eggshell seedlings

Around here (i.e. the Midwest), we have been experiencing a very snowy month of March. Snowstorm after snowstorm. Sigh. We are on spring break this week and felt the need to do something spring-ish while we wait for the snow to go away. And if you're itching to do the same or need an easy activity to keep your kids busy during these no-school days, try this. Plant some eggshell seedlings.

Planting your garden seeds in eggshells is exciting (I almost made an egg joke there) for many reasons. First of all, you can save 80-90% on your gardening costs when you sprout your own garden plants from seed instead of buying store-grown plants in the spring. The entire eggshell starter pot is biodegradable and contains calcium and other earthy nutrients.

Step one: Crack the eggs. Somewhat carefully.

You can just crack them in half like your normally would or poke a hole in the top with a knife and pull away small pieces of shell until you have a nice eggshell pot left. I tried to only take off the top third of my eggs. Save the insides for omelets or cupcakes or whatever!

 Step two: Wash the eggshells and then boil them for 2-3 minutes to kill bacteria.

 Step three: Let them dry.

 Step four: Label the eggshells (if you want) with a food-safe marker or crayon. I used a Wilton Food Writer.

Step five: Fill them with organic potting soil. Your kids can do this with a spoon.

Step six: Plant those seeds!

Step seven: Water the soil. I gave my kid a spray bottle so she wouldn't accidentally over-water. These shell pots are pretty small, so you don't need a ton of water. You can also poke holes in the bottom of the shells with a thumbtack if you want them to be able to drain.

And in a few days, you get this. Yay! When it's finally warm enough outside to plant these babies, you can actually plant the entire eggshell along with the plant. Just crush it in your hand a bit to break up the shell and plant the whole thing into your garden. Fun, right? (Give peas a chance.)

                                                                                                                                                                    

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