I asked the Easter Bunny to save me some egg cartons from his Easter Egg Hiding foray last month…bless him, he came through with 4  x one dozen cartons and an impressive 18 count carton.

Now I can proceed with my experiment.  I have *seen* other internet posts about how marvelous (and not so marvelous) turning egg cartons into seed starting pots can be.  Note ~ you must use the recycled paper variety, NOT the styrofoam type.

Some people have failed miserably, only being successful growing mold on the containers…others have glowing recommendations about them with lush seedlings springing forth.

So here I am to give it a try myself.

I have 2 packets of Marigold seeds and will use 4 of the dozen-sized egg carton containers, some seed starting mix and 2 foil trays with clear plastic, domed lids.  I had these on hand for delivering cupcakes and muffins to the office staff, but they will not be getting any goodies for a while until my experiment is over.  The foil trays will make it so that I don’t have to use plastic wrap on the bottom of the egg cartons for leakage (as indicated on other internet sites) and the domed lids will keep the moisture and humidity level constant to allow germination…I hope…

So all you need is:

Recycled Paper Egg Cartons
Seed Starting Mix
Favourite Seeds
Foil Trays wide enough to accommodate the width of the egg cartons,
with matching domed lids

First, cut the lids off the egg cartons, you don’t need those.  I put mine in the kindling box for our wood stove.

Sit 2 egg cartons inside one of the foil trays, they are slightly wider than the trays I have, but once you wet the soil and it soaks through to the carton, the carton will soften and then settle down into place at the bottom of the tray.

Fill the egg cups up with your favourite potting medium and tamp down lightly.

Make a well in each with your finger, then place a seed in each.  Cover, tamp down and water thoroughly.

Sit the domed lid over top, place it in a sunny, warm window and wait….for something other than mold to grow….I will report back when and if they sprout.

* You may be wondering what I will be doing with all these Marigold plants…*if* they germinate… I will be planting them around the perimeter of my vegetable garden to deter the hungry bunnies and deer from the other plants, they are known to repel critters and insects….which will be another experiment in the making…

Stay Tuned…..