Seed Saving Saves
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Time to start saving common household items for seed starting. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
Seed Saving Saves
Another snow storm has started where I live, making it hard to even remember what my hillside looked like when it was green and a fully deployed garden. Luckily enough, there is something we can all do to get a start on this growing season. If you haven’t started yet, it’s time to save some common household items for starting seeds.
You can certainly buy a number of seed starting products from cardboard seed cups to seed starting trays. However, we have most of what we need in our recycling pile and the items are serving a dual purpose:
Toilet paper tubes, cut in half and quickly folded on one end, can be used as seed starting pots. Once the plant growing in it is ready to go outside, the whole plant and pot can be planted in the ground.
Cardboard egg cartons. I like these for smaller seeds. When large enough, the carton can be cut to move the small plants to larger containers or directly planted outside.
Milk cartons, cut in half, can provide early seed starts by working as tiny greenhouses. These work well for seeds that need exposure to cold to grow.
Clear lettuce containers can also be used to start seeds since the lids retain warmth forming a small greenhouse.
The white plastic with clear lids work well to store seeds still in their packets. I keep vegetable seeds in one, herbs in another and mark it on the outside for easy retrieval.
Are you ready to start seeds?
Charlotte
