it’s still an investment. If you are growing on a smaller scale, and you start seeds indoors, this is a great way to save some money on seed starting equipment, assuming that you use toilet paper…

Grow healthy seedlings – these rolls hold a nice amount of soil so you can grow your seeds to good-size strong little plants before transplanting them to the garden. They have more than enough room to develop.

Biodegradable – toilet paper rolls are biodegradable. I think that this is my favorite benefit! You don’t have to take your young plant out of the pot to transplant it, you just plant the whole thing in your garden and with time the roll will decompose.

Option to start seeds that we usually direct seed – since we don’t have to remove the plant, we can try to start seeds that we usually direct seed in the garden, like beans or peas, for example. These plants don’t like to be transplanted, but since we don’t have to remove them from the pot, they do very well in toilet paper rolls.

Things you’ll need:

• Toilet rolls
• Potting soil
• Seeds
• Plastic container

This way of using toilet paper rolls to create seedling pots couldn’t be more simple.

There’s no cutting or folding required. Just place the rolls in a plastic container and fill them with potting mix about ½ inch (1cm) from the top.

Plant your seeds following the directions on the seed packet. (Use one seed per pot).

Water the pots thoroughly but not so much that there’s water standing in the bottom of the container.

The pots will need good air circulation, otherwise they may become moldy.

Place the container full of pots in a sunny window or underneath grow lights if you don’t get a lot of natural light indoors.

After a few weeks when the weather has warmed up you can plant the whole pot directly into the garden, making sure that the cardboard is completely covered by soil.

The cardboard will break down over time, allowing the roots to spread out in the soil.

As well as being much easier, this method also allows the seedlings to stay in the pot longer before they need to be planted out.