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Re: Germination rates: Paper Pots



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> From: George Zeleny <zelenyg@mako.com>
> To: sqft@lists.umsl.edu
> Subject: Re: Germination rates
> Date: Sunday, May 10, 1998 8:31 AM
> 
> 
> 
> ----------
For those of you who asked for instructions on how to make paper pots:
 
Making Paper Pots


Materials List:

	Form ( Discussed Later)
	Glue Stick
	Newspaper (Standard sheets - 14 X 22  work good for a 2" form)
	Large Marks A Lot felt pen  or a half inch dowel 8" long
            Flat to hold your paper pots

Forms:  I have tried several things for forms.  What I have found to work
best is a plastic bottle such as excedrin, asprin , or vitamins.  These
bottles range in diameter from 1 ¾" up to about 2 ½ ".  I feel like the
best diameter is about two inches.  Most bottles of this type are about 4
or 5 inches tall.  To prepare the bottle for use you will need to cut the
bottom off the bottle.  A hack saw works good for this. Cut the bottle off
just as close to the bottom as you can.  



Paper Prep:   Cut the newspaper strips 1 ¼ " wider than you want your pot
to be tall.  The strip should be long enough to go around the bottle twice
(two ply).  For a two inch bottle 14" is just about right.  Most newspaper
pages are 14" wide.  For a pot 5" deep for starting carrot seeds you will
need a paper strip 6 ¼" wide by 14" long.

Pot construction:  Place a strip of your paper on a flat surface.  Place
the bottle on the paper with the bottom of the bottle approx. 1 ¼" from he
bottom of the strip. Roll the newspaper around the bottle.  Using your glue
stick run a bead of paste down the edge of the paper and secure the edge
.You now have a tube of paper around the bottle with 1 ¼" protruding below
the bottom of the bottle.  Next fold the 1 ¼" into the bottom of the
bottle.  Place the bottle down on your flat surface and using the dowel or
Marks A Lot pen down through the top of the bottle tamp the paper that was
folded into the bottom of the bottle flat.  Now reach down into the tube of
paper and grasp the top of the bottle with one hand and pinch the bottom
edge of your pot with the other hand and pull the pot off of the bottle. 
If you have trouble sliding the pot off of the bottle you probably rolled
the paper to tight around the bottle.  A little experimentation and you
will get the feel of how tight to wrap the paper.
 
Filling the pots:  I fill my pots with a commercial potting soil mix.  I
pre moisten the mix so that it is damp but not soggy.  Grasp the pot with
the bottom in the palm of your hand and proceed to fill with your soil
firming it in slightly.  Place the filled pot in your flat.

Planting:  I plant one or two seeds in each pot.  I then mist the pots to
get the paper wet and assure the seeds have enough moisture to sprout.  I
then cover the flat with a plastic dome and place on a heat mat.  As soon
as the seeds germinate I remove the plastic dome and place the flat under
lights.

Watering:  Bottom watering works pretty well with paper pots.  I use
Utility flats purchased from territorial Seed Co. , PO Box 157, Cottage
grove, Or.  97424-0061.  Phone (541)942 9547 .  They also sell a mesh
bottom flat that fits inside the utility flat.  This mesh bottom flat
allows the water to get under the paper pots so the water is taken up more
readily.  After the plants are well up I generally water from the  top. 
This works for me but we all have our favorite methods .

Planting out:  After hardening off I bottom water.  The paper pots will
wick the water and will become very wet.  I dig a planting hole and
carefully remove the bottom of the pot.  You will find the paper is easily
removed if it is wet.  If the soil in the pot is firm I gently remove all
the paper.  This is not really necessary because the roots will grow
through the paper.  There should not be any paper above growing however
because like peat. pots the paper will wick the water out of the soil.

Final Notes:  For most planting I generally make the pots 2 - 2 ½" deep. 
For carrots I make them 5 or 6 inches deep.  I have also used these pots
for transplanting seedlings.  I have not had any trouble with damping off
using these pots.  Good luck and happy gardening.









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