Garden & Outdoors · Review

Esschert Design Wooden Paper Pot Maker

A simple wooden tool that rolls old newspaper into biodegradable seedling pots you plant straight into the ground: pot and all, with zero plastic and zero waste.

🌿 Ecoxee decision: A lovely zero-waste swap for seed starters.

If you start seeds and have old newspaper lying around, this turns it into free, plant-it-and-all biodegradable pots, genuinely zero-waste and cheap to run. If you do not sow seeds, you do not need it.

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Best for

Seed starters who want zero plasticUsing up old newspaperPlant-straight-into-the-ground seedlings (no transplant shock)A cheap, low-tech, durable toolBeans, peas, sweetcorn and other quick growers

Not ideal for

People who buy ready-grown plantsAnyone who rarely sows seedsThose without any newspaper to handGardeners wanting rigid, long-lasting pots

Before you buy: do you actually need this?

Worth buying if…

You start seeds and want to skip plastic pots
You have old newspaper to use up
You would like to plant seedlings pot and all
You want a cheap, durable, low-tech tool

Probably skip it if…

You mostly buy ready-grown plants
You rarely start seeds
You already make your own paper pots or soil blocks

The most sustainable option is often the one you already own.

Overview

Plastic seed pots and trays are binned by the tray-load every season. This simple wooden press ends that: a wooden former and base that roll a strip of old newspaper into a small biodegradable pot.

Fill the pot with compost, sow your seed, and when the seedling is ready, plant the whole thing into the ground, where the paper breaks down. Because you never disturb the roots, there is no transplant shock, and the pots cost nothing beyond the newspaper you already have.

The honest notes: paper pots are soft and short-lived, so they suit quick-growing seedlings you plant out soon rather than slow ones you keep for months, and you do of course need a supply of newspaper. There is also a small knack to rolling them at first.

What we like

Turns old newspaper into free, biodegradable pots
Plant the whole pot out: no transplant shock
Zero plastic and zero waste
Cheap to run and durable (the tool lasts for years)
A lovely, low-tech, satisfying job

Worth knowing

Only useful if you start seeds
You need a supply of newspaper
Paper pots are soft and short-lived
A small learning curve to rolling them
Best for quick growers you plant out soon

The honest trade-offs

The nuance most reviews leave out.

The wooden tool has a small footprint to make, but it lasts for years and turns free waste paper into pots, so it is about as low-impact as seed-starting gets.
Paper pots are soft and do not last long, so they suit fast-growing seedlings you will plant out soon, not slow ones you will keep for months.
You need newspaper, which not everyone has now, though any plain, un-glossy paper works.
It only matters if you actually sow seeds; for someone buying plants, it does nothing.

Sustainability breakdown

Our honest read on how eco-friendly this really is. Where we cannot verify something, we say so rather than guess.

MaterialsExcellent

Solid wood, with no plastic: a durable, natural, buy-it-for-life tool.

Expected lifespanExcellent

Simple wood construction that lasts for many years.

End of lifeExcellent

The tool is wood (compostable or recyclable), and the pots it makes are plantable and biodegradable.

PackagingGood

Typically ships with minimal, largely plastic-free packaging.

Brand transparencyGood

Esschert Design is an established garden-tool maker with clear, simple products.

If you don't buy it

If you buy ready-grown plants or rarely sow seeds, you do not need this. And if you already make paper pots or soil blocks, keep doing that. Buy it if you start seeds, have newspaper to use up, and want a genuinely zero-waste, zero-plastic way to raise seedlings.

The Ecoxee verdict

The paper pot maker is one of the most satisfying zero-waste tools in the garden: a simple wooden press that turns old newspaper into free, biodegradable seedling pots you plant straight into the ground, roots undisturbed. It is all wood, lasts for years, and costs almost nothing to run. Paper pots are soft and short-lived, so they suit quick-growing seedlings you will plant out soon, and you will need a supply of newspaper, but if you start seeds and want to ditch plastic pots entirely, this is a lovely, low-tech, genuinely green buy. If you do not sow seeds, there is nothing here for you.

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