Melody Pleasant

Thanks for idea. I am resisting buying new plastic pots for plant sales. The ones I use at home I endlessly recycle, but I just cant guarantee that others will do the same. We must be the change we want to see in the world- and I want to see less disposable plastic! But I also like the idea of checking local garden centers/maybe even landscapers for ones they would dispose of.

Hmm, I like the idea of exploring the wax paper cups. Yes, I have not liked so far any paper/pulp containers I have tried. The coconut coir ones did well with moisture management, they just are expensive and dont decompose quick enough.

Maybe I'll buy a small quantity of wax paper cups and try them this year as a trial run, see how they hold up in the greenhouse and how well they either decompose or compost.

I re-use again and again plastic pots for plants at home, but for my plant sale they go out into the world and usually never come back. I actually offer people one free plant if they return 30 pots to me. I usually get a few that people recycle back to me but not enough to refill my stores for the next year sale.

I think you are on the right track. Start inside: tomatoes, melon, kale, swiss chard, beans, ground cherries and most herbs. But even those will be staggered. In my CT cold zone 5 I started kale weeks ago, but wont start tomatoes till next week.

Direct sew:lettuce, carrots, beets, radishes, turnips. I actually transplant my lettuce but if you have limited starting capactity inside then direct sew it. Things I have sewed outside so far (under row cover): arugula, carrots, beets, radish, small white turnips, elegance greens)

HaHa. That question implies that I actually am pretending to make a profit
I'd love something in the 20 cent pot range as a realistic option.

I am looking for options/ideas of containers for seedlings.

I have a small medicinal herb farm, for my annual seedling sale I am about to run out of all my recycled plastic pots. I have tried coconut coir pots (costly, did not break down quickly), cow pots (moisture management issues, concerns about the manure/food sources for cows like GMO corn).

I am thinking about trying Fertil brand pots. Has anyone tried them? They are a pulp product. An organic farmer (though not certified) suggested using the green pulp pint berry boxes since they will rapidly decompose in the ground. My concern is finding about the material content. Like what else do they have but pulp in them? Heavy metals? Dyes?

My criteria-
1. large enough quantity that I can make/purchase in the hundreds. Nothing "cute" like egg shells (which suck by the way, wont every try that again).
2. dont have to be certified organic but I have to be reasonably confident that I am not putting something toxic in the ground like heavy metals/dyes.
3. sturdy enough to last 4-6 weeks. I'd be game to try the newspaper pots but I dont think they will last long enough in the greenhouse for slower growing herbs, also not sturdy enough to go on adventures to plant sales.
4. Smaller size- like 9x9 cm. Strong preference to square over round but not a total deal breaker.

Thanks!

In my area (CT and neighboring NY) they are an at risk plant. IMHO they should never be dug up root and all from any wild place. I have a small patch on my property that was a rescue from a patch that was heartbreakingly being bulldozed. But in the wild I only harvest one leaf from a few plants in every patch- it should look like no one was every there. I have sewn seeds without any luck.

Medicinal herbs- Yarrow, Boneset, Holy Basil (Tulsi), Wooly Mint, Goldenrod, Echinacea, wild/native asters