Buy cheap seed starting kits but don’t waste your money! You can use items that you have put in the trash to start seeds. It works, is free, and is simple.
It can get really pricey really fast to start seeds indoors. Over the years, I’ve been able to germinate seeds, pot up plants, garden, and grow food indoors for almost no cost by using recycled containers.
Recycled Containers for Gardening
I save up trash all year long for this reason. I save newspaper pages, yogurt containers, toilet paper tubes, egg boxes, and just about anything else that can hold soil and a seed. For seedlings, the plastic salad greens and bakery dishes come in handy because they don’t let water drip.
Egg Cartons
Egg boxes are great for growing plants because they come with cups that are already cut out and ready to be filled with soil. I started the seeds for my pumpkin, squash, cucumber, and zucchini in egg boxes made of cardboard.
When it’s time for the seedlings to go outside, I carefully tear the carton into pieces and plant each one in the yard. There is no more cardboard in the dirt because it has broken down.
STARTING SEEDS IN EGG CARTONS
Keep your egg boxes. I really like using cardboard boxes because they make great little recyclable plant pots. It’s important to put paper or cardboard boxes in a tray so that water doesn’t drip off of them. If you need to, you can cut them up into pieces that fit your trays.
You might be able to use the cover as your tray if your boxes are made of plastic or foam. Take off the cover and put it under to catch any water. Make sure it doesn’t leak by testing it first.
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Eggshells
I even tried planting seeds in eggshells one year, since we have so many of them sitting around. I planted some sunflowers in eggshells because I had forgotten how incredibly, unbelievably fast they grow. I’ll work in the garden instead next year!
Newspaper Pots
Newspaper pots that you make yourself are great for starting seeds. You can put these pots right in the ground when it’s time to move them.
The only real problem is that the newspaper starts to fall apart after a few weeks of being wet, so make sure that whatever you plant is in a tray that will help them stay together until you are ready to move them to a bigger pot or the yard.
HOW TO MAKE NEWSPAPER POTS
Keep your black-and-white newspapers all year long. Pick out a size for your pots. You can make them any size you want. I like to start them in pots that are 2 to 3 inches wide.
To make the pots, find a bottle or can that is about 3 inches wide. This could be a shampoo bottle, a can of tomato paste, or anything solid with a flat bottom.
Cut the newspapers into 5 x 15-inch strips after unfolding them. Place your can on the newspaper, leaving about an inch of extra space on all sides, starting at the short end. Make a tube out of the newspaper by rolling it around the can.
Fold the sides that hang over into the pot’s bottom. Then, turn the can over and press it down on a hard surface. Just take out the can and put the paper pots in a container. This will help them stay together and catch the water as it drains. Put in some wet potting mix and plant your seeds.
Toilet Paper and Paper Towel Tubes
You can put seeds in cardboard pots made from empty toilet paper and paper towel rolls. Put toilet paper tubes on their sides in a box and put cucumber seeds inside.
This gives the seeds a little early start. These work well, but the plants will quickly outgrow them. In 4 weeks, they will need to be hardened off and moved outside.
Plus, the cardboard tube is great for protecting the plant stem from cutworms by wrapping it around it.
Plastic Milk Cartons
Used milk jugs can be used as a mini-greenhouse to start seeds or as a planter for bigger veggies. Over the winter, gather milk jugs in quart, half-gallon, and gallon sizes.
Clean them well with warm water, let them dry in the open air, and put them away until you’re ready to plant your seeds. The lid can be thrown away.
Plastic Bottles
Water bottles and 2 liter drink bottles can be used as plant pots instead of going to the trash. This is especially helpful if your town doesn’t have a recycling program.
Take off the bottle’s bottom to make a cup that is 4 to 5 inches deep. Make some holes in it and fill it with wet seed-starting mix.
Plant your seeds and set the pot on a plastic tray to catch any water.
Have Fun and Grow Something!
I hope you now have some ideas for how to plant with old containers. It’s free, and all you have to do is clean them!
You do not need to spend a lot of money on a seed starting kit when you already have many things at home that can be used to start seeds indoors.