Friday, April 15, 2011

Little Off-Grid Garden – Eggshell Seed Starters…

38 degrees - 8:37 am - yesterday 'April Showers' brought us 4" of snow, which is now being slowly washed away by the rain...

Did you know that back in the days before commercial peat pots and plastic trays people used half of an eggshell to start seedlings?  That’s right.  An eggshell is a great container to sow seeds in.  Eggshells are small, lightweight, porous, earth friendly, readily available and loaded with nutrients that can provide a healthy dose of growing energy to your little seedlings. 

Here’s the way to use eggshells for seed pots: 
Crack the egg high up on the small end.  Empty the contents of the egg and rinse out the shell.  Poke 2 or 3 small holes in the bottom of the shell, I used a toothpick.  Fill half the shell with seed starter soil and sow a seed.  Cut an egg carton on the fold so it will fit on a windowsill.  Replace eggshells in egg carton, put on a sunny windowsill and cover lightly with plastic wrap until seed begin to sprout. 

When it’s time to plant the seedlings in the garden:
Gently crush the eggshell, dig a small hole, place the pieces directly into the garden soil along with your seedlings and backfill.  Pretty simple.