Most of us are too busy to continuously transplant seedlings, so instead of using store-bought seed starters I use roomier seed starters that I gather for free. I've been gathering "Trash" from my office and using it to start my vegetable garden. Here's what to look out for:
Empty Plastic Water/Soda Bottles: Rinse out your bottle, then cut it in half. Place the top part of the bottle into the bottom portion. This makes a seed starter with its own reservoir of water- reducing the need for constant watering. This is great for seedlings in a dry spot, or for seedlings with high water demands.
Empty Soda Cans: This makes a pretty planter for typography and graphic designers nerds. I love the sight of a fresh green seedling popping out of a soda can! Cut off the top of the can- watch out, the edges will be sharp. You might want to fold the edges down to prevent a cut. (Or you can fold them out and make a flower design). Poke holes at the bottom to provide drainage for the seedling.
Used Styrofoam Cups: These are my favorite seed starters. I reuse Styrofoam coffee cups from the office. It's easy to poke holes in the bottom of these cups, and I can write the name of the seed very clearly on the front of the cup.
Take-out Platters with lids: Large take-out platters can make great planters in and of themselves. I like to use them as clotches, or mini green houses. These protects the seedlings and even helps accelerates their growth.
Take-out Containers: Small Take-Out Containers make great planters and clotches.
More Garden Recycling Ideas for the Office:
-Save paper to shred for the a compost pile
-Save Newspaper to line the bottoms of raised beds and to add to compost and vermicompost heaps.
-Save Cardboard boxes for making frugal garden pathways. These also are great for composting and lining the bottom of raised beds.
-Save plastic forks and spoons to refuse and seed labels. You can place the label in the fork or write on the knives, forks, and/or spoons themselves.
I love how vegetable gardening inspires frugality and creativity. One normal sized office should provide you with more seed-starting containers than you could ever use! What bits of "trash" do you reuse in the garden?
Amen sister! Although I have had trouble getting plants out of containers made of out plastic soda bottles. This is the last season I buy seed starting pots as I have become a newspaper pot convert.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the USDA uses potassium hypo-chloride (household bleach) to germinate their stubborn seeds; you know, for those times when you absolutely, positively need your tomato plant to germinate before three months :)
I'll have to look into the bleach thing! Maybe three months is an exaggeration, but I swear I had those seeds in the pots since Early February and they didn't pop out until about two weeks ago...
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