Tool Review: This little pot maker by Richter cost about $10.00 at Lee Valley Tools. 
It works well with newspaper. But I found cutting long pieces of newsprint to be time consuming and hard on my back. One other drawback was that I could only make one size of pot and it was much too small for transplants.
Lunch Bag Pots: To get around this issue, I bought some No Name lunch bags and cut them along the bottom fold line. The top portions were then rolled into seedling pots, while the bottom portions were opened and used as larger transplant pots. I doubled up the bottom portions, to make my transplant pots thicker.
Folded Newspaper Pots: If you have a lot of newspaper on hand, you can also try folding paper pots. The size is still fairly limited and works best for seed starting pots.
Soil Blocker: I’ve been reading some books by Elliot Coleman who suggests using a soil blocker instead of pots. I’ve never tried this method. But I wonder how well the soil holds together.
Why Not Jiffy? : If you’re growing a lot of seeds then you’ll save money using the methods above. A 7 to 10 cent expandable Jiffy pot doesn’t sound expensive. But when you consider that’s your cost per seed, then things add up fast. I also prefer using coconut coir over peat moss because it’s a renewable resource. In fact, it’s a waste product in places like Sri Lanka. As a consumer I feel good about making small decisions to save valuable habitats. The little decisions often make the greatest impacts.
CowPots : A new product that I’m excited to try is the CowPot. These are like the fibre pots that you find in most stores. But instead of using peat moss, these are made with cow manure! Apparently they don’t smell. I haven’t found them in any stores in my area yet, but I’m watching for them and I’m looking forward to giving them a try. Here’s a fun little introduction to poo pots by Mike Rowe.
