25 DIY Seed Starting Pots: Make Your Own Upcycled Pots

Get those green thumbs ready and let’s make DIY seed starting pots.  It’s an easy project that will save you even more money when starting your garden by seed.

DIY Seed Starting Pots

Gardening can get expensive if you aren’t careful. Starting your own seed vs buying transplants is a great way to save money but have you seen the cost of seed-starting supplies at the garden centers lately?  

Using Repurposed Materials

Getting good use out of materials that would normally be thrown out by making DIY seed starting pots makes good sense. Since most of these DIY seed starting pots are made from compostable materials they can be planted right into the garden at transplant time.  

This makes transplanting your seedlings a breeze. Just be sure to use seed trays to keep your DIY seed starting pots contained. Seedling trays also make it convenient to bottom water your seedlings.  

Newspaper Pots

All done reading the Sunday paper? Instead of throwing it out, use it for DIY seed starting pots.  

Using a shot glass or small jar as a form, roll two cut-to-size pages around the glass, tucking the bottom edges under.  Remove the jar and there you have it!  Cute little newspaper seedling pots.

Upcycled Small Boxes

If you are a tea drinker, you may have several small tea boxes up in the cabinet that are just the right size for DIY seed starting pots.  You can use them as a single pot or even put a little divider made from the lid of the box to break it up into two smaller sections. 

Paper Towel Rolls or Toilet Paper Rolls

Everyone has a steady supply of toilet paper tubes.  Start collecting them to use as seed pots.  

They are the perfect size. The bottom can be snipped to fold under or it can be left open for optimal root development. Several can be made from just one of your empty paper towel tubes. 

Paper-Mache Pots

While this one takes a little more time and effort than the previous, but it can be a fun craft to do with girlfriends or kids.  Cut some strips of paper and mix up a traditional paper-mache recipe. Using a small jar as a form, drape your strips over the edge and into the jar. Let them dry over the form into a little seed starting pot. 

Here’s a quick paper mache recipe:

Equal parts of 50% white glue and 50% water. Elmer’s “Glue All” is my favorite among the readily available brands. ​

Paper Pulp Cups

Another fun DIY seed starting pot craft to do with the kids.  Take some shredded paper and add it to some paper mache water blending it up until it is smooth.  Add a small amount of flower to the mix and form little cups using a muffin pan. Bake it in the oven until the paper pulp cups are firm.  

DIY Soil Blocks

Soil block makers have become increasingly popular in the gardening world and while they aren’t that expensive it’s still money spent.  You can however make your own.  

By removing both ends of a small tin can, like a tomato paste can, you can use the form of the can as your vessel to pack soil into.  

To take it a step further, attach one of the ends of the can to a small wooden dowel to use as your packer. With a pre-moistened, good soil mix you can have perfectly packed soil blocks.

Hollowed-Out Citrus Peels

​Instead of composting citrus peels, which take forever, reuse them as seed starting pots.  Cutting citrus in half and hollowing out the peel will give you a nice biodegradable seed starting pot. 

Loofa Sponge

Loofa sponges can make excellent seed starting pots.  The structure of the loofa sponge will allow for good root development. They can be potted directly into the ground. Just hollow out the center and fill it with your favorite seed starting mix. 

Egg Shells

Cracking those egg shells into equal halves will give you the perfect little pot to start seeds in.  Just be sure to rinse them well and use a push pin to add a drainage hole to the bottom. 

DIY Seed Starting Pots & Other Household Items for Seed Starters

While all of these may not be biodegradable they are household items you can use as seed starting pots. It’ll keep them out of the trash and recycling bin, at least for a little while. 

Halved Plastic Water Bottles

While this is not biodegradable, halved plastic water bottles can make nifty little seed starting pots.  They can even be made into self-watering pots by turning the top half upside down and putting it into the bottom half that can be used for a water reservoir. 

Cleaned Out Cans

Don’t throw those tin cans away or toss them into the recycling bin!  Clean out these small containers and use them as a seed starting pot. 

Egg Cartons

Maybe you need to start a dozen or so seeds.  Egg cartons are the perfect fit.  Just be sure to add drainage holes if the carton is plastic or styrofoam. Using a cardboard egg carton has a double benefit, built-in drainage, and compostable. 

Old Yogurt Cups

Old yogurt cups are the perfect size for starting seeds.  They will fit well into a seed starting tray as well. Again, don’t forget to add drainage holes to the bottom of the pot so your seeds aren’t soaked. 

Disposable Cups

You know those little paper cups used for mouthwash? Those are perfect cups to start some seeds in.  

While I do see lots of people using those red solo cups, I think they take way too much seed starting mix to fill. Choosing smaller cups will save you money in soil.

To-go Containers

Chinese take-out anyone? Those little takeout containers or to-go cup can easily be repurposed into little pots. 

Plastic Trays

Plastic or even glass baking trays can be used to start a bunch of seeds. Especially things like tomato seedlings since they need to be potted up so quickly. Start them in a single tray, then pluck them out to pot up into larger singular pots when they are ready. 

Quart Sized Milk Cartons or Juice Cartons

These can be cut in half or laid on their side with one of the sides removed to fill with soil. Nifty little planters.

Reusing Old Seedling Pots

This is an obvious one but it is worth mentioning.  Maybe you bought a little six-pack of flowers to add to the garden.  Be sure to save those containers to start your own vegetable seeds. 

If you choose this route, you’ll want to sterilize those containers. Here’s a quick way to sterilize used containers:

Sterilize with Hydrogen Peroxide

Spray the pots with a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution, let it sit for 30 minutes, then rinse. You can also soak the pots in a higher concentration of hydrogen peroxide if you’ve had issues with fungal diseases. When using a higher concentration, wear chemical resistant gloves as it can cause skin irritation.

Small Plastic Containers

Finally! A purpose for all those plastic containers under the cabinet with no lids. Or maybe even the emptied-out sour cream and cottage cheese containers in the refrigerator.  These are a great option for seed-starting pots. 

Foil Roasting Trays

You know those disposable ones at the grocery store?  They will make a great little trey for starting seeds. As a bonus, find the ones that come with a plastic lid. You know have a mini greenhouse.

Ice Cube Trays

Ah yes, ice cube trays.  These can double as mini seed starting pots.  Ice cube trays are great for starting shallow-rooted plants like lettuces and such. 

Ice Cream Cones

Now this is a cute idea for starting seeds with the kiddos. Fill up some small ice cream cones with seed starting mix to start those seeds.  When you are ready to plant, just crush the bottom a little and transplant them into the garden. 

K-cup Pods

Coffee for the win!  Don’t throw those K-Cup pods out.  Save the coffee grounds for compost, rinse those cups out, and save them for starting seeds.

Muffin Pans

Muffin pans can be great for starting seeds. Just be sure not to water too much and use the paper muffin cups so they are easily removed from the muffing pan. 

A Larger Pot

If you find yourself lacking enough small pots and don’t want to bother buying or making them just sow the seeds into bigger pots.  When they are bigger you can gently separate them to transplant into the garden at planting time. 

Strawberry Containers

Strawberry, blueberry, and those little raspberry containers are perfect for seed starting.  They come with drainage holes in the bottom. The best part though is the vented clear lid which create a mini greenhouse. 

Starting Seeds With DIY Seed Starting Pots

Now that you have all of your DIY seed starter pots ready to go fill them up with some finished compost from the compost pile or seed starter mix.  Be sure your containers have a small hole for drainage.  

You’ll also need plenty of light from either grow lights, fluorescent lights, or a south-facing window once your seeds germinate. Good luck starting those seeds and making your DIY seed starting pots. You can check out our seed starting guide for step-by-step instructions. 

Happy Homesteading & Gardening,

Jenny @ The GrahamStead Family Farm 

Jenny and her family have been homesteading for more than two decades. They currently live on a 10-acre farm in Northeast Florida, which they built from the ground up, nine years ago. 

On their farm, they grow 100% of their meat and most of their vegetables. With a small herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle, pastured poultry, sheep, and seasonal pigs, they not only meet their family’s meat needs but also sell their surplus to the local community. They are dedicated to sustainable practices like making compost, seed saving, and processing much of their garden and animal harvests at home. You can find Jenny wandering through her garden, making herbal tinctures, preserving food, making bone broth, and one of Jenny’s favorite hobbies, tanning all types of hides.