When deciding to grow some of your plants from seed, you do not need to rush out and buy commercial quality seedling trays and biodomes. There are many items currently in use in your home which can be recycled into seed trays when they have served their initial purpose. Not only does this save you money, but it is good for the environment too!
Below are a few examples of everyday items that I have easily converted for use in starting plants indoors from seed.
1. Plastic containers of all shapes and sizes. When we don’t have our own fresh greens, we buy the organic lettuces in the clear rectangular plastic containers. Once we have eaten all of the lettuce, I wash the container and the cover, and fill it will good quality soil and plant my seeds in it. The cover is clear to allow light through and it also helps retain moisture and heat, which is particularly important during the germination stage. Once the seeds have sprouted, you can remove the cover. Of course other plastic containers without covers can also be used and just covered with something transparent, such as cling wrap.
2. Milk/juice cartons and soft drink bottles(2L). Once the contents have been consumed, any of these containers can be cleaned and used to plants seeds, or probably better suited to hold the newly sprouted seedlings once it’s time to transplant them to a “pot”. Again, no need to go buy small pots just to hold your plants while waiting to be transplanted outside. While it is true these pots can be used over and over, they still cost money to buy upfront and need space to be stored when not in use.
