ctlane - if you're new to starting seeds I would recommend you do some reading and not plan on doing everything that way at first. Not that starting plants from seed is hard, most are easy to grow, it does save you money, and you have a much better selection of what to grow than what the average nursery or garden centre stocks. It's just that there are a lot of things that have to be done right - if you do it wrong you can get discouraged, and you'll have wasted the money you just spent. So... Go ahead and do it - you may love it and it is intensely rewarding to look at something and say to yourself "I grew that from a seed"! But don't go overboard the first couple of years, and keep your expectations realistic. Here's what I tell people that are new to the process: 1. Seedlings need light, water and air. *Light - A sunny window is not usually a good idea. Even though it seems nice and bright, the amount of light your seedlings will get is not enough, and they will get long and spindly. If you have a huge window or a 'greenhouse window', then it might be good enough, but they will do better under fluorescent lights. A four foot shop light from Canadian tire or Home Depot is ideal. It can be put in the basement, garage, of spare room - whatever you have available. Don't waste money on expensive specialized plant bulbs. Cool white bulbs are all you need. Seedlings should be one to two inches (yes that close) from the bulbs. *Water - One of the biggest killers of seedlings is a fungal infection that is usually called 'damping off'. The stem gets a pinched look and the seedling keels over and dies. Overwatering is the main cause for this fungus to get out of control. Keep the seed starting mixture only damp - not wet. Amount needed varies from plant to plant and the age of the plant. *Air - A lack of air circulation is another major cause to damping off. A fan placed a few feet from the seedlings will both circulate the air and help the seedlings grow sturdier and stronger. 2. Seedlings need a lot of attention. If you cannot check on your seedlings at least once a day (preferably twice or more), then you will not be able to monitor them as they grow. They will need to be watered, thinned, and moved away from the light as they grow taller(the tops of the plants need to remain close) 3. All seeds are not the same. Some need to have been started months ago, many need to be started now, and many more need only be sown outside and not started indoors at all. Many seeds need a cold period (called stratification) in order to germinate. This can be done in your fridge or outdoors using a process called wintersowing. Figure out what you want to grow and ask specific questions about those seeds. So this spring, buy a couple of sorts of annuals or veggies you'd like to have, and give it a try. Use a sunny window, or get a light and go for that - whatever you want. Note what worked and what didn't, and ask for feedback. You'll probably still need to buy plants at the nursery this spring as it'll take a couple of tries to get the hang of it. But then, look out - you'll be taking over the basement with the seeds :-) BP

I made about 80 or so of these paper pots and the plants seemed to do well in getting started. Started Columbine, corn, cucs, melons, peppers, tomatoes, morning glories, and a number of annual flowers. What I did not do was to open the paper up when I planted and some things just did not seem to get roots out quickly through the paper so they were delayed flowering and/or producing. The corn did remarkably well though. We left a bit of the paper showing to thwart the cutworms but I would not do this again with corn as they ended up too shallowly planted. Longer paper tubes probably would do the trick. I think I will find a taller bottle to use as a form. See this link from my blog on making the pots. Here is a link that might be useful: Paper pots

Hey Magimay~~ Check your local nurseries. I visit a nursery here frequently, mostly to look and see what I need to add to my wish list. They don't grow their own stuff. So they don't need the pots. Every so often, they compost some of the plants and they throw out all the pots. This guy stacks them up by the dumpster and I can carry home as many as I want for FREE. He's grateful not to have them filling his dumpster. And I get them in all sizes from the little 2" pots and six packs all the way up to huge tree size. The huge tree size ones make great pots just to dump your potting soil in. And I use an ice scoop to scoop it out as I pot stuff. Get two of the huge heavy duty pots and turn one upside down, and sit the other on top of it to put your soil in. No back breaking bending that way. Hope this works for you. Casper

Don't need any, but if there are no takers here, you can post them on Freecycle.org.