Seed Starting Containers: Pots, Trays & Alternatives Compared
Updated: 4 days ago
I have tried just about everything when it comes to starting seeds.
Plastic cell trays. Individual plastic pots. Peat pellets. Peat pots. Compostable pots. Paper pots. Soil blocks.
I've bought things. I've improvised things. I've made things.
Every time I tried something new, I thought, Maybe this is the answer.
And then I found the problem.
The plastic trays were convenient, but I didn't love adding more plastic to my collection. Peat pellets were wonderfully easy, but then there was the question of what exactly was holding them together. Peat pots seemed like a good idea until I started thinking about peat itself.
Soil blocks looked like the perfect answer for someone trying to avoid containers altogether.
For a while, I thought they were.
Then I tried ¾-inch blocks because I wanted to save space under my grow lights. The seedlings grew quickly, and keeping track of when those tiny blocks needed to move into larger ones became more complicated and labor-intensive than I wanted.
Now I'm making paper pots.
So clearly, I'm still looking.
The funny thing is that there really are a lot of choices. And the more I look at them, the more I realize that comparing seed-starting containers isn't simply a matter of deciding which one is cheapest or which one is the most environmentally friendly.
There are quite a few things to consider.
Cost. Reusability. Space. Watering. Root development.
Transplanting. Labor. Storage. What the container is made from.
What's holding it together. And what happens to it when you're finished with it.
So I decided to take a closer look at the whole seed-starting container universe.
Maybe there isn't a perfect pot.
But there might be a best choice for each gardener.
Seed-Starting Containers at a Glance
Here's my attempt to put the major systems in one place.
Method | Cost | Re-usable? | Plastic? | Glue / Binder? | Plant Direct-ly? | Labor | Space Efficiency | Environmen-tal Considerat-ions | Best For | ||
Plastic cell trays | $ | Yes | Yes | — | No | Low | Excellent | Long-term reuse changes the equation | Most home gardeners | ||
Individual plastic pots | $–$$ | Yes | Yes | — | No | Low | Fair | Durable and reusable | Flexible growing | ||
Air-pruning trays | $$ | Yes | Yes | — | No | Low | Excellent | Specializedreusable plastic | Root-conscious growers | ||
Self-watering systems | $$ | Yes | Yes | — | No | Low | Excellent | Reusable but more components | Convenience | ||
Peat pellets | $ | No | Usually mesh | Varies | Yes | Very low | Excellent | Peat + mesh / material questions | Maximum convenience | ||
Peat pots | $ | No | Usually no | Varies | Yes | Low | Good | Peat extrac-tion is a concern | Simple transplant-ing | ||
Fiber/compostable pots | $$ | Usually no | Varies | Varies | Usually | Low | Good | Material and binder dependent | Plantable containers | ||
Commercial paper pots | $$ | No | Usually no | Varies | Usually | Very low | Good | Paper, coatings and binders vary | Paper without DIY labor | ||
Accordion/chain paper | $$–$$$ | No | Varies | May use adhesive | Yes | Low at scale | Excellent | Specializedsystem | Large-scale growing | ||
DIY newspaper pots | Almost free | No | No | No | Yes | High | Good | Simple recycled paper | Budget gardeners | ||
Paper-pot molds | $ | Mold, yes | No | No | Yes | Medium | Good | Simple paper + reusable tool | DIY gardeners | ||
DIY origami pots | $ | No | No | No | Yes | High | Good | Simple material; labor is the tradeoff | Hands-on gardeners | ||
Cardboard tubes | Free | No | No | Existing construction varies | Yes | Low | Fair | Upcycled material | Small quantities | ||
Recycled household contain-ers | Free | Often | Usually | Varies | Usually no | Low | Varies | Reuse can extend material life | Resource-ful gardeners | ||
Soil blocks | $$ upfront | Tool, yes | Minimal | — | Yes | Medium–high | Excellent | Almost no container waste | Serious seed starters |
These are broad comparisons rather than absolute rules. Cost changes with container size, quantity, brand and how many seasons you use something.
And that last point matters.
A sturdy plastic tray used for ten years is a very different environmental proposition from a disposable plastic container used once.
The same is true of paper.
Paper doesn't automatically mean glue-free.
That's something I hadn't really thought about until I started looking more closely at the different commercial paper and fiber products.
1. Reusable Plastic Containers
Let's start with the workhorse.
Plastic cell trays are probably the most common way to start seeds, and there's a reason for that. They're inexpensive, lightweight, easy to clean and reuse, and designed specifically for growing lots of seedlings in a small amount of space.
University of Maryland Extension notes that plastic cell packs and greenhouse flats can be reused for several years when handled carefully. Depending on cell size, a single flat can hold anywhere from roughly 10 to 120 plants.
That's hard to beat.
There are:
Standard cell packs
Plug trays
Deep cells
Individual plastic pots
1020 flats
Air-pruning/root-pruning trays
Self-watering trays
Humidity-dome systems
And then there are all the plastic containers you can simply repurpose.
Yogurt cups. Cottage cheese containers. Takeout containers. Clear produce containers. Milk cartons.
University of Maryland recommends many recycled containers as long as they're clean, deep enough and have adequate drainage.
Air-pruning trays
These are worth separating from ordinary plastic cells.
Instead of allowing roots to continue circling around the inside wall of a container, air-pruning designs expose roots to air at openings in the container. The idea is to encourage branching rather than a dense circle of roots.
They're still plastic, but they're a good example of why "plastic" isn't enough information to evaluate a container.
A sturdy air-pruning tray that gets used for years is a reusable tool.
Self-watering systems
Self-watering trays use a reservoir, capillary mat or similar system to deliver water to seedlings from below.
The appeal is obvious.
Less hovering over tiny seedlings with a watering can.
The downside is more equipment, more parts to store and another thing to clean.
The environmental question
This is where I think plastic gets unfairly simplified.
Single-use plastic is one thing.
A durable tray that gets used year after year is another.
I'm not going to tell you that reusable plastic has no environmental impact. It does.
But if I buy a sturdy tray and use it for a decade, I have avoided buying ten disposable containers during that period.
Cost: Low to moderate, with reusable systems becoming less expensive per season the longer you use them.
Best thing about it: Efficient, durable and easy to use.
What bothers me: It's still plastic, and eventually it becomes something I have to dispose of.
2. Peat Pellets
Peat pellets are almost comically convenient.
Add water.
Watch the little disk expand.
Plant the seed.
That's about it.
They are particularly attractive for gardeners who don't want to fuss with filling individual cells with growing mix.
But peat pellets have two separate environmental questions:
What's the growing medium?
And:
What's holding it together?
Jiffy, one of the major manufacturers, offers pellets using different growing media, including peat and coco, and has been transitioning some pellet netting from conventional plastics toward
PLA-based netting (a type of bioplastic).
But even before getting to the mesh, there's the peat itself.
The peat problem
Peatlands are extraordinary ecosystems.
They cover a relatively small portion of the Earth's land surface but store enormous amounts of carbon. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) describes peatlands as the world's most efficient terrestrial carbon stores and notes that peat accumulates extremely slowly.
When peatlands are drained and harvested, the ecosystem is disturbed and stored carbon can be released as the peat is exposed to oxygen and decomposes.
Peatlands also provide habitat and help regulate water.
So even though peat is a natural material, natural doesn't automatically mean sustainable.
That's one reason I'm increasingly interested in peat-free seed-starting options.
There are alternatives, including coco coir and various fiber-based materials, although those alternatives have their own environmental footprints and aren't automatically perfect either.
Cost: Low.
Best thing about it: Extremely convenient.
What bothers me: Peat extraction and the materials used to contain the pellet make this less environmentally simple than it first appears.
3. Peat Pots and Other Plantable Pots
The basic idea behind a peat pot is wonderful.
Grow the seedling in the pot.
Put the whole thing in the garden.
No root disturbance.
No plastic container.
No wrestling the seedling out of the pot.
And there are now many variations on this idea: peat, coir, seaweed, manure fiber, wood fiber, paper and other plant-based materials.
University of Maryland notes that biodegradable containers made from materials such as peat, coconut coir fiber and dehydrated manure can be planted directly, although they may decompose slowly.
That last part matters.
Biodegradable isn't a magic word
A container can be called biodegradable and still take longer to break down than you expect.
A product can be compostable but not intended to be planted directly.
A container can be plantable but contain a binder.
And a product described as "natural" doesn't necessarily tell you exactly what is in it.
Research on biodegradable seedling pots has found significant differences among materials in strength, decomposition and whether the container should actually be planted with the seedling. Some commercial biocontainers use binders to hold their materials together.
That's why I want to look at what the container is made of, rather than simply whether the package says "eco-friendly."
Cost: Low to moderate.
Best thing about it: The pot can go into the ground with the seedling.
What bothers me: The environmental story varies considerably from one product to another.
4. Paper and Cardboard Containers
This is where things get much more interesting.
"Paper pot" sounds like one thing.
It isn't.
There are commercial molded-paper pots, recycled-paper pots, engineered propagation papers, accordion-style paper systems, newspaper pots made around a jar, pots made with special molds, origami pots and cardboard tubes.
And there's one question I think is worth asking about every commercial paper or fiber product:
What is actually holding it together?
Paper doesn't automatically mean glue-free
A homemade newspaper pot doesn't need glue at all.
The paper is simply folded or wrapped into shape.
A DIY origami pot doesn't need glue either.
But commercial paper and fiber products are manufactured differently. Depending on the product and how it is made, they may use adhesives, binders, coatings or other additives to give the finished container strength and durability.
Some manufacturers specifically state that their products contain no glues or binders.
Others disclose the use of adhesives or other binding materials.
So if I'm choosing a paper container because I want the simplest possible material going into my garden, I don't want to stop at the word paper.
I want to know:
What kind of paper is it?
Is it recycled?
Is it coated?
Is there glue?
Is there a binder?
Is there plastic?
Can I plant it directly?
What happens to it afterward?
That's a much more useful set of questions than simply asking whether something is "eco-friendly."
Commercial Paper Pots
Commercial paper pots can be made from recycled paperboard, molded paper pulp or specially engineered paper.
Some are designed to be planted directly.
Some are intended to decompose after transplanting.
Some use binders or adhesives.
Others specifically advertise that they don't.
Botanical Interests, for example, sells pots made from 100% recycled, food-grade paperboard and designed to biodegrade in the garden or compost bin.
Back to the Roots describes some of its plantable seed-starting pots as 100% biobased and made without glues or binders.
Those are meaningful differences.
The environmental question isn't simply:
Paper or plastic?
It's also:
What is this particular paper product made of?
Cost: Low to moderate, depending on size and construction.
Best thing about it: Convenient way to get many of the benefits of paper without making the pots yourself.
What bothers me: You have to investigate the construction rather than assuming all paper pots are the same.
Accordion and Chain Paper Pots
This was one of the more interesting systems I came across.
Instead of making individual paper pots, commercial systems can connect hundreds of paper cells into a continuous chain.
The Paper Pot system, for example, uses linked paper cells that expand into a honeycomb-like arrangement for growing seedlings.
That is a very different proposition from folding a dozen newspaper pots at the kitchen table.
The efficiency is impressive.
One chain can contain hundreds of seedlings, and the system was designed for commercial-scale production where labor savings matter.
But there's another important distinction here:
The paper cells are manufactured into a system.
That means construction methods and adhesives matter.
Some accordion/chain systems use adhesive to connect the individual cells. So again, "paper" isn't the whole story.
For a home gardener starting 30 snapdragons?
Probably overkill.
For someone growing thousands of plants?
Now it makes much more sense.
Cost: Higher initial investment and specialized equipment compared with DIY paper pots.
Best thing about it: Extremely efficient at scale.
What bothers me: It's a specialized production system, and the construction may involve adhesive.
DIY Newspaper Pots
Now we're back in my territory.
You can make a paper pot with almost nothing.
Newspaper.
A jar.
A can.
A bottle.
Fold, roll, tuck and press.
University and extension programs have been teaching variations of this method for years. Iowa State Extension recommends origami-style paper pots, and other extension programs demonstrate rolling newspaper around a jar or can to create a plantable pot.
And they really can work.
The newspaper eventually decomposes in the garden.
But there is a little trick that matters: don't leave paper sticking above the soil line.
Exposed paper can wick moisture away from the root zone.
The dedicated paper-pot mold
You can also buy a little mold specifically designed to make newspaper pots.
The concept is simple: wrap the paper around the mold, fold the bottom, press it into shape, remove the mold and repeat.
The mold itself is reusable, so the only disposable material is the paper.
That makes this an interesting middle ground between:
Buy a commercial pot
and
Fold every pot completely freehand.
And importantly, you're still making a pot with paper rather than manufacturing a paper product that requires adhesives to hold its shape.
Cost: Very low for the pots; small one-time cost for the mold.
Best thing about it: Inexpensive and simple.
What bothers me: You still have to make every pot.
Origami Paper Pots
This is another variation, and one I particularly like because no special mold is required.
Paper is simply folded into a container.
Iowa State Extension specifically recommends origami paper pots as a seed-starting option.
The appeal is obvious.
No plastic.
No glue.
No special equipment.
Just paper.
The downside is equally obvious.
You have to fold them.
And if you're making ten pots, that's charming.
If you're making three hundred, you may feel differently.
Which brings me to my own experiment.
My DIY Paper-Pot Experiment
I've recently started making my own paper pots using a 60-pound craft paper roll.
I won't pretend it is the fastest process in the world.
It isn't.
But I'm intrigued by the result.
The material is simple. There's no plastic container. No plastic mesh. No glue. No binder.
Just paper.
And I like knowing exactly what I'm putting around my seedlings.
The catch is labor.
The paper may be inexpensive, but my time isn't.
So the question becomes:
How much is convenience worth?
That's a question that comes up over and over again in seed starting.
Cardboard Tubes
Toilet-paper and paper-towel tubes are another popular DIY option.
They're free if you already have them, and they're easy to cut into sections.
Some gardeners fold the bottom inward to create a little container.
Others leave the bottom open and let the roots grow directly into the soil at transplanting.
Cardboard can persist longer than newspaper, and exposed cardboard can wick moisture away from the plant.
They're useful.
They're free.
They're also not necessarily the best container for every seedling.
Cost: Free.
Best thing about it: Upcycling something you already have.
What bothers me: Shape, durability and moisture management can be awkward.
5. Upcycled Household Containers
And then there is the completely unglamorous category:
Things that were already in your recycling bin.
Yogurt cups.
Takeout containers.
Milk cartons.
Plastic food containers.
Produce clamshells.
University of Maryland specifically recommends many recycled containers as workable seed-starting containers as long as they're clean, deep enough and have adequate drainage.
This may actually be one of the most environmentally sensible choices of all.
You're not buying another container.
You're using something you already have.
Of course, you do have to poke holes in it, clean it and store it.
And eventually it may still become waste.
But reuse is often more meaningful than simply buying something because the package says "compostable."
6. Soil Blocking
And now we arrive at the system where there isn't really a container at all.
Soil blocking.
Instead of putting soil into a pot, you compress the growing medium into a freestanding block.
The seed goes directly into the block.
The block goes into a tray.
And eventually the seedling goes into the garden.
It's a beautiful idea.
It eliminates the container completely and can encourage good root development by allowing roots to encounter air at the edges of the block rather than continuing to circle around the inside of a pot.
The downside is that soil blocking is a technique, not simply a product you buy.
The mix has to have the right moisture and texture. The blocks need to hold together. Watering needs attention.
And then there's my particular problem.
My ¾-inch-block experiment
I started with tiny ¾-inch blocks because I was trying to save space under my grow lights.
That part worked.
For a little while.
Then the seedlings grew.
Quickly.
Suddenly I was keeping track of which seedlings needed to move into 2-inch blocks and when. The whole process became more complicated and labor-intensive than I wanted.
There are larger soil blockers that can make many blocks at once, including commercial systems designed to reduce the labor involved.
So I don't think my experience means soil blocking is a bad system.
It just wasn't the simple solution I was hoping it would be for my setup.
Cost: Low recurring container cost, but an upfront investment in a blocker.
Best thing about it: Almost no container waste and excellent root management.
What bothers me: It takes technique, attention and labor.
7. Specialty Propagation Systems
There are also systems that most home gardeners will probably never need but are worth knowing about if we're going to look at the whole landscape.
One example is the Ellepot system, which uses specialized paper and machinery to create propagation containers for commercial growers.
Different papers can be selected depending on the desired decomposition time and production requirements.
There are also specialized air-pruning systems, commercial soil blockers and automated propagation equipment.
These systems make sense when you're growing thousands of plants.
They don't necessarily make sense when you're starting 48 snapdragons on your kitchen counter.
And that's an important part of this whole comparison:
Scale changes everything.
A system that seems absurdly expensive for a home gardener can be remarkably efficient for a commercial grower.
What Does "Sustainable" Actually Mean?
This may be the hardest part of comparing seed-starting containers.
Because there isn't a simple list of:
Good materials
and
Bad materials.
Consider plastic.
A disposable plastic cell used once creates a very different problem from a sturdy plastic tray used for ten years.
Consider paper.
Paper is renewable and biodegradable, but a particular paper pot might contain coatings, binders or adhesives.
Consider compostable containers.
Compostable does not necessarily mean you can toss the container into your backyard compost pile and expect it to disappear quickly.
Consider peat.
It's natural.
It's also a material formed over extremely long periods of time in ecosystems that store enormous amounts of carbon.
The RHS notes that peat accumulates extremely slowly and that extraction damages peatland ecosystems and releases stored carbon.
So I've started thinking about sustainability a little differently.
Instead of asking:
Which container is the greenest?
I think the better questions are:
What is it made from?
How long will I use it?
Can I reuse it?
Does it contain plastic?
Does it contain glue or a binder?
Where did the material come from?
Can I plant it directly?
If not, what happens to it?
Can I compost it at home?
How much waste does it create?
How much labor does the alternative require?
The answers aren't always obvious.
What About Cost?
This is another place where a simple price comparison can be misleading.
A reusable plastic tray might cost more than a handful of disposable pots, but if you use it for ten years, its cost per season becomes very small.
A soil blocker may seem expensive until you realize that you aren't buying containers every year.
A paper-pot mold costs money once and then makes hundreds of inexpensive pots.
DIY paper pots may cost almost nothing in materials but require a considerable investment of your time.
Commercial paper pots cost more because someone else did the folding, forming and manufacturing for you.
And that's a real cost.
Convenience has a price.
So does labor.
What Matters Most to Me
After trying all of these systems, I've started to make my own list.
I want:
Minimal plastic
No unnecessary glue or binders
A material I understand
Good drainage
Good root development
Enough room for seedlings to grow without constant intervention
Efficient use of grow-light space
Something that can be planted directly or composted
Reasonable cost
And, ideally, something that doesn't take half my weekend to make
That's a pretty demanding list.
No wonder I haven't found the perfect pot.
So Is There a Perfect Seed-Starting Container?
Probably not.
Plastic is efficient and reusable.
Peat pellets are convenient.
Plantable pots make transplanting easy.
Fiber products offer alternatives to plastic.
Paper can be simple and renewable.
DIY pots can be nearly free.
Soil blocks eliminate containers altogether.
Specialized commercial systems can make all of this incredibly efficient at scale.
And every one of them comes with a tradeoff.
That's what I've learned from trying them.
The container that is perfect for someone starting 24 tomato plants may be completely wrong for someone starting 500 flowers.
The system that saves money may cost more in labor.
The system that eliminates plastic may require more time.
The system that looks most sustainable on the package may have a more complicated material story once you look underneath the label.
For now, I'm experimenting with paper.
I've made my own pots from a 60-pound craft paper roll, and I like what I'm seeing.
The material is simple.
The idea is simple.
The problem is that I'm the one making them.
So we'll see how I feel after I've made a few hundred.
Because maybe the perfect seed-starting container isn't the one that checks every box.
Maybe it's the one whose compromises you can actually live with.
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