America The Beautiful Fund: free seeds

I just received 140 pks of free seeds from America the Beautiful Fund. Nothing esoteric. Zinnias, marigolds, sun flowers, snapdragons, sweet william, and some herbs. The Fund supports community projects and not for profit groups seeking to make America more beautiful. Their URL is http://www.america-the-beautiful.org/ Check out the site. They also have vegetable seeds for people growing for community kitchens.

I intend to germinate as many as I can in the spring and make them available to the people walking by the front fence. I picked up a damaged case of 1,000 paper cups. I will punch holes in them (for drainage) and put the seedlings in them. Trying, with God's help, to make the Bronx more beautiful a flower at a time.

Sounds like a good pla, Padre! Best of All to you...
(and a hearty welcome to DG!)

Padre, we will expect pictures...that's how this family works!!! LOL Jo

Here's a pic of most of the packets, some stacked 5-10 deep.
Someone suggested starting them in empty egg cartons (dozen eggs) with the top cut off to make a tray under the carton and holes punched in the bottoms of the chambers for drainage. Anyone ever done this? Then I can give away a dozen seedlings at minimum of time and effort. Comments?

quite a selection, Padre. Hope you have plenty of room set aside for your growing area.

As for the egg cartons, I don't think you'll have very much room in them for good root growth. And if they are the carboard type they will get soggy and fall apart (eventually). Can you get some paper cups? Those would do you a little better and not cost too much.

Padre- I would say the Egg Cartons would be OK. But there is better things to use. Egg Cartons sometimes desolve when used for too long and when watering alot. And I have found they tend to start flattening from all the moisture. But as a Short term Seed Starting Container...They should be Ok. And then you can just plant them directly into the ground when your ready to Plant or to Give Away.

What a nice Selection of Seeds! You have some 'Sought after Seeds' on the Seed Racks there. Many of those I have grown in my gardens and you will truly enjoy them.
I see you got;
Scabiosa-That one's at the top of my List. The fragrance is so overpowering.
Zinnia-'Persian Carpet'-Those are always fun. They continue to bloom all Summer...And every bloom will bloom differently by Color Combination.
Cosmos-'Seashells'
Hollyhocks-'Chaters'-These are so Beautiful and Tall. I have 7 Different Colors.
Gaillardia-What a Mixture there...Especially if there is Yellow('Sunlight') and Red('Burgundy') Solids. But the Bi-Colors are fun too.
And I would be curious to see what your Morning Glory Mix Seed Produces. That will be fun!
The Chervil is good also...It looks like you have lots of Herbs.
And last, but not least...and my favorites in my Gardens. The Zinnias. You got alot of Zinnias you lucky one!

I'd say you did better than Good Padre! That is quite a Collection...Enjoy!
How did you find the 'America the Beautiful Fund'? What did you use as a Search? I would really be curious.

ZZ.
I'll let you go...You got alot of planting to do.

The egg cartons I would use are the foam plastic kind, not paper, so the problem of water sogging damage is precluded. The kitchen here at the infirmary cooks breakfast for 65 people each day so there is an endless supply of the egg cartons. I learned about America the Beautiful Fund from the superintendant of a school district in Mexico, NY where the students took courses in agriculture and had their own greenhouse. That was about ten years ago. The chef wants me to start an herb garden but I have really no place to put it unless I put it on the roof. Hey! Why not? At least the college kids can't get to it to harvest for themselves. :-)

Oh yes Padre those foam ones will do fine...And absorb and hold heat too. Good Luck in your Planting!
And "Thanks" for the Information about the 'America the Beautiful Fund'.

ZZ.

Hey Padre,
When I germinate seeds in the cartons I leave the eggshell in. Makes the transplant easier and the shell just composts eventually! The plants I've started in the shells have always done fabulous. I just poke a few holes in the bottoms with a toothpick for water and voila!

Jenks, I like your suggestion but I don't think the chef would go along with it. You can't expect the breakfast cooks to throw away one half of an egg shell and save the other in the carton. At that hour of the morning we are lucky they don't get half the shell in the egg batter. Another problem will be when I stack the cartons (I now have 50+) all the egg shells will be smashed ;-), especially when I press down hard to make space. But, seriously, I was more concerned with contamination due to organic material decomposing for several months before the shells would be used. I rinse the cartons with scalding hot water before removing them from the kitchen area to remove any egg residue. Thanks for the idea.

Padre, I nuke egg shells for 5 seconds in the microwave to kill any residue. Then I make someone "walk on eggs" to crush them. It does a great job as mulch in the veggie garden: shreds slugs and earwigs crawling toward my tasties. I know this won't help for using them to plant seeds in, but eggshells can be great in the garden. Just make sure you somehow sterlize them before using them.

I tested both the germination of the America the Beautiful seeds (some packets several years old) as well as the egg cartons with success, as the picture shows. I planted 48 zinnia seeds and now, four days later, 37 have germinated and hopefully a few more in a day or two. The egg cartons drain with just a simple hole from pushing a pencil into the side of each bowl near/at the bottom. A laundry marker writes well on the moulded plastic of the carton. The top of the carton is sliced off and becomes the overflow tray underneath.

Help!! The picture is not transmitting. I'll try again later

another try