![]() ![]() ![]() My fascination for recycling TP tubes started early, and I’ve continued to add to Mom’s ideas as I’ve grown older. When we grew too old for those toys and games, she taught us to use the empty tubes for organizing electrical cords and craft supplies. She could keep my sister and me entertained for hours with those little cardboard cylinders, making craft projects and musical instruments. My mother used to find all sorts of ingenious uses for toilet paper tubes. Choosing Curriculum: Cultivate Your Child’s Love for Learning.There are as many ways to garden as there are gardens and seed starting is no exception! We’re constantly experimenting, learning new things, refining our approaches and taking notes so we can continue to do everything with more ease and joy in the seasons to come. (The potting mix they generally use is low quality and your seedlings will be hungry right away.) ‘ Peat Pellets,’ Jiffy Pots or other little containers of ‘potting mix’ in thin mesh expanding with water. (Without drainage, your seedlings will drown/dampen off quickly.) ![]() Yogurt Cups or Plastic Cups without holes. Plus, the dioxin, bleach and other chemicals in egg cartons you’d probably prefer to not add to your garden. They maintain their structure much longer, constraining the root system of your transplant. Lettuce, kale, arugula, and basil will all bounce back, especially when potted up or transplanted young, as their first true leaves emerge.Īlso, resist the temptation to plant your cardboard egg carton as cow or peat pots that decompose quickly when planted. Some seedlings tolerate less than optimal conditions better than others, so focus on those. If egg cartons are absolutely all you’ve got, your main challenge is this: There is no way to not grow a stressed seedling. Toilet paper rolls cut into one-inch pieces grow remarkably marvelous seed starting containers!Įgg cartons are for eggs! Not starting seeds. Have fun finding the right balance for your potting mix! Also, if the holes are too small, they might be clogged by particles in the potting mix if they’re too large, your potting mix will simply fall through. Yogurt cups or Plastic Cups (½ cup volume) with at 4 to 6 ⅛-inch holes drilled in the bottomĬommon mistake: Not drilling enough holes for water to effectively drain from the cup.Įasy Solution: When in doubt, drill a few more holes! It’s better to have more small holes than less large holes. To prevent your seedlings from becoming root-bound, plant them as soon as they’re ready to be planted either in your garden or ‘pot them up’ into a larger pot so they’ll continue to thrive. The potting mix will settle and add more potting mix to fill the trays fully. #Seedlings toilet paper rolls moldy full#To ensure your cells are full of potting mix with no air pockets, fill your cell tray and then firmly - yet gently - tap your tray on the table. (This happens when their roots hit the edge of the container and try to find new soil as quickly as possible.)Įasy Solution: It’s really common for cell trays to have pockets of air among the potting mix. Also, seedlings can easily become root-bound. Some plants tolerate such stress better than others transplant them as quick as you can to optimize their health.Ĭommon mistake: It’s easy to sow seeds with air pockets in the soil below, so seedlings may grow evenly and/or transplant poorly. Seedlings can quickly become root-bound in cell trays. ![]() Lots of other up-cycling approaches are better: toilet paper rolls are awesome! Take-out containers are genius! I’m all about re-framing resources & resourcefulness, as well as sharing all the insights you need to prevent unnecessary heartache □ Just trust me, o please: egg cartons are for eggs. If egg cartons are your absolute only option, you’ll find tips below to help you be more successful. Can it be done? Of course! Would those plants be healthier in a bigger, better container? Every time! They simply have too little soil to grow any seedling well without potting up potting them up without disturbing their roots is not possible with their curvaceous sides. Without further ado, I must say, after countless confirmations across decades of observation: I love to emphasize what to do rather than what not to do, and most of this post is just that. High-quality l ightis often the biggest limiting factor to grow gorgeous tomato seedlings at home. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |