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Since I get so many questions about how to make newspaper pots, and it's really, really hard to describe how to make them through emails or on the phone, I thought I'd just do the complete instructions with pictures here. It'll be much easier to point someone to this rather than explain how to fold them!
I've used regular lined paper instead of newspaper because it's easier to see in pictures, but the instructions are exactly the same for newspaper (one single page - rip down the fold in the newspaper and you'll have 2 sheets), you just get larger pots. The smaller ones I make from junk mail and the small size works great for seedlings since they fit together perfectly in trays.
I know this looks like a lot of work, and very confusing work to boot, but they really are easy once you do one and get the hang of it :)
Got your paper? Ready? OK, let's start!
1: fold the bottom short edge of the paper (A) up to the opposite short edge (B).
2: Make them even (you shouldn't be able to see B) and press the fold down well.
3: Now fold edge ( C) over to edge (D).
4: Make the edges even and press the fold down well.
5: Now comes the part that seems to be the hardest for everyone - slip your pointer finger
inside the fold of the top layer
only and pinch the bottom of the fold with your thumb. (We'll deal with the fold layer beneath this one in a minute.) Ignore the crease line - yours shouldn't have one yet.
6: Pinching the fold between your thumb and finger, pull (E) up and to the left until it meets (F). Line up the crease with the fold the best you can and press flat.
7: It should look like this:
8: Now take edge (G)
9: and fold it over to edge (H) and flatten.
10: Now let's do the same thing with the fold on the other side. Put your finger inside the fold at (i), your thumb under, pinch and
11: bring (i) up to meet (J). Press flat. It should look like the photo directly below this one (12).
12: Grasp top layer edge (K) and flip it over to meet edge (L). press flat.
13: You should have this:
14: Take edge (M) and fold it in to meet the center crease at (N). Line up the crease with the edge and press really well. Do the same with the opposite side - bringing edge (O) over to meet center crease (P). Press really well.
15: You should have this:
16: You're going to repeat what you just did with the last fold to make a second fold the same way. Take (Q) over to meet (R) and (S) over to meet (T). Line up the folds with the crease neatly and press down really well.
17: It should look like this:
18: Flip the whole thing over.
19: Repeat what you just finished doing on the other side. Fold both edges to the center once,
20: and then again. You'll have this:
21: Now, grasp the very top edge flap, pull it down toward you and fold it down flat.
22: It will look like this:
23: Flip the whole thing over and fold the other flap down.
24: Now you have this (at this point you can do a quick snip with scissors and cut off the bottom point for a drain hole if you'd like - don't do too much at once, you may end up with a larger hole than you wanted!)):
25: Pick the whole thing up,
26: push the side folds out with your fingers and press the bottom down flat.
27: Congratulations! You've made your first pot! You can staple down the flaps if you'd like - the staples rust away pretty quick in the soil and I've never come across one anywhere I've put these pots in.
28: Have fun making lots more!
Tip - If you plant pot and all, be sure to bury the top edge of the pots, or rip them down, as they can sometimes wick water away from your plant once in the ground. If your sure to bury all of the pot, it works just fine.
Happy (in newspaper pots) growing!
