Believe it or not- it’s time to start sowing seeds indoors for our gardens! It may still be frozen outside but in 6-8 weeks we will be looking at average 70* days and 45* nights, safely above freezing and perfect for moving our seedlings outside.
I’m going to share with you two virtually free and eco-friendly ways to start your seedlings indoors, starting with eggshell planters. A newspaper box planter tutorial is coming next!
Eggshells have long been used in gardens… they add calcium to the soil, crushed eggshells deter slugs and snails, and many gardeners crush up eggshells and add it to their bird feeders for a dose of healthy calcium for the birds. Did you know you can start seeds in them?
1. you need eggshells. I simply crack the tops carefully, and wash and save the shells in the cardboard egg container. When you have worked through 12 eggs you are ready to plant. (may I suggest a frittata, hootenanny, or meringue cookies as a way to use those eggies up?)
2. Poke a hole in the bottom of each egg-shell, so that excess water can drain. I found a thumb tack worked best for this.
3. Fill each egg with soil (about 2-3 tbsp per egg depending on their size) and plant your seeds, for this tutorial I used Eggplant. Get it? EGG plant? I CRACK myself up. HA! HAHA!
4. Place the egg carton on a water safe tray or make a tray out of foil, as some water will come out of the hole at the bottom of the egg-shell and through the cardboard egg carton.
That’s it! It’s a fun, family friendly project and a great way to re-use egg shells and costs you nothing if you already have them in the house.
Check back soon for a tutorial using newspaper to fold origami boxes that not only work fabulously as a seed starter but biodegrade in the soil after you plant them.
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[...] also moved my eggplant starts under the lamps, as I saw they were not doing so well in my kitchen window, there wasnt [...]