Seed Starting: Yogurt Cups

Seed and garden companies often sell nice plastic trays with individual compartments for starting seeds. These usually start out great, but are often too small once the plants get a little bit bigger and I often end up needing to transplant once or maybe even twice before the plants get transplanted into the garden.

Yogurt cups are about two to three times bigger than the average seed starting container. While some towns recycle yogurt containers with the plastics, many do not, and they are seen as a landfill problem that won't bio degrade away. They stack inside each other for storage.

1. Use an eco friendly brand like Stony Field Farms. They stopped using plastic lids and the product itself is good.

2. Wash the cup.

3. Carefully poke 3 holes in the bottom of the cup using a screwdriver or other sharp tool being careful not to press so hard as to crack the plastic. The power drill with a small bit will also work.

4. Fill the cup with potting soil and plant your seeds as you normally would.

For those of us in the North East, the time to start seeds is a little over three months off which should leave plenty of time to collect enough cups for the home gardener.