Starting Plants Indoors - Egg Cartons

Why use Egg Cartons? 

I chose to try using egg cartons to start plants indoors this year because they are something I have a lot of, and this is a great way to recycle them. The cost of starting seeds at home using the store bought starter kits almost makes growing your own food more expensive than just buying it at the store. This cuts that cost way down. Like I mentioned before, it's also a great way to recycle!




First, collect the supplies you will need. I had a bucket of potting soil, a few packets of seeds, a permanent marker, water, and empty cardboard egg cartons.

Then make sure the potting soil is nice and wet, as pictured below. If it sticks together and doesn't crumble then it should be wet enough. 

Next, fill each egg pocket with potting soil, packing it lightly. Each cup should be full to the edge with potting soil. It's alright if the soil overlaps the pockets slightly.

Pick out which seeds you want to start indoors, making sure that it's not too early or too late to start them indoors according to your region. I wanted to start peppers and tomatoes this time.

Poke a hole in each egg pocket like pictured. The hole should go about halfway down.

Place two to three seeds in each hole. You want more than one, just in case one of the seeds doesn't grow. You'll only keep one plant in each cup.

Push the soil gently back over each of the holes, covering the seeds completely.

As you go, don't forget to mark what you've planted in each pocket. I planted two pockets at least of each plant, and just marked the side with a permanent marker as pictured.

I purchased a variety of heirloom tomato seeds from a company called the Sandhill Preservation Center, which is a great resource for a huge variety of seeds, at really good prices. They also sent me a packet of Lombardo Pepper seeds to try for free!

It's normal to see the cardboard absorbing the water. The cardboard will begin to wear out by the time you are done, so if you have a tray to put these on I'd advise that. Otherwise, make sure to use two hands.

Leave the egg cartons closed and in a warm spot until seedlings appear. Once you've got seedlings, keep the tops open and close to a window for sunlight. So far I've kept mine in indirect sunlight, but I don't know that it would make that much of a difference.

This is after a full ten days in the egg cartons, while they were shut. Surprise! Most of my egg pockets have three seedlings, and I'll have to pinch them out until there is just one per pocket. A few only had one or two seedlings, which is why I like to plant three, just to be safe. 

If you have any questions feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer them!

So far I've only had the tomatoes come up form this batch and we're on day eleven. I'll keep updating this though. 

*I am not a scientist. I've researched and as far as I can tell there is nothing dangerous about using egg cartons this way, but if you're concerned you should put some research into it as well just to be safe. Not that I think it is dangerous, but you use them at your own risk!