Following on with this week’s theme of green and reuse of things that might be thrown away this weekend we have a fun activity that will help you bring greenery to your home! You will need:
- Egg Carton (s)
- Soil
- Seeds
- Used Coffee grounds or Tea leaves (optional)
- Water
Equipment Needed
EventLambeth is having a go at using egg cartons for seedling containers – this is a great way of sprouting seeds which can then be potted out later. We have saved the Chili and Pepper seeds from recent cooking, but you can use other vegetables or fruit (if you tried last week’s Apple Crumble you could use the apple pips) and flowers for a splash of colour.
If you have coffee grounds mix with the soil and then fill the “cups” of the egg carton 4/5 full. then add your seeds (3 or 4 per cup spread out depending on the seed size you might want to put fewer in there for example the Nasturtiums are large seeds so only one per cup).
Seeds on top of Soil
Cover with soil and water well. As egg cartons are porous, they soak up the water which will help to keep the soil damp.
Seeds Covered with Soil (Pre Watering)
It’s a good idea to pop it in a waterproof container – you can also then put water in the container so that the moisture is maintained (not too much!). Pop them on a sunny windowsill and watch for sprouts. Your seedlings will be ready to pot out after around 8 weeks – have a look out for how much water they are taking in and the size of the plant (wider and twice as tall as the pot).
Let us know how you get on.
Did you know that Egg Shells can be used for seedling pots too so you can maximise the recycling opportunities!