I, personally, use newspaper pots made from old telephone book pages, just wrap the paper around a couple of fingers to make a cylinder and put one piece of tape on it to hold them together. They have to be stacked close together after you plant the seeds, since they'll lean, but they're easy to water from the bottom. No need to water the surface at all. There's another way to do it, too. Use small paper or styrofoam cups with the bottoms cut out. Turn the cups upside down so the small portion is at the top and punch a couple of drainage holes on the bottom sides. Fill with planting soil and plant your seeds. When it's time to set out the transplants, use a spatula to keep the bottom soil in place to set them in the planting hole. Then just carefully lift the cup straight up and pack the soil around the root ball. Nothing surrounds your transplant then.

Albert, they don't come apart when they are completely planted next to each other and under soil. You can't use them as self-contained pots! If you look at the last picture on the first post, you can see them in the lasagna pan and kitty litter box. There is no way for them to fall apart.... that is until you take them out to plant. Then they might, but by that time you're done anyway! My husband built me a cold frame out of PVC pipe. Inside the cold frame, I have a couple of skids/pallets to keep the containers up off the ground. (A couple of years ago I had my containers on the patio and some slugs found their way inside! The nerve!!) The total cost for the cold frame was about about $20.00. It comes apart for easy summer/fall storage. Living in a condo, the neighbors wouldn't like to see me set up my old recyclables in full view on my patio. I have to at least try and be descrete... well somewhat anyway! (complain to me, they WILL be rewarded with a w/s plant)

I have tried using them for root crops--with Nancy's shaping method, thanks!--but the seedlings languish. I think the cardboard must draw nitrogen from the soil, or that there is some growth retardant in the cardboard. It happened when I made cardboard dividers in a larger pot, too. In both cases, the cardboard was completely surrounded with moist soil, so I don't believe drying out wast he problem. Sweet peas, on the other hand wouldn't necessarily be bothered by the nitrogen problem. I don't know if they are N producers in the seedling stage, though.

We'll have to see what happens with the sweet peas. I'm still coaxing them, but they are grabbing. I guess fuschias can really be bad in hanging planters, only had one once put in on the north by the back door, don't remember watering problems. Lately I've been watering three times a day. Three o'clock in the afternoon and I have to water, can't wait til 7, stuff is drooping. The heat wave has been awful. I can't keep that up, so will have to come up with some plants that do better in poor soil and tolerate drought or sink deeper roots. I wondered why everybody plants coneflowers around here. Now I know. Yes, windowboxes and planters dry out more quickly I've found, and I haven't hit on the right combo of compatible plants to add color and interest. I've got geraniums with iresine and alyssum. The latter like moist, geraniums flower better a little on the dry side. I'm using peat-based media. You're right, it is fluff. For some odd reason I packed it in firmly but not that firm and it is popping up over the pot when it gets dry (that's for the herbs I finally got around to planting this week, many pots). I patted it down again and watered. I like it because it retains water better. But I overplanted alyssum in the stuff and almost lost it because it started to wilt, caught it in time. Zone 5, eastern Iowa, thought it too late to plant viola seeds. Think I'll order some tomorrow, and plant half and save the rest. I'm not real confident they'll grow well enough to last through the winter; it's getting late in the season. Don't know if I can bring them indoors or not, probably better not to. I don't have many choices of where to plant them in the ground. I suppose I can dig them up in the spring and move them. Most of my plans for this summer have been thwarted, won't go into it and the frustration and disappointment. Will only say that front is rototilled either side of the walk, edging laid on one side, the grass was not removed, it's too moundy, I need to get two expensive arbors I ordered installed and don't know who I'm going to get to do that for me and how much more that will cost. The people who help me who I pay have problems and don't show up. All this chatter and my gardening are my escape from probs in the family. It gives me something to look forward to. My biggest regret in life is that I didn't get into plant science. I'm fascinated with crosses and genetics but probably not very good at it, and I don't tolerate the heat in greenhouses well, let alone when it zooms up in the high 90's like today. I was out watering. Hated to do it but had little choice. Stuff was wilting and was afraid to wait until 7. Yes, well my plans are not realistic. I'd better learn to go with the flow. I always want to try things the neighbors don't have. I spose you can't post photo of your windowboxes. I'd love to see what you do with them. Roses in windoboxes? That is almost funny, but why not? You gotta do what you gotta do. I've got to find some new roses to root, then figure out what to do with them. I know, I'll plant the violas in the six rolled pots I was saving. Hah. Just about all my outdoor pots are in use now or earmarked for something important. I can plant the pots in the ground for the winter and try to fool them, then if they survive, transplant them in the spring. I won't have many that way. Maybe I'll plant them in a bad place on the east of the house I don't have a plan for yet and move them if they do well. Thanks for the encouragement! Sorry I rambled so. I so wanted to make things really nice and am not where I wanted to be by now, knew I couldn't do it all in one season.