Propagation: growing under grow lights, 1 by nini1953

nini1953 wrote:
Has anyone tried to use newspaper pots to pot up their tomatoes? I started tomatoes in the 55 slot Styrofoam (as have many others) on a heating mat with lights. I have one of the newspaper pot-makers ( about 1 1/2 inches in diameter) and potted them up into those from the styrofoam tray. I had read where folks were having problems with the pots breaking up so I experimented and cut my newspaper about an inch taller than they recommended and used the full length of the newspaper. This made the pot have two full layers of paper on it. The roots were coming right on through the paper without a problem. I am still about 3 weeks from being able to plant them so I made an even larger paper pot (about 3 1/2 inches in diameter and 5 inches tall with a glass Prego spaghetti bottle. I put a small piece of tape on the side and bottom seam). I still made the pot with two full layers of newspaper before I potted them up and placed them into a tray. I have learned not to move these pots once they are full of planting medium and get damp until I am ready to put them in the garden. So far this system has served me well. Have posted a photo of the tomatoes I planted this year. They will stay in these pots for another two or three weeks until the weather settles. Hope this helps folks looking for a larger yet cheap container to plant in.