Fruit clam shells make tiny greenhouses for easy seed starting. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

Clam Shell Seed Starting

It’s getting closer to the time to start planting seeds indoors where I live in USDA Hardiness zone 5b. Most seeds, especially vegetable seeds, take about 6 weeks to be strong enough for transplanting. Our last frost day is around May 10 so I back date how long seeds take to be established before transplanting to determine when to start seeds. One of the best items we can all repurpose to grow seedlings are clear fruit clam shells. You can also use cleaned baked chicken, cupcake and cake plastic containers.

Fruit clam shells work well for me because they are small enough for six to fit on cookie sheets so I can easily move them around the house to catch sunlight. I place them on a towel on the cookie sheet so the soil can stay moist without getting wet. Clam shells have openings at the bottom.

Over the years, peat pots have been a favorite pot of choice for seed planting. Those are a good choice as well because they can feature one seed per pot and easily be transplanted. Plants grown in clam shells can also be transplanted into peat pots.

Traditional peat pots used for vegetable seed starting. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)

I use a different option. After getting plants started in the clam shells, I transplant them into pots made out of cardboard and newspaper. Once the weather is right, I can easily plop these into the ground without moving the plant around any more. This will ensure the roots can then grow into the surrounding soil as the thin cardboard disintegrates.