Y’know how when you finish a roll of toilet paper, you’re always trying to come up with a new and innovative use for the cardboard roll?
No? That has genuinely never crossed your mind before? Oh.
Well, let me tell you. We spent the winter collecting those cardboard rolls until the bag was full to bursting and the dogs started stealing the ones at the top to shred into teeny, tiny, slobber-coated pieces which stuck to the bottoms of our feet as we walked over them. Why would we do such a thing, you ask? Because those otherwise discarded rolls are ideal vessels for seed planters, when modified ever so slightly.
Since the beautiful spring weather took a break today and it rained sleet for five straight hours, today seemed like the perfect day for this indoor project.
We’d collected about 55 toilet paper rolls and another dozen or so paper towels rolls. The whole process is one which would make Henry Ford proud… assembly line all the way!
First, we cut the paper towel rolls into thirds, then we cut four equidistant slits into one end of each roll.
Then, we folded the newly-created flaps down to form a base:
Next, we put them into a tray, filled them with organic soil (with vermiculite – this is a mineral that aids the soil and encourages seed growth – highly recommended) and watered the soil.
Now, we were ready to plant our seeds! We planted about 11 more (each) of seeds that had gone into the hoop house seed trays last week. We are hoping that this little planting of about 75 plants will succeed and can be dedicated to growing salad mix for applewood!
The best part about these little planters is that there is no transplanting involved; the rolls go straight into the ground and decompose as the plants grows. This is something you can do anywhere; give it a try!
applewood farm 