It’s no surprise to us when we hear how much plastic is used to make and package everything we consume, wear, and eat. But it seems to me counterintuitive that we use plastic so much in our endeavors to create, grow, clothe, and feed within our own homes. For example: the amount of plastic we use to grow our own food and gardens. Not everyone wants to use anything different- but not everyone wants to use plastic either. There is multiple compromises, and alternatives. Ones that suit the world through recycling and businesses that create more earth friendly (and food friendly) products. This is six alternatives to plastic pots for your vegetable starts!
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Keep reading on for my favorite vegetable start pot replacements!
6 Alternatives to Plastic Pots
1.) TIN CANS
We- like many crunchy families- work every year to rely less on the food chain and more ourselves and the on local food sources to eat. One thing I will miss as we get better at this is the tin cans you get from buying canned goods! They have so many uses beyond holding canned corn! My favorite use is for potting my vegetable starts! Once they outgrow them customers can recycle them locally or bring back to me to be reused. If I use them for my own personal garden I simply save them for the next year.
2.) Soil BLOCKS & Pellets
One method I cannot wait to try this year is the “no pot” method. This has taken shape most recently with the block soil method (here’s a good blog post on that). But it’s not the only way. As shown above- soil pellets are a great alternative to plastic pots. They are such a smart invention! Reading the description on the Amazon link should convince you if I can’t- they are time saving and make no messes! They still require trays and so do soil blocks but you don’t have to buy them- you can use cardboard boxes or glass casserole trays. Be creative! You can buy them online (and though it’s plastic it’s still WAY less than buying the starter pots- though not required to accomplish the no pot method).
Here is the link to Amazon for the
3.) Egg Cartons & Egg Shells
A biodegradable option if they are cardboard- using egg cartons is such a good alternative to plastic pots. Eggs shells are also used regularly as they add nutrients such as calcium to the soil growing the starts.
This, of course, is for small starts (such as planting seeds) and is a great alternative for earthly planting, health of soil and a plant in mind. Which makes for a healthy meal later on.
Lots of us have these on hand and if you don’t have chickens it’s a good way to use them in a way that gives back to your pocket, the plant and the soil of the earth.
4.) Cardboard Pots
Another alternative that still allows for the simplicity of buying the plastic pots without any extra work like the tin cans is paper or cardboard pots. They come in different shapes and sizes for the different stages of growing vegetables from seed. I will put a few links below so you can explore the options:
5.) Newspaper Pots
These alternatives to plastic pots has been my go two the past two years. The amount of money you save and space. Newspaper takes up way less storage space than plastic pots and containers. It’s also something you can do with others- make a day of your seed planting! Make all your pots yourself! They can then be planted directly in the ground when you are done and you can also write on them without worrying that it will be reused in the future for something else- because they can’t be reused! Not only is this recycling but in some sense a way of composting your goods. Here is a link to my Farm website that I haven’t transferred yet with a step by step!
6.) Miscellaneous Recycled Goods from Around the Home
All of these goods were items that were going to find themselves in my trash bin if I wouldn’t have reused them all. Coffee cans, gelato tubs, horse supplement containers, and old plastic bottles.
I also use many cardboard items- or parts of boxes like this pop box below.
With that, this was my six alternatives to plastic pots. Thank you so much for reading God bless you all and subscribe for more! Have any more suggestions or enjoy the post? Comment them or what you loved most about the post below!
