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Oklahoma Agriculture in the Classroom

Crafts



Newspaper Planting Pot

Each student needs:

  • newspapers
  • masking tape (the cheapest in the paint section – must be thin and not very sticky)
  • bottle
  • soil
  • seeds or plants

Instruction

  1. Fold one sheet of newspaper in half.
  2. Put bottle in center of half, and fold the newspaper up around the bottle.
  3. Put a piece of tape approximately 12” long around the newspaper to make the pot about 3” tall.
  4. Remove the bottle
  5. Tuck the tops of the paper into the pot. The tape should be inside the pot.
  6. If planting seeds, fill pot full of soil, then plant seeds and spritz to dampen the soil.
  7. If planting plants, put plant in pot first, then put soil around the plant. Spritz to dampen soil.
  8. When planting in the ground, dig the hole big enough for the entire pot. None of the pot should be exposed to air.

The newspaper pot will disintegrate and become part of the soil. The newspaper and the tape are biodegradable. The glue on the cheap tape that doesn't stick well is soluble and will dissolve in the soil. The tape is paper. The ink on the newspaper is usually soy ink.