Eggshell Seed Starters

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.  The first time I tried this it failed....miserably.  In fact, it failed so badly I wondered if we had to survive on anything I grew from seeds if we would make it through the first season.  Truth be told, the seeds were probably old and hadn't been stored proper- ly.  The second time with new seeds, however, worked like a charm.

One Sunday morning I was making breakfast and as I was cracking eggs in the bowl I got the idea to use eggshells as seed starters.  I've never liked the little black plastic things you buy at the garden center and certainly didn't want them sitting on my kitchen windowsill.  Little egg shells cradled in their carton would look much more cheerful.

I've always had a fondness for nasturtiums and sweet peas.  They were the first seeds I planted in the backyard when I bought my first house.  Nasturtiums never fail to bring a smile to my face when I see them and sweet peas have the most intoxicating aroma and have always attracted hummingbirds to my gardens.  As I wasn't sure how this experiment would turn out, I only planted three shells of nasturtiums and three of sweet peas.  Within ten days, the nasturtiums had pushed through the surface and the sweet peas followed a few days later.

If you want to give this a try, it's incredibly easy.  With a sharp knife, gently tap around the top of the egg.  Once you break through, carefully pick off enough of the shell to empty the contents.  From there, continue to pick off a fair amount of shell so that the opening is large enough to fill easily with potting soil.  Before you fill it with soil, rinse out the shell and let it air dry.  After filling the shells 3/4 full with potting soil, place two seeds in each shell and water.  A tablespoon of water a day seemed to be just the right amount for germination.  Simply place the shells in a warm, sunny location and the seedlings should sprout in the time indicated on the seed packet.  You may need to water the seedlings more as they grow.  As soon as they are well established, transplant to a pot, window box, or flower bed.

Nasturtiums and sweet peas in my first garden

The mantra in our home is "Grow baby, grow" as opposed to "Drill baby, drill".