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Feb 17, 2009 Posted by Tiffany on Feb 17, 2009 in Dailiness, DIY Projects, In the Garden | 26

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Recycling a little junk mail making origami newspaper pots

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You were searching for "origami newspaper". See posts relating to your search

After posting new photos of the seedlings, some were asking about the newspaper pots I use. They are

completely free (aside from the soil we buy to fill them with although one could use their own soil and

compost) because I use papers that come to our house every week for free. We get an insane amount of

junk mail here. About two inches thick every week. A lot of it is slick fliers which cant be used but about

30 pages is just local newspapers. Thats 30 pots a week.

I have been making my own newspaper pots for about a year now. If I didnt want to make myself soinsane, I might just make a few every week throughout the year. Then I could store them up for planting

time. Instead I wait until the time comes and make about 10-20 pots a night. It really does get monotonous

and boring. But sometimes I can talk Stefan into doing the first part of the folding (in half three times) and

then I do the rest.

I store them in groups of 10, using of the pots to hold 9 folded pots. This keeps them from opening up

before I use them and I can quickly see how many pots I have ready for planting already.

ycling a little junk mail making origami newspaper pots | No Ordi... http://www.noordinaryhomestead.com/dailiness/recycling-a-little-junk...

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The free newspapers here in Germany have various sizes and a single half-sheet that I use for folding may

have one of the following measurements: 35 x 51cm (about 14 x 20 in) or 40 x 57cm (16 x 22.5in). The

majority of the paper is 3551 but the bigger pieces make slightly larger pots which are great for planting

multiple seeds or larger plants like zucchini, pumpkins, squashes, etc.

There are other ways of making newspaper pots, some involving a bottle or a special device you buy. I

prefer this origami style that doesnt use any tape or staples to hold them together. Then I can just drop

the whole pot into the ground if I need to. Sometimes the roots will grow right through the pots so you

dont even have to worry about damaging them. But they do take a little while to break down. On the

other hand, they hold up remarkably well for seedlings and I have had no trouble with them falling apart.

You definitely should put them in a tray or on plastic, though, as they tend to leak.

Ive made a little video to show you how it works. I think its far easier to understand than a written

version with photosbut you can find that below the video as well if you prefer.

Happy planting and hope you have a beautiful harvest!


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How to Fold Your Own ewspaper Pots

TIP: I use a pen or pencil on each crease as I make the pots to make the folds really firm. I find it helps

during the process and doesnt get my hands quite as dirty.

Start with half a sheet of newspaper.1.

Fold it in half from bottom to top.2.

Then fold it in half again, from left to right.3.


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Fold it in half a final time from left to right. This will serve as a marker for later folds. You can

unfold it again.

4.

Lay the paper lengthwise in front of you with all the loose edges facing away from you. Take the

right corner of the newspaper and fold it to the center. The line you folded in the last step will serve

5.


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as a marker.

Now take the corner and open the triangle, pulling the lower right corner to the left. Line up the

middle fold of the now top piece with the edge of the newspaper below it. You will have the shape

below which slightly resembles a newspaper hat.

6.

Flip the paper over and repeat the process.7.


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Once youve got the sides folded and lining up, you need to flip the folds so the insides become theoutsides.

8.

You should have the flat paper in front of you with no folds visible.9.


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Now you start folding in a paper airplane fashion. Fold the wings to the middle fold10.

And in half again.11.


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Rotate the newspaper and repeat the two folds to the middle.12.

Flip the paper over and fold the wings exactly the same way.13.


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When all those folds are complete, your newspaper should look like this.14.

Fold the sides over the edge of the soon to be pot on both sides.15.


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Then reach inside and pop open your new seedling pot.16.

Now you can fold the wings down into the pot or leave them out. I think they are a bit sturdier17.


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inside.

Do this on both sides and your pot should now look like the photo below, both wings folded in.18.

Then fill up your pot with soil and some compost and youre ready for planting. In the photo below,

you can see the folded wings at the front of the pot, where the label is. Weve just filled the pot

with dirt using our hands, tamped it down so its solid and the dirt doesnt disappear/compact whenwe start watering and let the seeds go to town!

19.


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Find more fun DIY tutorials, crafts and projects at

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42

26 Responses to Recycling a little junk mail making origami newspaper pots

janetsays:

February 17, 2009 at 7:31 pm

I like using oragami, great idea. Will try it out. I read your post about your neighbor in the car

kind of unusual for Germany, from what I remember.

Janet

Reply

1.

Caryl~marie says:

March 11, 2009 at 8:47 pm

Just saw your vid and am now signed up. I was wondering how you would fold the pot so that the

folds are insideyou mentioned that but didnt show how you could do it. Thanxcan hardly wait

to see all you have to offer.

Reply

2.

Caryl~marie says:

March 12, 2009 at 2:51 pm

Just me againIm blonde [bottle], too!! Dont seem to be able to see the additional instructions.

Cleared history to make sure I wasnt doing something?? Let me know if Im having a blonde

moment! ;o)) cm

Reply

3.

nylonthreadsays:March 15, 2009 at 5:33 pm

Hm, your newspaper must be of slightly different dimensions than mine. When I folded the corners

across, everything lined up at the top (square), and I ended up with no flaps to fold at the end. Im

actually quite good at origami (see my origami jewelry atmy etsy site etsy.com/nylonthread), so I

assure you its not aptitude! I might try trimming the paper so that its more narrow or something.

Im sure Ill figure it out, but my first try failed!

Reply

4.

nylonthreadsays:

March 15, 2009 at 5:45 pm

Ok, I took about 3-4 inches off the height of my Washington Post, and I have flaps! Thanks

5.


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Tiffany!

Reply

Grace Millersays:

April 30, 2009 at 11:38 am

Thank you, so much! I tried four times with some other instructions I found on the web. They did

not include video and I could not get how to get the paper positioned correctly after folding the

corners up. Your video is great!

Reply

6.

Jessicatorb says:

May 11, 2009 at 12:37 am

Wow! Thank you very much! I always wanted to write in my site something like that

Reply

7.

Katy says:

December 21, 2009 at 2:36 am

Thank you for taking the time to make this tutorial! It took me a few tries but I now have 10 I

used American newspaper and they came out just fine.

Great blog!

Reply

Tiffany says:

December 22, 2009 at 8:42 am

Congrats, Katy! It takes a little time to get used to how it works but once you get it down,

youll be able to do it without really even thinking about it!

Thanks for leaving your kind words and I hope youll come back and tell me all about what

youre starting in those pots

Reply

8.

Andrew says:


Thanks for the great pattern! Im using a New York Times paper, and as others have mentioned it

does not wind up with enough flap when done. If I cut off or fold down 2 to 3 inches from the top

of the page it works better, though I still need a small piece of tape to hold the flaps down.

Reply

9.

Abbie says:March 29, 2010 at 1:17 am

Love the demonstration! Ive always wanted to learn how to do this. It took me a couple of tries to

get the dimensions right; I found the coupon circular from the local grocery store to be just right.

10.


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Thank you!

Reply

Jentry says:

March 31, 2010 at 1:08 pm

So, I know Im a bit late in getting everything planted, but I wanted to try my hand at

thiswowthis is really easy. Thanks for the video! Very helpful!

Reply

11.

Sharyn says:

April 12, 2010 at 12:21 pm

Hi,

Great idea, my local paper must be a different size than yours. We dont have a flap at the end.

Please give me the lenght and width of your paper

Reply

Tiffany says:

April 12, 2010 at 12:51 pm

Hi Sharyn, Ive updated the post to include this info as well but the free newspapers here in

Germany have two main sizes and a single half-sheet that I use for folding may have one of

the following measurements: 35 x 51cm (about 14 x 20 in) or 40 x 57cm (16 x 22.5in). The

majority of the paper is 3551 but the bigger pieces make slightly larger pots which are great

for planting multiple seeds or larger plants like zucchini, pumpkins, squashes, etc. Hope this

helps. Folding these can be rather tricky at first but become second nature after a few times.

Reply

12.

Coffee&Cream says:

April 29, 2010 at 2:37 pm

These are brilliant thank you for sharing Ive planted up a batch with seeds and wont go back

to bought seed pots again.

Pictures of them are here http://www.flickr.com/photos/31021769@N03/

.-= Coffee&Creams last blog ..Free Pattern Doll Outfit =-.

Reply

13.

Sam says:

July 7, 2010 at 5:34 pm

Hi, thanks for the tutorial. Ive read elsewhere that newspaper with black ink only should be used as

the color ink is not safe.

Reply

Tiffany says:

14.


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July 9, 2010 at 7:30 pm

Hi Sam,

You definitely dont want to use colored advertisement slicks when doing this. You know like

the ones you get in the Sunday paper from every store in town? But usually one page of

general color in regular newspaper sections hasnt given me any issues. I dont usually stick

the pots in the ground but remove them when I plant thingsso I dont worry so much about

it breaking down completely. But I do tend to stay away from the regular flat newspaper

pages that are full color on both sides when making my pots.

Reply

Inviting Concepts says:

February 17, 2011 at 5:03 am

Thank you for this tips. My sister have a project to make recycled materials to a thing. This can help

her.

Reply

15.

Kerryn Harwoodsays:

July 25, 2011 at 5:11 am

Thanks so much! This is a very easy to follow tutorial! I will be making lots of these for Spring time

planting.

Reply

16.

Kerryn Harwoodsays:

July 26, 2011 at 4:42 am

Hi there,

THanks so much for the great video! It makes it so easy to learn to make these pots. I will be

making alot of them in the lead up to spring (I live in Australia so were heading into spring). I am

also posting about your tutorial on my blog. So, thanks again!!

Reply

Tiffany says:

July 27, 2011 at 9:15 pm

Thanks for leaving a comment. I hope you have lots of fun making the pots and that plenty of

wonderful plants spring forth in them Have a wonderful spring!

Reply

17.

Tiffany says:


Always been a fan or origami here too, even if I never learned much of it

Definitely a rather strange occurrence with that guy slumped over in his car. We really werent

quite sure how to handle thing. They are really harsh on penalties for drunk driving or even getting

behind the wheel after drinking which maybe explains why it is not so prevalent in Germany.

18.


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16.

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About the Author

Tiffany is an American who has been living in Germany with her husband since 2001. The

two are self-proclaimed "Self-Reliant Yuppies" who are in their early-30's and bought an 1830's

farmhouse several years ago, which they have been turning into a more sustainable and green dream

house. Two cats, a Newfie and their 2 year old daughter enjoy the adventure with them. Tiffany enjoys

cooking, rock climbing, lux-camping trying to turn her black thumbs green and taking road trips. Visit the

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