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Home » garden

How to Start Seeds In Egg Cartons at Home

By Jen

how to start seeds in egg cartons
I have been itching to get into the garden. I love gardening. Getting into the garden is peaceful, great exercise, results in beautiful flowers and it also provides us with delicious food. But, we can't get into the garden without starting seeds first. I've always loved sharing my tips for growing an awesome home garden and this clever use of egg cartons is a great place to start in spring.how to start seeds in egg cartons
 
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We have a large flower garden in the front yard. The front yard is filled with native perennial flowers and grasses. Our back yard is quite tiny...as most city yards are. We have a couple of flower garden beds and a small vegetable and herb garden. I try and plant as many vegetables that will be successful and interesting for my daughters to grow.
 
Last year our zucchini plant was amazing...but a little too large for our limited space. Other favourites are swiss chard, cherry tomatoes, lettuces and peas. My herb garden is always awesome. We get just the right amount of sunlight to produce some gigantic plants.
 
egg carton with dirt and seed packets We have always wanted to try growing plants from seeds. Not only is it economical, but it is educational. This year I decided to give it a try. I decided to start with some sure fire winners, herbs and marigolds. I always plant marigolds along the perimiter of my veggie garden. My mom told me that marigolds keep pests out of the vegetable garden...and I believe her! I headed to the store and selected; thyme, oregano, basil, parsley and marigolds. The other key component to growing seeds is selecting what you will grow your seeds in. There are a lot of different options on the market. They include small peat pellets that swell with water and various tray options. I have decided to use cardboard egg cartons and cardboard toilet paper rolls. Here's how we did it.

How to Start Seeds in Egg Cartons

seed packets
cardboard egg cartons
scissors
sharp knife
potting soil 
water mister
plastic wrap
 

egg carton cut in half

First, take apart the egg carton. Using the scissors, cut the lid away from the base of the egg carton - set the lid aside. bottom of egg carton with knife
 
Next, turn the egg carton over and using the knife, poke a small drainage hole in the bottom of each section of the egg carton. egg carton with dirt in it
 
Now, fill each section of the egg carton with the seed starting soil. It is important to use proper seed starting soil, as it will have the proper balance of nutrients to help speed germination along.
 
Working with one type of a seed at a time drop the seeds (according to the package directions) into each section of the egg carton.
 
Repeat the process with all the seeds. I chose to put one type of seed to each row of the egg carton.
egg cartons with dirt

 

Now, place the dirt filled egg carton into the lid - the lid will now act as a tray and collect any excess water.
 
water mister with egg carton seeds Lightly water the seeds. Use a water mister, if you happen to have one. We made a water mister from an old eye glass cleaner bottle. If you don't have a mister, simply use a watering can.
 
egg cartons with seeds inside We used pieces of the egg carton as the garden markers and we have also used pieces of the seed package as markers, too. Wrap a piece of plastic wrap, loosely over the container. Use a toothpick to poke a few holes in the plastic wrap, this will let the humid air out. Now place the egg cartons in a spot that is warm and has indirect sunlight.
 
egg carton seedlings with plastic wrap cover Water the egg cartons every day. When the seedlings start to grow you can remove the plastic wrap. We also shared how to make toilet paper roll pots for seeds...use up all of those empty toilet paper rolls.

 
Hot Tip: when opening your seed packet, cut it open at the bottom of the packet - the most important information is written at the top of the packet and you will want to keep that info for future reference.
 

Hot Tip 2: seeds can be stored for next years crop - however in general they need to be kept dry and cool - we'll be keeping ours stored in a ziploc bag in the garage, with our other gardening supplies.


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how to start seeds in egg cartons

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About Jen

Jen Farr is a mother living in Toronto, Canada. She has been sharing her DIY crafts, recipes, activities and parenting advice for over 15 years on her blog Kitchen Counter Chronicle. Jen is the mom of 2 lovely daughters. She believes in the power of taking small steps that can make big impacts on the world.

Comments

  1. Kelly says

    March 16, 2011 at 6:16 pm

    Such an informative post. Thank you. I have a pile of egg cartons...

jen profile picture

Hi, I'm Jen!

I’m the creative mind behind Kitchen Counter Chronicle. I’ve been making and sharing activities, crafts, and recipes for 10+ years.

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