Originally, this video was going to have a voice over, but it was just too funny with the geese and ducks fighting in the background, and we felt it only needed a little music, and a long, detailed description.

I did not want to spend any more money on brand name seed starter discs, and I had seen an overpriced “kit” to make seed starter cups from newspaper, so I decided to find a way to create my own on the cheap. A little googling revealed many ideas, but most involved glasses that created little seed starters that were much bigger than I really needed…or had room for!

Wanting to reuse my little brand name windowsill greenhouse, I needed to create paper pots that were about 1.25 inches in diameter and no more than 2.5 inches tall. I found my solution by using my favorite bottle of olive oil and last month’s Trader Joe’s flyer.

TJ’s flyer is basic newsprint with soy inks, letter size page, stapled at fold. I cut very close to the fold, and then cut the booklet into three sections – top to bottom – yielding strips of paper about 2.75 inches wide by 11 inches long. Any basic newspaper will do, just trim manageable strips with straight edges.

The video demonstrates using the metal cap of the olive oil bottle as the guide, wrapping the paper close, but not so tight that it will not slide up off the cap. Secure with a very small piece of tape. Then the fun begins. Again, the video demonstrates folding the bottom of the cup, starting with the innermost corner of the paper. The method is similar to a paper coin roll. Fold down to the top of the cap, rotate the bottle about a 1/4 of a turn, and fold down again, continue until you fold the outside layer down. Again, using a very, very, small piece of tape, secure the last fold. This only needs to hold until you fill the paper cups with starter soil, and you don’t want too much tape that could interfere with roots later.

My little windowsill greenhouse will hold a dozen cups, but I made three times that many! I put the remaining cups in the trays the old brand name discs came in and placed in my glass baking pan. After putting Miracle-Gro Seed Starting Soil in each cup, and tamping them down, I added warm water to wet the soil. I used a toothpick to make sure the soil in each cup became saturated, and then placed my seeds on top. I had a small bowl of the soil that I had wetted, and scooped very small bits to cover the seeds. I then used plastic wrap to cover the glass baking pan to create a little green house. I place this and the windowsill greenhouse in a dark, warm area, to coax the seed to sprout. I am starting Spinach, Mini Cucumbers, and another batch of White Sweet Corn.

I would love to hear what you think of the video, whether or not it was too vague, blurry, or boring. Thanks!

(Originally posted on my GardenFork Forumu Blog 5/19/08)