Just use a sturdy glass; that works fine. I've used two sheets of newspaper, torn in a very wide strip. Wind it tightly around the glass, pushing/folding the bottom paper edges flat to the glass's bottom as you go, to make a flat bottom, then take it off the glass and tuck the top ends inside the paper cup you've just made. You might need to use a tiny bit of tape to secure the last part of the paper, but as you get more practised, you won't need that any more.

Do you have a picture? I work at a library and man, do we have newspaper available!!!

This is potentially a very messy operation. Do not attempt on your best mahogany diningroom table !!! Your compost or potting soil should be damp enough to bind together - but too wet and it will destroy the paper pot instantly. The advantage is that when it comes to plant out the pot is biodegradable. To do this operation without the mess use the cardboard inners of toilet rolls ( kitchen towels for sweet peas and other deep-rooting plants) in shallow boxes on capillary matting ( to stop the soil leaking out). Now where to store a years supply of toilet roll tubes until you want to use them- that is the question!
Malcolm

I believe the paper used for newspapers in the US is much thicker than that in the UK or elsewhere. My paper pots do not disintegrate even when filled with wet soil and left to sit in water for nearly a week before I get around to sow seeds.

Here is a link that might be useful: Newspaper Pot Howto

Here's how I make my newspaper pots. But the first time you're supposed to fold it in half, I just tear it in half again so the sides are thinner.

Mik'Ta

Here is a link that might be useful: Folding Newspaper Pots

I use a 4 1/2" strip of newspaper torn from top to bottom and use a soda can as my mold. I did cut a piece of foam from a meat tray and taped to the bottom of the soda can to cover the indentation. That gave me a harder surface to fold the botton paper onto. I have had no problems so far with the pot breaking apart - of course you have to handle it gently when you plant it out. I like it because you disturb the plant less. I did it with most of my wintersown seeds.....

Lynne

Man, those instructions were GREAT!!! I LOVE it! I made a bazillion. Thanks so much for the link!!!!!

mikta, I went to your web link for making paper pots. I followed the instructions, but was unsuccessful. I don't consider myself to be a stupid person but I found the information to be very frustrating. I took a break from it intending to go back and try again later, but found that the page was not available. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank You.
cherrylane

cherrylane,
If you're having problems with the pots staying folded, make sure the folds are fully creased before you continue on to the next step. If the folds aren't creased enough, they tend to pop open before you can fill them with soil.

It can be a little difficult to do if you've never done oragami before, because you have to loearn how to fold the paper the right way. Good luck! If you still can't figure it out I can give you more detailed instrctions.

Mik'Ta

i was just browsing through this thread when a saw this post by mik'ta. Thanks a ton Mik'ta for ur technique of making newspaper pots. i just made 4 of those after reading. they are awesome and i had no problems making them. i wanted the 2nd pot i made to b smaller so i folded the newspaper one more time than said in the article. then i wanted another pot of the same size as in the article but with thicker walls for planting a bulb so i skipped the step of cutting newspaper into 2. it's totally gr8.
thanks a lotttttttt
raghuvansh

Question:
Can anyone tell me how long, on average, the plants can stay in the newspaper pots before they start falling apart?
Thanks.

I LOVE the link for the origami pots! I refreshed to see if the one picture would come up, and I got site unavailable (you've got a very popular site there Mik'ta!) I'm looking forward to it coming back up, I haven't done origami in years, and it looks like something fun I can get my DD to help with.

Cindy :)

Cindy- it's up ??? Cut/paste if you have to:

http://www.geocities.com/newspaperpots/

GREAT link. Thanks!

Cherrylane, you're not alone.
I had it up until #6 - now fold a corner down along the spine - totally lost me. I can't make my paper look like that, I have no idea what is going on.
Me smrt!

yup, they lost me, too on 6. I even went sofaras to draw the same designs as they had on their paper, and they've done something there that don't jive.

Hilarious...I just did the same thing.
But guess what? I figured it out!!!
Me am smrt!

What you have to do is take the bottom right corner and fold it IN towards the centre (i.e. push the point of the corner in on itself). Once you do that you will have it.

He's missing the diaper step:

Your first fold after the half, half, half thing should go like this:

Paper is sitting on table with main fold (spine) on your left, and the opening on the right.

Take the bottom right corner, and fold it UP along the spine (like a paper airplane, only upside down)

Now flip it over (use your right hand, and flip it to your right), and do the same thing: this time you're folding it from bottom left to spine.

You should have what looks like a paper airplane now.

This is the tricky part. Before you do this, crease all your creases hard.

Now, take the whole thing and open it up so that all it has is the one original fold in it. Leave it loose, don't flatten it out yet. the 'open' end (it's got all kinds of folds in it, so it has kinda an 'open' end) should be facing you.

Kay, now just hold it up by the sides by that center fold. See that fold? It needs to go the other way so the whole thing looks like a diaper. The easiest way to do this is to pinch that center fold with your thumbs & forefingers (essentially folding it backwards) on each side, then bring the two folds together so your fingers meet in the middle. The diagonal folds on the BOTTOM will stay the same, and the TOP diagonal folds will also end up being inverted. Flatten it out.

When you're done, and if you let it go, you should have a diaper. Then you should be able to continue with the rest of the steps.

You wouldn't believe how frustrated I got before I figured it out. Needless to say my first paper pot wasn't suitable for holding any plants, that's for sure. It was more like a paper airplane without the aerodynamics.

Anyways, thanks to Mik'Ta for the instructions.

But can someone please tell me the expected life span for one of these pots indoors.
Thanks.

Thank You one and all! I finally got it and I don't feel so stupid now. I will also be able to sleep tonight. LOL
cherrylane

Woohoo! I made one! Finally... wow, what a brain workout. I hate to admit it, but I just spent at least an hour trying to figure that one out. Even with mmcq's advice! I even wrote G-U-M and scribbled a tree, so I could get my bearings! Arrgh. I was about to toss it in the trash, but I'm a nut for puzzles, so I just kept looking at the pictures and trying to get my paper to look like ANY of them. Finally did, between step 8 & 9.

So, if you're like me - don't give up, just keep fiddling with that paper!

I LOVE the square pot, thanks mikta! (Thanks for the the links on your page, too.)

Angel

Okay, now that I've made a few more, mmcq's advice makes perfect sense! I was just coming at it backwards (typical for me!) I made a few this morning, love 'em! I think I go about it differently from the instructions, but it ends up the same. Thanks again!

go check the 'Winter Sowing' site. It has a very simple method for making paper pots.

Can anyone offer anymore advice on how to make the paper origami pots? I'm still stuck on #6, even with the advice. Thanks!

When mmcq says open it to the original fold, it really does mean to the first fold-in-half. She's right about making the creases stand out well, it helps with the next part.

After that is where it gets tricky to explain. You kind of have to let the folds on the sides "cave in", which pulls your other folding edges to each other. I don't know another way to say it. The reason it is tricky is because you are still looking at it from one angle, but when you let those side folds cave in, you have changed the angle, inverting it... I really don't know if this helps, but I hope so!

To further confuse things, I also ended up going about the creases a different way, with the same results.

Do the first three fold-in-halfs, then open back up to only one fold-in half, open side to the right. You should have a crease running up and down, and a crease running across.
Then I take the left bottom corner, bring it up and to the right, until the crease on the backside of it lines up with the up and down crease. Press well, then open. Do the same for the bottom right corner, press well, then open.

Now you have diagonal creases making a X across your previous creases. Your paper is still lying with the original half fold, open to the right.

You can do it this way: Look at the crease running across the middle (not up and down). Pick up the ends of this crease. They should want to fold up toward each other - bring them up and hold them together with one hand (don't fold the whole paper over, just hold those two spots together, say with thumb and finger.

(Two options here, in case one doesn't make sense - same thing, different angle)

A) Now, still holding them together, use your other hand to bring up the top and bottom edge - let go of the other edges, and smooth - your paper should now look like step 8!

or B)Now, flip your hand over to look at the other side of the paper. If you made good creases, this will be easy. If you turn your hand so that your thumb is toward you, and you're looking down from above, it should look something like a bow-tie. Use your other hand to push down the ends of the bowtie, and smooth.

It should now look like step 8!

I included all of that in case someone else is like me, and sometimes can't see something from one angle, but change your perspective, and it's suddenly clear!
Hope it wasn't too confusing.

Angel

This is the Origami way (Japanese Art of Folding Paper)... see http://www.greggman.com/japan/origami-bowl/origami-bowl.htm

At step #8, after folding one of the edges over to the center, fold it over again... this makes the pot taller.

Also, after the last step I use a staple in each of the flaps to secure the pot tightly.

I use a regular sheet of printer paper... makes about a 3 inch pot... perfect. The paper does get wet when watering, but as long as you are not moving the pot regularly... it holds up until you plant out in the spring.

If using newspaper... I would double ply. I transplant all of my tomatoes, pepers, okra, marigolds, etc into these inexpensive paper pots

Thanks everyone for the critiques on my origami pots. I have been trying to figure out how to explain step six to people who have never studied origami.
I will be updating the page again soon with your advice in mind.
Eric in Japan

I tried it with a piece of 8.5" x 11" copy paper. I managed to get it pretty close but it's only 2" high and 1" wide, not sure if I did something wrong or if it's supposed to be a cute little mini pot.