20160304A.jpgDid you know that you can recycle toilet paper rolls for use as pots for your seedlings? Simply place them tightly one against the other on a waterproof tray. Now fill them with potting soil and sow your seeds, watering and caring for them as you usually would. At transplanting time, don’t bother removing the roll: just plant up the seedlings as is, roll and all. Like peat pots, toilet paper rolls are biodegradable and roots will have no problem penetrating them.

Do note that mold will sometimes form on the outside of the roll. This is simply the first stage of the roll’s decomposition and will not affect the plants.

Garden writer and blogger, author of 65 gardening books, lecturer and communicator, the Laidback Gardener, Larry Hodgson, passed away in October 2022. Known for his great generosity, his thoroughness and his sense of humor, he reached several generations of amateur and professional gardeners over his 40-year career. Thanks to his son, Mathieu Hodgson, and a team of contributors, laidbackgardener.blog will continue its mission of demystifying gardening and making it more accessible to all.

5 comments on “Toilet Paper Pots for Seedlings

  1. Joy Murray

    I used toilet paper tubes as you described, but the black mould that grew on the outside appeared to impede the seedling growth (tomatoes), and has also appeared on the leaves. Do I spray or throw away?joy

    • I’m trying to understand what black mold would move from cardboard onto foliage. (That it should attack cardboard is not really a concern: it’s a dead compostable material and all sorts of fungus might like it.)

      Are you sure there are no aphids involved? They’re usually what’s behind black mold on plants. Trying wiping it off with a soft cloth. If that works, just carry on (and treat the aphids if you find any). If it doesn’t, something is living right in the leaves and that would not be so easy to control. Throwing away might be the right option.

      Spray? With what? You can’t spray until you know what the problem is.

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  3. It’s recycling used materials. It will help our environment.

  4. TheDigger

    I use these, they are fab and work really well for plants that don’t like being moved. Although these days I have to argue with the puppy about who gets to play with the inside of the loo roll! You can also get a gizmo for making pots from newspaper.

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