In keeping with the garden theme this week, here’s a thrifty tip I picked up from my parent’s home gardening techniques. I’m starting some of my seedlings this week. You can go to your local home and garden store and pick up one of these . . .
They aren’t terribly expensive. They run around $4 – $7. However, you can also use something most people have on hand – egg cartons.
I cut the lids off, then save them to place underneath for support. The biodegradable kind (left in picture) tend to get soggy and weak as watered so you can place a layer of plastic wrap between cells and lid.
For the styrofoam type, I use a toothpick to poke holes in the bottom for drainage.
The biodegradable egg cartons can be planted directly into the soil along with the plants. The styrofoam, of course, cannot be planted. I have my seeds, I have my egg cartons, and I have a tray I’m re-using from last year . . . I’m ready to plant.
Related articles
- Use an Egg Carton to Jumpstart Your Garden this Spring [Clever Uses] (lifehacker.com)
- Gettting rid of Styrofoam egg cartons (militaryzerowaste.wordpress.com)
- Thrifty-tip Thursday (easygoingorganizer.com)
- Planting seedlings (thefarmstress.wordpress.com)
- Uses for Egg Cartons (foxnews.com)
Great idea, thank you.
Thanks for visiting again!
Thanks for the pingback! I like the toothpick idea. I used a fork, but the roots grew right through the holes and I ended up having to completely cut out the bottom…not so easy when trying not to hurt the roots. Next year I’ll just use the egg cartons “bottomless” and place them down in a container so the dirt doesn’t escape. Ahh…we live and learn…
Good idea! I’ll have to try that. Thanks!
great tip! I will have to try it
Looking forward to seeing your end result!