Seed starting is a right of passage for most gardeners. However, there are so many different ways to do it, that it can be overwhelming! Compare the pros and cons of seven different DIY seed starting trays that you can make at home. From using eggshells to toilet paper rolls for seed starting, learn which method works best.
With competitive price and timely delivery, MARSHINE sincerely hope to be your supplier and partner.
The weather may be warming a bit, and it’s been many months since we had our green thumbs digging in the soil, so it’s no surprise that folks are just itching to get seeds started.
I’m hearing about or seeing a lot of different seed-starting blog posts floating around the web, from rookies who picked up a kit at the local hardware store to seasoned pros with pretty sophisticated grow ops.
I decided it was probably time for me to chime in and share what I know to be true about seed starting as well, so I put together this series.
I’ll share my experiences with all those super-adorable containers you can make at home (Part 1 – below) as well as some thoughts on the store-bought stuff (Part 2). So here goes the good, the bad, and the ugly of seed starting containers.
In this post, we will cover:
Note: for more information on the whole process of seed starting, check out Seed Starting 101 for the basics. The following is more in-depth on only one of the topics covered briefly in that post.
You absolutely, positively do not need to BUY anything to be successful at seed starting. Well, besides your seeds (if you haven’t saved your own) and some great sterilized seed starting mix, you can find most of what you need around the house. That includes homemade seed starter trays!
Not every oh-so-cute Pinterest-worthy repurposed container gives your seeds the best start, though. And some are just unnecessarily time-consuming for the home gardener. Here are the facts so you can choose the best trays for you and your garden.
VIDEO: How to Make Newspaper Seedling Pots
These wildly popular little containers can be easily made by cutting strips of newspaper and rolling them around a small tomato paste can, glass, or a fancy-dancy pot maker to make cheap little starters. Make sure the paper you choose uses a non-toxic soy-based ink, especially when growing veggies or an herb garden.
Newspaper is biodegradable, so you can plant your seedling out in the garden in the newspaper pot, and it’ll break down naturally from the bacteria and other organisms in the soil. That in itself can make it a great growing medium.
Pros: cheap, readily available, plantable pot breaks down easily.
Cons: can be flimsy when wet, can’t bottom-water delicate seedlings, time-consuming to make many, not a reusable seed tray.
These pots are a bit sturdier than the newspaper pots and, again, readily available. We all use toilet paper, right? To make a toilet paper roll into a simple diy seed starting container, cut the tissue roll in half. Then cut four ½” long slits on the bottom of one end, equally spaced to make four flaps you will fold over like closing a box.
In theory, the cardboard will break down in the soil so it can be planted out like the newspaper pots, BUT not all soil is equal. If your soil doesn’t have the necessary elements to break down this cardboard quickly, the roots will not be able to spread, and the plant will suffer.
If you do plant them in the ground, be sure to plant the whole container because if the lip stays above soil, it can wick moisture away from the roots.
This method of seed starting works well for cuttings and seeds that may take longer than average to germinate. But remember, without the right soil, your seedlings will likely have to be removed from these before planting, so choose wisely.
Pros: cheap, readily available, sturdy, hole in the bottom for drainage
Cons: time-consuming to make many, too small to be useful for most seedlings, will likely need to be removed when planting.
Egg cartons can be a good option for starting plants with shallow roots that you want to plant in a row, such as peas or lettuce. By the way, we’re talking about the cardboard variety, not styrofoam egg cartons here. Styrofoam never decomposes—I avoid it at all costs.
Grab a box cutter and use it to score (not cut!) a line through the middle of the divets in the carton on the bottom of each cell. You are basically doing this so that all seed germination can happen all together, but later, you can gently pull it apart to drop all the seeds into the dirt.
When it’s time to plant, simply make a trough in the dirt and place your egg carton halves inside. Pull the cartons apart so that the seeds fall through.
Pros: cheap, readily available, helps keep seeds spaced evenly apart
Cons: have to get the seeds from the container into the ground, which can be tricky, soil dries out quickly
These are so adorable, aren’t they? Using a cardboard egg carton filled with soil, you can find 12 little cells to start seeds. When you’re ready to plant, you can theoretically just grab one and plant it in the garden like the toilet tubes. And the eggshells couldn’t be more precious.
HOWEVER…I won’t even do a pros and cons list on them because that’s it for pros (cute) and never mind that you’ll have to remove the seedling from that shell and crush it before it hits the soil, they are just too darn small.
This means you will have to delicately extract that little seedling before it has its true leaves and plant it in a bigger, deeper container. I say, why not just start with a bigger container and save the seedling’s stress?
They don’t have to be yogurt (shown here are cream cheese containers), but you get the picture. This is the equivalent of the plastic nursery cell seed pots. Just punch a few drain holes in the bottom and Bob’s your uncle. My only suggestion is to check your plastic for food safety to make sure it isn’t toxic to yourself or your plants.
Pros: cheap, readily available, sturdy, can last a lifetime, drainage holes for bottom watering, offer bigger pots
Cons: Unless you are fairly new to gardening, you probably have more nursery pots than yogurt containers, not all plastic is safe to reuse
The box that you buy pre-washed baby greens in will make a lovely container, as will a chicken dome or a cake tray. Anything that has a bit of a bottom on it and a wonderful clear plastic lid will create a mini greenhouse akin to what you can buy in retail.
Cut a few holes in the lid for ventilation and check it often to make sure seedlings don’t succumb to the dreaded “damping off,” a fungal infection that kills the seedling. You can either set all your little homemade containers in these or line the bottom with soil and plant directly.
Pros: cheap, readily available in different dimensions, sturdy, is a built-in greenhouse with humidity control
Cons: not all plastic is safe to reuse, you must keep an eye on greenhouse domes and vent regularly to avoid damping-off, need to prick out and transplant germinated seedlings one by one which will inevitably cause some loss
So, most likely, you don’t have a soil-blocking tool around your home. But they cost you about $35, and once you have one, it is the option with the least waste because it requires no additional materials outside of your seed-starting mix.
Are you interested in learning more about cheap seed starting trays? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!
To use this handy tool, combine your seed starting mix with water in a bucket until it’s the same texture as wet sand. Grab your soil blocking tool and press it into the wet mix. Then, press the handle and you’ll have perfect little blocks of soil that you can add your seed into.
Pros: no-waste option, easiest way to transplant seedlings into the ground
Cons: have to purchase a tool
That’s my list. As you can see, making your own seed starting trays can be quite rewarding! Please comment if there are other starter trays out there that you have used and loved or hated. What it really comes down to is a personal preference.
I originally published this post many years ago and have gotten some more ideas over the years:
I’ve tried many ways, and I have my favourite, trusted, old standby seed-starting methodology, but you will find that in Part 2 of this series. Check out Seed Starting Containers: The Real Dirt – Part 2, where I write up the pros and cons of the store-bought seed starters out there: peat pellets, fibre pots, and more.
Starting seeds for your garden is one of the most exciting things you can do. To see something so small grow into a beautiful and productive part of your garden is magical. But for a lot of new gardeners, it can seem overwhelming to start. How exactly do you do it? How do you know what materials to use? How do you know when your seedlings are ready to be planted outside?
Well, Gardenary is here with plenty of answers and information all about starting seeds! Check out these articles:
In this post, we're going to take a deeper dive into the different seed starting setups, in particular the trays and kits. There are so many options to pick from, so let’s take a look at what all you can use!
When starting seeds indoors, just remember that you are trying to mimic the outdoors as much as possible. You'll want the temperature to be warm and the area to have perhaps a little humidity, if possible. There also needs to be some air flow and light. While some people choose to use natural light, your seedlings are going to grow weak and leggy unless they're in a greenhouse with full overhead sunlight. Being placed on a windowsill is often not enough. Your best bet is to grab a grow light to use in whatever location your seeds will grow.
I have been starting seeds indoors for years now, so I will show you an example of how I started versus how I'm doing it now: In the beginning, I used styrofoam cups placed on a baking tray, with a clip-on grow light, in my office. Super simple and cheap, but effective! I didn’t need to start a ton of seeds because my growing space was little, so this worked well enough.
As my garden expanded, I invested in more materials in order to start more and more seeds. Now I have an extra bedroom closet I use, with a shelving unit, attached grow lights, and seed trays. This setup was more labor intensive and expensive to get going, but I can start a lot more seeds this way, and by now, I know the investment is worth it.
While my personal preference is a seed starting tray, there are other things you can use to get going. Let's look at some of the advantages and disadvantages of different materials.
Many gardeners trying to reuse what is already in their home will start seeds in eggshells, egg cartons, rolled-up newspaper pots, yogurt cups, toilet paper rolls, and more.
A lot of these materials are biodegradable, so the whole pot can be planted directly into the soil. That is definitely a benefit, as is the ability to repurpose something that would otherwise be tossed in the trash.
I have tried a few of these items and either found them to be too small or had them decay and break down before I could plant my seedlings outdoors.
These are pre-made pots, trays, and discs (also called pellets) sold widely online and in stores.
They're biodegradable, so again, you can plant the entire pot or disc.
I've had some get moldy and—like what happened when I tried to use toilet paper rolls—break down too quickly when exposed to water. I am not a fan. Plus, you have to pay for something that's not reusable.
You can poke holes in the bottom of just about any cup and use it to start your seeds. Be sure to place them on a surface or tray that can catch runoff when you water them (like my baking sheet in my original setup).
The benefit of these is that they are bigger and thus can grow your seeds all the way to transplantation without needing to pot them up (in other words, you don't have to move them to a larger pot before they go into the garden).
The negative is that they take up way more space than the cells of a typical seed starting tray.
Another option that is gaining popularity is to use soil blocking. While this option has technically been around for centuries, many home gardeners have never seen it used.
The beauty of this option is that you use the soil as both the growing medium and the container. The soil is packed enough to stay together and allow the seed to grow roots without running out of space.
You do need a few particular items to get started.
I know many gardeners who are turning to this method and quite enjoy it. You can see the items you need here and read up on how to's.
My top pick would have to be from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. Everyone knows their seed starting materials are top notch, and I love supporting a company that has such a great reputation and relationship with its employees. Their trays can be a bit on the pricier side, but you know that they will last for years. They have numerous options to choose from, so here are a few you might want to try:
With any of these trays, make sure you also order trays to catch or hold water underneath if you're growing indoors, as these trays all have holes that allow for drainage or uptake of water.
Plenty of other companies have similar tray setups that are good quality. You can get a kit from Gardeners' Supply that includes a 12- or 24-cell tray and a mat, and Burpee has a similar setup that also includes a dome lid, markers, and grow pellets. Growers Supply carries similar products, but you have to order a certain number of trays, not just one.
Amazon has a really neat kit that has a 60-cell tray with a mat and dome lid, as well as a grow light—a great setup for beginners! You can also find inexpensive trays and kits at places like Home Depot, as well as your local gardening supply stores.
You can water at the top or the bottom. Many people get fungal disease, which affects seedling growth, by watering on top of the soil if it is kept too moist. This has never happened to me, but you want to be careful how much water you use. You can avoid this issue by pouring water into the bottom catch tray; the seedlings will absorb it up through the holes in the tray.
When it comes time to remove your seedlings, a butter knife is your best friend. Just insert it gently along the side of the soil and pop your seedling out.
Always be sure to wash and sterilize your tray kits before use for new seeds. The moment after I transplant my seedlings, I wash my trays out and remove any dirt or debris and let them dry out before storage. When it comes time to start new seeds, I soak my trays in a diluted bleach solution to kill off any lingering bacteria that could harm my new seed babies. You can use a 9:1 ratio of water to bleach, or 9 cups of water for every 1 cup of bleach.
I personally do not use a heating mat and do just fine; however, I see plenty of gardeners and, for sure, farmers who use them and have excellent and speedier germination. I don’t feel this is necessary to get started if your space is warm, but it can definitely help.
There is also an option to purchase a dome. I have used domes at times and not used them at times, and in my opinion, they aren’t totally necessary if you have a warm space to start your seeds. If your space is a little cooler, like less than 72 degrees, then a dome can provide extra warmth and humidity for your seeds to germinate.
For more Seedling Trays Priceinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.