Recycled Cardboard Seed Start Trays
Earth Day is tomorrow and what better way to celebrate than with an eco-friendly DIY?! One of my all time favorite hobbies has been creating vegetable gardens. I like to think I get a little bit better every year that I try. Since Miles was 2, I've tried to make it an annual tradition where he and I do a combination of seed starts and starter plants to jump start the year. While working on our seed starts for germination, I came across a zip bag full of seeds we had completely forgotten about. Now that he's older and can really dig in the dirt to help, we decided to go ham and start germinating as many as we could! Unfortunately, this meant that I needed a lot of space to seed start with.
Did you know that you can convert cereal boxes into trays and toilet paper/paper towel rolls in germination stations? All you need are scissors or a craft knife and a little bit of tape (for the cereal boxes). Once the germination process is complete, you can throw the cardboard into either your recycle or yard waste cans (check with your local waste management). I'll be breaking up the instructions into 2 sections: cereal seed start trays and paper roll pots!
How to Make Recycled Cardboard Seed Start Trays
You can use any sized cereal box for this DIY. In my example, I used a regular Cheerios box and a family-sized KIX box. I found the regular cereal box to be great for smaller seeds that won't root too long in the beginning, and the family-sized box to be better for larger seeds.
After removing the bag of cereal through the top of the box, place a piece of tape over to help with stability. Not sealing this end could result in the box collapsing on one side and spilling out all your dirt and seeds. I happen to have paper packing tape on hand, but you could use Duct tape or clear tape for this, too. Just remember to remove the tape before you dispose of the box at the end since most facilities don't consider them to be recyclable.
Next, cut off the fact of the box, leaving about half an inch (or about 2 cm) around the edges. Again, this is more for stability. It also helps make sure you don't plant seeds too close to the edges of the box! Fill your box with soil and add your seeds! I only had in-ground soil on hand, but figured it's ok because all these seeds will be transferred to my in-ground garden beds after germination. Use the leftover cardboard from the face of the box to cut into strips and use as labels for your seed rows.
Pro Tip: if you're feeling a little concerned because you only have in-ground soil or only potting soil on hand, just remembered that the type of soil doesn't matter so much as you remembering to water the plants and give them an appropriate amount of sun. Just work with what you've got!
How to Make Recycled Paper Roll Pots
For this DIY, you'll need a bit of foresight to start saving your paper towel and toilet paper rolls. If you have friends and family nearby, ask if they can save theirs to help grow your supply fast! I always keep them afterward because they make for great craft supplies, especially with kids.
Cut your toilet rolls in half. If you're working with paper towel rolls, cut them down into about 3" tubes. Next, cut 4 slips about 1" evenly spaced (think north, south, east, west directions). Fold the tabs in one at time clockwise, tucking the last tab into the first. This will lock it in place. You won't need tape for this part and highly recommend against it. For testing purposes, I taped one and found that it blocked the necessary draining space for the water. Fill your paper pot with direct and plant your seed(s)!
Bonus: you can use a pen or marker to label the side with what seed you planted!
And there you have it! Simple and budget-friendly recycled cardboard seed start trays. I can't wait to see what sprouts from this set! Most of the seeds I used are old, and this is such an eco-friendly AND budget-friendly way to see what germinates and what doesn't. Plastic seed trays can get very expensive and aren't recyclable in a lot of areas. It can be really disheartening when you spend a ton of money and can't get any of your seeds to sprout.
However, if you're already using these types of cardboard pieces, the supplies are already available to you! No additional costs! You could also do this DIY with the shipping boxes you get.
