Do you need ideas on Frugal Ways to Start Seeds at Home I have 10 ideas to help you get started on seeds without spending a lot of extra money.
How to Start Seeds at Home
For me, the best way to start seeds at home is to plant seedlings indoors where they can get direct sunlight or under a grow light. I usually like starting seeds indoors in February. Every location is different. I have more details about starting seeds indoors here.
How Do I Know When to Start My Seeds Indoors?
If you are not sure when you should start your seeds indoors, the best place to start is to find your Plant Hardiness Zone.
If you are a planner, like me, you will love my Printable Garden Planner. You can track all of your garden projects in this planner. Including starting your seeds and setting up a seedling starter schedule.
Grow Seedlings in old Soup cans
Save up your old soup and vegetable cans and plant your seeds inside. Poke a few holes in the bottom with a nail, and add starter seed soil, your seeds, and water.
Used Egg Cartons for seedlings
Cardboard would work best when using egg cartons. You would separate the sections and plant them directly in the soil.
Empty Eggshells
Save all of your eggshells for this frugal seedling starter. You can plant these directly in your garden. Bonus, the shells add calcium and nitrogen to the soil.
Use Milk or Water Jugs for seedlings
Upcycle your old milk, juice, and water jugs into seedling containers. These make great little greenhouses for your seedlings. As with all of your seedling containers, you will want to punch some holes in the bottom for drainage. Just remove the plants from the jugs when ready to plant in the vegetable garden.
Toilet paper rolls are another neat way to start your seedlings
In my experience, it is best to keep the toilet paper rolls bound together, because once you water your seedling, the rolls could possibly come apart at the seams. You could also fit them tightly together in a container. The cardboard could be planted directly into the soil of your garden.
Empty Containers
You can use almost any empty container for your seedlings. Empty yogurt containers, juice boxes, butter containers, etc. Just poke a few holes in the bottom.
Reuse Plastic Cups
Reuse plastic cups from the coffee shop or after a party at your house. I hate throwing away plastic. This way, you can reuse it in a way that helps you and the planet.
Empty clear plastic containers
Reuse and upcycle water, milk, and juice jugs. These make great little greenhouses for your seedlings. As with all of your seedling containers, you will want to punch some holes in the bottom for drainage.
Reuse styrofoam cups
Reuse all those styrofoam cups from the quick stop. These make really sturdy pots for your seedlings.
Reuse Your Seedling Trays/Mini Greenhouse Every Year.
I bought some mini greenhouses a few years ago and reuse these easy-to-use seedling trays every year. You can buy new pellet pods every year for your new seeds.
Seed Starting Planner
What you will get in the Garden Planner
- Front & Back Cover
- Fill in Shopping List
- Fill in Seasonal Checklists
- Plant Tasks Worksheets
- Layout Your Garden Blank Grids
- Garden Budget Worksheets Divided into Categories
- Plant Tracker WorkSheets
- Seed Tracker Worksheets
- Harvest Tracker Worksheets
- Fertilizer Tracker Worksheets
- Blank Calendars
- Weekly Planners
- Harvest Tracker Monthly Worksheets
- Blank Daily Tasks Checklist
- Plant Profile Worksheets
- 3 Sticker Sheets PDF so you can print and cut with scissors & PNG so you can print and cut on a cutting machine like Cricut
- 38 Planner pages including front & back cover
- Bonus Companion Planting Guide
You Can Use Almost Anything to Start Seeds
I totally believe that you can start your seeds in almost anything your mind comes up with. You can seriously pull things from the trash! Gardens can take a lot of time and work but you can always find a frugal way to grow your garden. You might find this article helpful, 11 of the Easiest Vegetables to Grow in Your Garden.
