As we head into late winter, our thoughts are turning to this year’s crops and sowing the seeds to get things starter.
While we are all stuck inside with the kids, why not get together and plan your vegetable gardening for the year ahead and get sowing your seeds
If you need a little help to get started and don’t know where to grow, what you should grow and how, Grab your FREE Copy by clicking here
Gardening is an essential life skill in my book and such an important way to learn about life. Take a seed and encourage it to grow and ensure it has all it needs to grow big and strong. Then, being able to eat the result is a special feeling.
At this time of year it’s too cold to sow seeds outside right now unless you want to try our winter sowing technique
You can however, get sowing on your warm windowsill.
How to sow seeds on your windowsill.
How to sow seeds on your windowsill.
What if you don’t want a fleet of seed trays all over your house.
You don’t need a lot of space, to grow or buy alot of products!
There are several ways to make seed starter pots at home using or reusing materials you would normally throw away
That is great for your pocket and even better for the environment. Some things like cardboard tubes even benefit your soil, so why not?
How do you make seed starter pots?
Soda bottle salad bar
Turn leftover soda bottles into salad bars by slicing off one side of the bottle and lying it on it’s side. Make a few drainage holes in the bottom and fill with compost.
Then sow your lettuce leaves along the length of the bottle. You can make more than one bottle that will allow you to rotate them whist you keep harvesting.
Cardboard tubes are fantastic seed starters
Cardboard tubes
You could use the cardboard tubes or loo roll inners as seed starters.
Simply fill a larger pot with lots of loo rolls, fill your tubes with soil and sow your seeds.You can take this further by folding in one end to secure the bottom, but obviously this make a smaller pot with less depth.
You can start seeds in egg cartons
You can use an egg cartons as a seed starting tray! This is a fantastic activity for kids! You can sow a wide variety of seeds in a small area. We like to use a 15 egg carton and sow multiple varieties in them.
Then when the seedlings have germinated just break apart the segments to plant straight in the soil or a larger pot.
Make Recycled Paper Pots
Reuse newspaper or sheets the kids have finished with.
Remember you can also regrow kitchen scraps to make a new flush of edible goodness
Yogurt pots make great seed starters
Make fantastic mini pots for growing seeds in to from leftover yogurt pots. These tend to be sturdy and reusable. Make sure to pop a few holes in the bottom to let water drain.
Easy to make self watering pots .
These are fantastic soda bottle seed pots that are able to water themselves.
Simply cut the bottle into 2 and turn the top section upside down.
Remove the cap and make a whole in it and feed a length off cord or wool through it. Leave the cord long enough to reach the bottom of the bottle.
Leave a length of cord inside the top part of the bottle then fill with soil on top.
Insert this part into the bottom of the bottle which has water in it. This will balance the bottle and water the soil as it dries out.
Learn to make these self watering monster pots here
Reuse Old toys like Duplo bricks to make pots for seed.
Remember to leave drainage holes. These are reusable and can be made larger or small depending on need.
Egg shell seed starter pots
Using egg shells as seed starters can be a little fiddly and obviously you only have a tiny ‘pot’ but the benefits are many. The egg shell breaks down and helps feed the new plant with no root disturbance.
Grape tubs make great recycles seed starter pots
These make great mini greenhouses. Locking in moisture and warmth, allowing your chosen seeds to germinate quickly,
Citrus Peel Seed Starter Pots
like these from Popsugar are a creative way to reuse your fruit peelings and make compostable seed starters.
And lastly, another way to make the best of your paper waste is to make these Paper Mache Seedlings Pots! From kid chaos. You could take the process further by creating seed bombs to sow when the weather improves
Remember to download your FREE PLANNING GUIDE if you need help getting started.
So, there you go, lots of seed starting inspiration for the season ahead. What will you use to start your seeds?? Remember to comment and let us know below, I can’t wait to hear your ideas.
