Every now and then, usually when numbers are low, I worry that the activities on offer at the school gardening club I run are a bit…well, samey. Obviously it has to be that way. After all, there’s no point in sowing carrots outside in November.
One of my club staples is making comic plant pots which I love to do every year. I shall get the children making these for as long as I run the club.
It is quite time consuming (a big plus when you have 12 children who can sow a row of seeds quicker than you can say “make sure it’s straight”) but they look good, are cheap and eco-friendly.
We made these recently, which meant buying extra copies of the Beano, the only comic in my opinion that these can be made out of. But I admit that is just me being a tad fussy.
However, I was mightily disappointed in the newsagents to discover the comic is now printed on glossy paper and not the old-fashioned matt stuff of yesteryear. As these pots are purely for decoration and will not contain anything the children are likely to eat I thought it would be OK.
We don’t bother with the pot making wooden kits you can buy. I just don’t see the point and while they do look nice a jam jar works just as well.
Each child crafted one to take home; we filled them with compost and popped in a nasturtium seed or two. I think they will look wonderful when the plant flowers and are a match made in heaven.
I’m not sure how long it will take this super new glossy paper to break down but once it does the pots can easily be transferred to a bigger plastic or terracotta one. The children loved their task so much they made some more comic nasturtium pots that, if successful, we may sell to raise some funds (with other plants perhaps. I haven’t decided).
Once we ran out of comics we moved onto newspaper which is just as good although less cool for kids to take home. Those ones will be going into pots that will be dotted around the beds. I’m not putting them into the beds; nasturtiums have a mind of their own and can run amok on a veggie patch – much like children.
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Janet
I was given one of these wooden kits as a present and find it difficult to use. I don’t really have the time or the patience.I may try a jam jar next time.
The comic pots look fun.