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Anne Morris at the Salisbury Allotment Association flower and horticultural show. DB2693P06

BEING an eco-friendly gardener can be very frustrating when it comes to garden pots.

The horticulture industry has much to answer for with most garden pots made from plastic, and not even recycled plastic. Sadly, many plastic pots end up going to landfill sites.

But thanks to a wonderful Christmas present, I have been making my own biodegradable seed pots - from old newspapers.

The advantages are obvious, they are easy to use, completely free, and the plant roots will not be disturbed when they are finally planted out complete with pot.

My wooden paper potter is an ingenious device, though you could just as easily use a rolling pin as a mould for small plants or a jam jar for larger plants. And you don't need to use staples or sticky tape.

Magically, once the soil and the plant are in the pot and have been watered, the newspaper binds everything together.

So far I have successfully raised lettuce seedlings in my homemade pots and these have already been planted out. Lettuces are perfect for these small pots as they are shallow rooting plants but, for longer rooting plants, I needed something larger.

Peat pots will also rot down in the soil, but peat is an unsustainable resource, so why damage the environment when you can use biodegradable pots made from coir?

Coir is fibre from the outer husks of coconut, and therefore, a renewable resource - unlike plastic or peat.

I am using biodegradable pots made from coir for my sweetcorn, courgettes and squashes which, when transplanted, will naturally rot down in the soil. These are coming along nicely in the greenhouse and should be ready to plant out at the end of the month.

10:55am Thursday 8th May 2008

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