Sunday 25 March 2012

The Crafter’s Way 222– Recycled Coffee Pod Planters

I think this would be a fun activity to do with children either at home or in a classroom setting.
k-pod planter 5b
For this project I used: Pods, the Coffee Grinds, Newspaper, Water, Buckets, 2 x different Herb Seeds and Muslin.
Before beginning you will need to remove the foil lid from the pods. Empty the used coffee grinds into another container. You need to save these, we will use them later. Wash the pods thoroughly.
Step1: Tear newspaper into strips. If you have a shredder go ahead and use the paper from that.
k-pod planter 1b
Step 2: Put the paper strips into a bucket and slowly cover with water. You don’t need the paper floating, just enough water so the paper will go mushy. I left mine for a few days but a couple of hours is usually enough time.
k-pod planter 1ab
Step 3: Drain off excess water. Tip the paper into a square of muslin and squeeze the excess water out. Save this water, you may need it.
k-pod planter 2b
Step 4: Put the paper back into a bucket. Add the coffee grinds. Do this slowly. You need the mixture to be as pliable as biscuit dough. If the mixture gets too dry add a little bit more water. If you can squeeze water out it is too wet.
k-pod planter 3b
Step 5: Add both types of seeds. Feel free to add more than two types of seeds just try to make them compatible. Mix these through mixture.
Step 6: This is the fun part. Gently flatten out the bottom of the pods. Start stuffing the mixture into the pods. You are all done.
k-pod planter 4b
My seed packets stated it would take 7-14 days before you saw anything green but within 4 days I had little green heads starting to poke through. I sprinkled the pods with water on day 7. If the ‘soil’ starts to feel dry give them a light water. This last image was taken on Day 9 after planting. All of the pods had sprouted. When ready to plant out gently loosen the soil, tap out and plant in the garden or large pot. Don’t bother removing the paper it will break down in the soil.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

That's a great way to re use pods. I enjoyed this article.

Anonymous said...

Nice post, this is very precise .Thanks for sharing.

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