Pot maker

Another recent purchase from Lee Valley is a Pot-maker for making paper pots to start seeds. Once your seedlings are big enough to be transplanted, the paper pots can be planted in the garden where the paper will decompose and the plants will take root. A while ago, I wrote a post about green gardening and paper pots here and this little pot-maker is so much easier to use than what I did before - rolling strips of newspaper around a wine bottle and trying to squish the bottom to make a pot.  "Ha!"

With a bit of Mel's mix in the pots, the seeds germinated in no time at all!! Okay, so I mentioned Mel's mix before and promised to explain it. It is the best recipe for garden/potting mix that I know of. You buy about five different brands of compost and mix one part of each, all together. Then you take one part of this mixed compost, one part medium grained vermiculite and one part peat moss; mix THAT all up and you have a perfectly rich, light "soil" for pots, veggie boxes and more.

It really is the absolute best of mixes. When I sowed the seeds in my paper pots (above) I made an experiment and used plain potting soil in some pots and the special mix in others. I'm still waiting for the seeds in potting soil to germinate, while the ones in the special mix are practically ready to go in the garden already. Wow!

Happy day!