Ideas? Will waxed paper cups work for starting seeds?

The problem is I really got into seeds this year and I probably have 100 or so sprouting in paper towels. I just realized that I don't have anything to put them in. Last year I bought some clay pot which were a good size. When the roots fill the pot they were ready to go in the ground. Think the pots cost about 40 cents but I don't want to spend 40-50 dollars on pots. I'm thinking of using 6 oz waxed paper cups I have. Will they work? Plants will probably be in them for 6 weeks or so.

Any other cheap ideas. Do they make small plastic cups? I've never really seen a 6-8 oz plastic cup.

They'll work, just punch a hole in the bottom of each for drainage.

I was thinking about using the 3 ounce dixie cups. Do you think that will work if I put holes in the bottom of them?

I used egg cartoons last year for some seeds. Problem was they weren't big enough to plant outside but needed a bigger pot. This year I want to cut out as many steps as possible and get things going as fast as possible. For some reason decent size cheap plastic trays aren't sold around me. Got the nicking, soaking, paper towel thing down.

I used the plastic drink cups,like for picknics just punched a hole in the bottom, and set them in a tray for watering. Worked just fine, and they were big enough. The sweet potatoes did send roots out through the hole. They were a little more difficult to get out. The ones with a lot of roots sticking out that is.

I love hearing all the containers to germinate the seeds. Of course, I'm sick because I just threw away a bunch of styrofoam cups. Now, I thinking of all the things I can use.

You're fine with the wax-coated paper cups, CoreHHI. Any size. Just punch a hole bigger than you think is reasonable in the bottom for drainage, and they work like charms. Used them for years. One of the tricks I learned is that when it comes time to transplant, you can take a scalpel, or EXacto blade and cut the bottom of the pot out running the blade along the inside edge of the bottom of the cup, then pushing on the (now free) bottom of the cup. Gives you a really good transplant with minimal root damage. Almost like planting in Park-starts...and a heck of a lot cheaper!

Good idea. Thanks.

Walmart has some plastic bathroom cups, about 3 to 5 oz. Indestructable, just punch a drain hole. Gene

Gene
We gardeners have to be ingenious enough to outsmart those who want us to buy those flimsy plastic things, or to spend a fourtune on peat pots. LOL

Ok gang, here's how it went.
I was sitting around plotting how to get styrofoam cups without paying for them. I'm stingy. Then it hit me. A few years ago I had put a huge box in the attic. Were they still there?
So off to the attic I go. Which wasn't easy, not 30 anymore!
IN the attic now walking toward the back.
There it is. It's the BOX.
Getting closer, please please please, be there
Here it is. Opening now
Yippee, there they are 1,000 cups. Different sizes but that's ok. They are all a good size to use
Aren't you proud of me. Usually I'm always the ones with the bad luck. It's about time I got a break.
Spent the afternoon putting holes in bottoms of cups

She shoots....SHE SCORES!

Good for you!

Hey all you seed starters out there looking for cheap containers: head to the nearest dollar store where you'll find various sizes of plastic cups, colored or clear, @ $1.00 per pkg. My dollar store carries pkgs. of 35 count, 9 oz clear plastic cups. The smaller bathroom cups come in a larger size pkg, and they would be about the size of a peat pot. Just poke some holes in the bottom...why pay top dollar for fancy starter pots...put the money you'll save into more plants and seeds.

I've also seen plastic baskets there that are about 12-15 inches long x 6 inches deep x 6 or 8 inches wide (I'm guessing here, as I didn't measure them), but I'm sure they would make good bulb planting baskets (ck out basket prices online!).

I also buy small glass salad bowls at the dollar store that come in various patterns looking like old fashioned pressed glass. I put chicken gravel in them and pop five or six Ziva Paperwhites on top of them and use them as Christmas gifts for friends and family. All they need is water, and they have flowers in about two weeks...in the dead of winter. Every year people return their bowls and ask me if they'll be on my list again next year? My one elderly neighbor even took the trouble to wash the gravel and dry it out; then she packed the gravel up in a zip-loc bag and returned the bowl and gravel together.

I know I've digressed a little from the seed starter topic, but, heck, growing bulbs on top of gravel in Jan. isn't much different from Winter Sowing or starting seeds indoors...both methods still produce those flowers and plants we all love.

Rose

Yup. sure do like those plastic drink cups. And if you are careful, you can re use them several times and they wash up very easily. I have been using the 16oz. The next size smaller would probably fit the trays better but we had a bunch, so that is what we used.

I use the dollar store plastic cups too (70 for $1- 5or 6 oz) and just write with a sharpie on the outside what it is. The 20 oz size are 20 for $1. Using a drill, I drill 3 holes in the bottoms in short time. I

Another thing I do especially if I am using them for plants I am trading at a RU, is to print out address labels with the Latin name as well as the name that is most used, as well as Shade, part shade or full sun and other pertinent information.
One or two sheets of labels, will usually do. That way I only have to stick a label instead of trying to make my hand writing legible. LOL
The labels will last long enough, to grow the seedlings and make the swaps. The labels are easily removed while cleaning. They are then ready to stick new labels on for the next plants. Those that I raise for myself, it helps keep me straight too. So with the plastic drink cups, there is almost no investment involved. Of course the length of time they can stay in those pots is limited however by that time you are ready to either plant them or re pot.
Yes very inexpensive. Great idea for sharing.

I've planted in styrofoam cups - freebies from somewhere. The only problem I had was them tipping over-they were big ones.

I like to use 28 ounce tomato cans, or spaghetti sauce cans (taller).
Reuse before recycle. :-)

Space was my biggest concern.Those cups took up lots of space.
My greenhouse and kitchen and back porch were full when I read an article about germinating seeds on coffee filters in baggies and tried it. It seemed to me to take twice as long because once it germinated then it had to be planted in pots and it just kind of added a step for me. The thought came to me, why not just put soil in the baggie instead of coffee filters.
Now what I do is soak seeds over night in about 2-3 ounces of hotwater, then fill a ziplock baggie ( cheapo kind from the dollar store) not quite 1/2 full of seed starting mix and then just dump the seeds and water right in the baggie and seal it. The baggie acts like a mini humidity chamber, the seeds don't dry out and by the time the seedlings get to the top of the baggie, they are ready to be transplanted.
My germination percentages this year were better than ever before and I grew some of everytthing this way, plumeria, brugmansia, common perennials, daylily and lots of others. I won't start them any other way now.
Ibartoo

That is an excellent idea, ibartoo. I'll have to try it. TY!

Anyone ever try to make newspaper pots???
http://www.geocities.com/newspaperpots/

Here's what they did at my step-daughters school this year.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/video/

Might want to look around this site. Very useful stuff at ever corner.

coreHHl; Many thanks for posting , that site. I had heard of the paper pots but was unsure of how to hold them together, for the duration of the 6 to 8 weeks, prior to planting. I have been using all the old news paper for weed control. I will now try to use a few paper pots for some of the more tender seedlings that don't hold up to the task of first removing the pot before planting. I have used a few peat pots in the past. However I drifted away from starting melons and cucumbers in pots, as I can direct plant them and still get a good crop. Maybe just not as early.
Tomatoes can handle a lot of roughing up. and I use the plastic drinking glasses for them. I can re use them many times, and they don't have to be re- potted a number of times. The plastic drink glasses are easy to make usable simply bu using a pocket knife and poke into the bottom and give it a little twist, that leaves a sufficient hole in the bottom to wick the water up and provide sufficient moisture for germination. The 16oz cups provide enough room for roots so you can raise a quite a large plant before moving it out into your garden.
Depending on where you get them they are really an inexpensive starting pot and sturdy enough to re use many times.
I will now use some of these paper pots for some of the tomatoes too.
as well as the plants that don't like to be disturbed. Maybe I can get some earlier melons!
Russ

I've used newspaper pots for years- just roll them around a can and smash the bottom. When they are full of soil they stay together. I vary the layers of paper depending on how long I expect to have them in the pots, but they will hold up 2-3 months anyway. Cheap, and very easy to transplant, too- I love them!

Thanks avianut; That was another thing I was wondering about.
That should give me something to do, instead of rereading all the seed catologes, while waiting for spring to finally show up.
Just checked the sweet potatoes; I have 60 plants. The tomatoes I have 73. I can see starting the melons that way and some of the cucumbers as well. Of course 9 or 10 rows of sweet corn would be a little much to start inside. Possibly part of one row, might make sense.
But beans, nope, they germinate really well, especially if soaked over night. The sweet corn as well. I might try soaking enough corn overnight for one row, just to see how much earlier I can pick some ears. Some things it just makes more sence to just start out in the garden.
Russ

Russ, have you soaked corn seed before? I had never heard of anyone who had, but I tried it a few days ago, to see if it'd help make it quicker to germinate. Haven't been out to the garden since though to see yet.

No I haven't soaked corn kernels yet, It was just something I thought I would try, possibly on one row. That will be for next year.
Let me know how quick it germinates. Number of days till it comes up that is.
Russ
Sheesh, a friend said they saw someone selling sweet corn, up by the 4 way stop 10 miles north of here. $5.50/ doz.
Sure glad mine is around 7' tall and all tasseled out. Now just got to keep the coons out, They could strip my nine rows in one visit.
Russ

Holy cow! You must of got a really early start! My tallest is only 2' tall. :(

We had a foot of snow and several killing frost really late this spring and then it took a long time to get the new garden plot ready to plant. My first batch of corn was planted a month ago. This last bunch was planted Friday after soaking overnight. I had plenty of extra seed, so thought I'd give it a try. Keeping my fingers crossed that because we had a late spring, that hopefully summer will last a little longer!

Hey randbponder, when you mentioned the "4-way-stop", and selling veg there, I thought wow, what a coincidence, they used to sell sweetcorn at the 4-way-stop where I came from. Then I looked where you're from. I grew up in Moville, IA. Are we talking about the same corner, or are you further south than that?


This message was edited Jul 15, 2008 7:15 AM

avianut;
That is one and the same.
I am on the Hornick address, but live in the unincorporated town of Climbing Hill. About130 live soles and a bunch across the street who don't have a care in the world.
Been here 30 years.

Ha! I went to jr. high in Climbing Hill back in the days when Woodbury Central worked that way. My older brother still lives in Moville- Glenn Metcalf, if you happen to know anyone from there.
Jill

Well I know of Glenn. My youngest daughter would know him better. as she lived just East of there for 25 years then right in town for a few more. Small world, Huh????
Russ
edited to ask Are Glenn and Susan, the only ones there??

This message was edited Jul 15, 2008 7:57 AM

My mother Juliet used to live there, but she lives with me in Omaha now. The only other folks I am still in contact with are the Logans and Kueblers- Jane is a good friend of mine, and Mother and IJ Logan have been best friends for eons.

Russ, I checked the corn this morning that I soaked overnight last week. After thinking about it, I'm not real sure when I planted it, but it was Tuesday or later for sure. Anyway....it's 1" to 2" tall! I'm impressed! My package didn't give the normal germination time, so I don't know if that was good or not. But it seems the first ones I planted took a lot longer.

I don't know the Kueblers but do some of the Logans.
In the early 90s I decided I had enough of spending half of my earnings for motels. and took a job with Mid Con Equipment. It was good to be able to go home every night. Oct of 96 I ruptured a disc, lower back. Spent most of 2 years of being disabled. My loving DW, helped me get dressed in the morning before she went to work.
As I got better I hobbled around and done laundry and the dishes. Kind of difficult on crutches.
Even started having supper ready when she got home. Was really happy to be able to walk the drive way to get the mail. Felt even better when I was able to make it all the way to the store down on the main drag. LOL Then in 2000, I took a job doing delivery. mostly small packages except for some of the drug stores. One in particular usually got 50 to 60 boxes. But I loved it. Wished I had made that switch a long time ago. Just drive around the country and deliver packages. So easy no heavy wrenches , no heavy greasy parts to handle, didn't have to know anything but drive and remember the route. lol

msrobin; Right off hand I'm thinking that might have steped it up by a couple days. not sure though.
To answer an earlier question. I did get my corn planted 2 rows by May 10th. The rest was two weeks later. The later looks to be only a day or two behind the first 2 rows. so in the long run it may not pay to soak it first. but a person might see it come up a few days earlier.
I had to work fast when ever the garden wasn't too wet. As we were getting a lot of rain and not too good of drying contitions.
Corn can be started ratherly most years, as soon as the soil can be worked. I would think around the first of May for your area but this spring really threw everybody off.

We had a horrid spring here too. We had snow in May and up through June it was cold and wet. I really feel for the farmers here this year, we had a lot of flooding, cold spring with extremely late frosts, and no sun/heat to speak of till July. I know the CSAs are hoping to have a full run this year, but they are scrambling. Now we're having so much sun that I'm having trouble keeping water on my plants, it's been a no win year.

I like the paper cups with a hole punched in the bottom.... they are a great size for starting tomatoes and then potting them up to bigger containers ... I started herbs in them... and since I am a newbie with seeds it was a cheap way to experiment with some of the more difficult seeds... easy to fill ... love em ... when I bottom watered some of the roots even grew through the paper.... the only problem I ran into is the ones that didn't get transplanted into other containers before hardening off... some fell apart after the spring rain got them.... so I won't do that again