How to Build Indoor Seed Starters

Create the Seed Starting Soil Mix

• 1

  Fill a bucket half full of peat moss, which is available at garden supply stores, home improvement stores and some landscaping businesses.

• 2

  Fill the remainder of the bucket with sterile sand so the mixture is half peat moss and half sand. Use only sterile, bagged sand, since loose sand from the yard may contain weed seeds or pathogens.

• 3

  Mix the two materials completely using a hand spade until you can no longer distinguish the difference between the two.

Build the Pots

• 4

  Collect empty paper towel rolls well in advance of creating the seed starters. One roll will create two pots.

• 5

  Lay the toilet paper roll on a table and press it flat with your hand to make it easier to cut and fold.

• 6

  Cut the toilet paper roll in half using scissors. Then pick up one of the halves and open it back up into a cylinder shape. Cut four 1/2-inch-long slits on one end, spacing the slits at equal distances.

• 7

  Fold the resulting flaps up until they form a bottom for the pot. Press the bottom of the roll on the work surface to firm up the bottom of the pot.

• 8

  Insert all of the pots into a hollow tray or plastic storage container to make transporting them easier and to catch future water drainage.

• 9

  Fill the seed starting pots with the seed starter soil until they are 3/4 full, and plant seeds as desired.