I’m also trying out another way of starting seeds in transplantable pots. I got the idea from a comment Daphne left on the post about newspaper pots. (If you haven’t checked out her blog, Daphne’s Dandelions, you should. She really knows how to grow veggies.) My idea began with using toilet paper rolls as little seed pots. I know some people use these all the time and slit one end of the roll to fold over to create a bottom for the pot. I tried this several months back and did not care for cutting little slits in all of those rolls.
After reading in Daphne’s comment that she never messed with making a bottom for her seed pots I began to think what if I just cut the toilet paper roll in half and fill with soil and not worry about a bottom. I decided to try this out and managed to make 34 little toilet paper roll pots.
In them I sowed some carrot seeds. I really can not believe that I am planning on transplanting carrot seedlings. Never have I thought to do this before. But I have had the worst luck with my direct sown seedlings getting eaten so I consider these to be my insurance. I really want homegrown carrots. I still plan on direct seeding some but I have these transplants just in case. Plus I figured it would be a good experiment to see if I like starting seeds in pots made from cardboard rolls with no bottoms.
The carrot seeds I sowed are the wildest looking carrots I have ever seen! I am mostly growing them to shock my kids even though the seed packet states that they are highly nutritious.
I also managed to plant some seeds of:
- Buttercrunch Lettuce
- Kale
- Broccoli Raab
- Bok Choy
- Arugula
I can’t wait for these to start coming up now! I still have some more types of seed to sow in the next day or two. Unfortunately, here soon that means I will have to start pulling out my cosmos. They completely took over one of the garden beds this year and although it was nice to see them in bloom I now have no room for the fall veggies. I hate to pull them as they are so pretty but if I don’t then there will be no fall veggies. One cosmos plant that just started to bloom has a flower completely different from the rest of the cosmos. It is so huge and pretty! I will end today’s post with a picture of it.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
That cosmos is really beautiful! But those fall veggies will be worth the sacrifice, I should think.
Hi Nancy,
I agree, I think it will be worth the sacrifice but I will still feel like a murderer!
-Cynthia
I hope you post a photo or description of your kids’ reactions to the purple carrots — especially when they see what colour they are inside!
/krys
Hi Krys- Good idea! I showed my nine year old the picture on the seed packet when I was buying seeds and he scrunched up his nose and said “those are carrots?!” I might have a hard time convincing him to eat some!
-Cynthia
Oh I hope those carrots grow for you. I was thinking about trying them, but then didn’t. You will have to tell us all what they taste like. I wonder if they hold their color if you cook them.
Hi Daphne, I will be sure to let everyone know what they taste like. They sure are different looking! The seed packet says the color will become diffused when cooked. We shall see. I hope they grow well! -Cynthia
I like that toilet paper roll idea too. What a nice way to reuse toilet paper rolls. I may have to borrow that idea too. I’ll be getting my garden ready for next spring soon. I meant to do it earlier this summer, but I seemed to get a bit sidetracked. I’d love to hear about those carrots, I’m sure it would take me some pretty fancy talking to get my kids to eat those too.
Hi Cinj, I’ll be sure to post updates on the carrots. I know my 14 year old will be up to trying them but it might take some convincing when my 9 year old sees them. And I have no idea if my toddler will try them or not although she does like carrots. It should be fun! -Cynthia
I like the idea of the toilet paper rolls. As it is now, I just recycle them. But this is an even better way of recycling them. Can’t wait to see the purple carrots. How cool are they! I bet your boys will be shocked, lol. That Cosmo is huge, how pretty. It will be worth the sacrifice for all those fall veggies.
Hi PGL, I’m curious to see how the toilet paper rolls do. It sure is faster to make them then the newspaper pots! The cosmos is huge. When that one bloomed I was amazed. It is about as big as my hand! It is not like any of the other cosmos blooming right now. A mutant!
I’m trying to convince myself that it will be worth the sacrifice as I am horrible at pulling things up! -Cynthia
You beat me on starting the fall veggies. I intended to do it tonight, but ran out of daylight. I have never tried to transplant carrot seedlings. Might try it now that the suggestions is out there.
Hi Deb, I have never even thought about transplanting carrots until my horrible luck with seeds in this year’s garden. I’m hoping that planting them in a pot that can go directly into the ground will help them survive the transplant. It’s at least worth a shot. I’ll be sure to post how they do. -Cynthia
Those are some interesting carrots. I like your idea of toilet paper rolls and no bottoms to the rolls. Should help the roots to grow down and out.~~Dee
Hi Dee, We shall see how the toilet paper roll idea goes. I got the idea when I read that Daphne usually does not give her pots a bottom. It is an easy and cheap way to start seeds not to mention the recycling part. -Cynthia
I LOVE the idea of using toilet paper rolls! It’s an especially good idea in my garden, as I already use sections of the roll to protect plants from cutworms, a real problem in my soil. If I keep the soil level a bit below the top of the roll when I start my seedlings, it should work as both seed starting pot AND cutworm collar!
Wow, now that is a really good idea! I have heard of putting collars around seedlings to protect them from cutworms but I didn’t think about combining the seed starting pots with the collar idea. That is taking care of two things at once and I really like it! It looks like I will be saving toilet paper rolls from now on! -Cynthia
I’ve heard of people using spent toilet paper rolls to start seeds in, but haven’t tried it myself. I will definitely be checking back later for your results. Hope it works out for you, and also – nice blog!
EG
Thank you EG! I will be sure to post some updates as the seeds grow for all that are interested. And when I can grab a few more minutes out of the day I will be sure to head on over to your blog to check it out. Thanks for visiting!
-Cynthia