Tag Archives: newspaper

Alyssum Sprouting + Daikon and Mango Sowed…

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I was surprised to see sprouts already from the seeds I planted 2 days ago. The Alyssum ‘Easter Bonnet Deep Rose’ Folia is already sprouting…

Daikons

I know Daikons are supposed to be planted directly in the ground and not transplanted, but I was curious if I can start it and plant it once I see a small sprout. For my experiment, I planted it two ways:

Daikon Sowing Experiment

Left: I made small, but tall newspaper pots, so I can plant them directly into veggie bed once sprouted. I planted Daikon ‘Mino Early’ Folia in these.

Right: I used Jiffy Peat Pellets with the outside netting removed. I placed them on top of about an inch layer of soil, so the roots can grow deeper. I planted Daikon ‘Sweet Glade’ Folia in these.

Mango

Inside Mango Seed

I saved another Mango Folia seed from a Mango we bought and ate… and will try growing it.

Mango

Mulched…

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Today I replaced the newspaper mulch in one of my veggie beds with ground bark. I like the results a lot better.

Veggie Bed #1 with Newspaper (Before)   Veggie Bed #1 with Ground Bark Mulch (After)

I was thinking of leaving the newspaper under then bark, but water didn’t seem to go through the newspaper that well.

Makin’ Newspaper Pots…

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Here’s the sequel to Newspaper Mulch… “Newspaper Pots”

1. Cut a page of newspaper in half.
2. Fold the top and bottom in to form a strip. For my pots, I used the sink tiles as a guide and made the strips 4 inches tall.
3. Roll the strip around a soda can.

4. Secure the strip with a little piece of masking tape at the top.
5. Move the can up to make room at the bottom to push the sides in. Fold the seam into the bottom of the can.
6. Repeat folding around the sides in until you have created a bottom for the pot. If you want, you can also place a little piece of tape here.

7. Here’s the finished Newspaper Pot.
8. Fill to the top with potting mix.
9. Sow some seeds in it and place in a tray.

I saw instructions to make pots out of newspaper on the web and modified it to the size I want. In my case, a soda can was the perfect size, but you can use a bigger can or a bottle.

This is the first time I’ve done this, so I’m not sure if the walls of the pot are thick enough. I may use 2 plies of newspaper in step 1 next time… I’ll just see how this first batch goes.

Once the plants are ready to transplant, place the whole thing including the newspaper in the ground. The newspaper should decompose and you won’t have to disturb the roots.

How’d I do? :)

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