Start Your Planting Engines!!!

Egg crates are wonderful. They are a great way to start a little garden.You can plant veggies(don't forget you can buy these buggers on food stamps to help), or you can plant some small flowers to start the seeds out. The kids will love it. They're guaranteed to check on them everyday.

Take an old egg carton, and tear the top off after use(styrofoam ones are better) stryofoam ones are best because they last longer, you poke a few holes in the bottom as well for drainage. This is best done with a toothpick. Be careful though. Then fill with a little potting soil, or good yard soil if you have it handy, and plant away. Put your seed, or two in each little cup  in the carton, and set it in a sunny place, then wait. In a few weeks, you have baby flowers. Don't forget to water them every couple days.

The reason I say styrofoam is better, is because it doesn't get damp, and fall apart. You'll want to stick an old cloth under to keep the area dry in case of drainage. Be sure to put 1 hole into each cup for proper drainage.
As well as being a good little planter, your cutting down waste too. Instead of filling our landfills with more garbage, you're reusing something you can use over, and over, for other starter seeds. 

Once they are about an inch tall, it's time to put them in the yard where they're safe, or something larger and keep them inside until it's warmer. 
Next Up: We'll discuss how to move your plants and flowers to a new spot gently. (Change Their Shoes, Or Scenery.)

You won't be able to keep your seedlings in egg cartons very long, so be prepared ahead of time to transfer them to something larger. They'll need the root room especially if they are peas, or Beans or carrots. The best thing, is to be prepared to put them into the yard, and be sure the soil is loose so that the roots are able to stretch out and grow.

Turning a yard into a garden can be a lot of work. Newspaper, or cardboard put In a spot in the yard could be an option. And it turns out, that it is great compost material. The smaller the pieces when you are done with it, the better. It will compost quicker if it is broken into smaller pieces.


Marcia Boutilier Domer
2013


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