DIY Magazines and Newspaper Seedling Pots

All of our seedlings are ready to be put in the ground. The only problem is that it's going to get down to 35 degrees and 37 degrees a few days this next week. Many of the flowers that we are growing need warm soil and 35 degrees ain't gonna cut it. So we made the decision to re-pot almost 200 plants. The only problem? We don't have that many pots!

I've seen people make newspaper pots, and while that is interesting to me, we don't have any newspapers sitting around the house. We do have a stack of magazines and catalogs though. So I figured out how to make a BUNCH of pots out of our magazines, and I'm going to show you how to do it! All you need are your magazines. No tape, no scissors, just old magazines and/or catalogs, or any paper that you would like to use.

I would like to really quickly say that if you do use magazines, make sure you remove the plant from the pot when you go to plant it in your garden bed. Throw the used magazine pot in the trash. Do not plant it in your soil and leave to decompose.



First things first, pull out all the papers in your magazine. Separate each one. Stack two papers right on top of each other.

Fold the top to the side edge and fold into a triangle.

Fold the bottom edges up along the edge of the triangle.

Separate the papers.

Flip one of the papers upside down.

Overlap the papers and line them up along the folded line.

Fold the papers in half along the fold.

Fold the papers in half vertically and then open it up again. This line is just a guide.

Take the top right corner and fold it in toward the middle and line it up along the middle fold.

Repeat on the left side.

Fold the bottom top layer upward and line it up below the triangles.

Fold it again.

Flip the paper over.

Fold the left side inward and line it up with the middle fold.

Repeat on the other side.

Fold the bottom upward and line up with the bottom of the squares.

Fold it upward one more time.

Take the end of what you just folded and tuck it in behind the other folds.


Fold the top point downward to meet the other folds.

Turn over and fold the top point back the other way.

Take the point and fold it over to the left top corner, but only press down half way.


And then open it back up.

Open up the bottom hole.

And prop it open into a square.

Push down the bottom where you made folds.

And press down the flap.

This flap will stick out, but it doesn't affect how the pot works.

And your pot is done!

I will be watering these pots from the top only. They are substantial enough to hold the plants, but we don't want to break them down super fast. I would like for them to last for a couple weeks! You could always plant seeds in these pots if you are just starting out. They are a great solution when you don't have a bunch of pots or can't get to the store to buy some, which is the exact situation we were in.

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