7 Pros and Cons of Starting Seeds in Egg Cartons
Rather than pay exorbitant fees for seed-starting supplies, you can reuse empty egg cartons! Biodegradable, cheap, and effective, egg cartons are ideal for growing shallow-rooted fruits and vegetables, though they’re not the best for every plant! Seasoned grower Jerad Bryant shares seven pros and cons of using them for seed-starting.
Contents
Egg cartons might be the ideal seed-starting containers for your garden! I like to use them in a pinch when I run out of pots with drainage holes. I also like to use them for crops with sensitive roots that dislike transplanting. Because they’re biodegradable, you can plant them directly in the soil and they’ll disintegrate during the growing season.
You may use them for any number of seeds, from lettuce to peppers to herbs. The best types of plants to start in cartons are those with fibrous, shallow roots. Though you can plant any seed in them, plants with quick-growing or deep-reaching roots need repotting shortly after germination.
Here are more details about the pros and cons of upcycling cartons to start seeds.
Pros
Let’s start on a good note and cover the positive effects of using egg cartons before we discuss the negatives. These four reasons may sway you into saving your cartons from the landfill!
Cheap
Cheap is one way to put it! These reusable egg holders are one of the most budget-friendly materials for growing seedlings. Though the eggs that come in them aren’t cheap, the holders are! You can also find these containers on garden websites and animal feed stores if you don’t eat eggs.
You’ll have dozens of cells for planting seeds after a year or two of saving them. If your family eats one dozen eggs a week, you’ll have 52 cartons by the end of the year!
Keep the containers cool and dry so they don’t disintegrate. They consist of paper materials that dissolve when wet or break up when extremely dry. A pantry, closet, or drawer is perfect for storing them.
Before use, poke holes in each cell for drainage and air circulation. Make them medium-sized so that soil stays in the cells but excess moisture falls out the holes.
Save Trash from Landfills
Landfills aren’t sustainable. We dump non-biodegradable materials in pits in the ground and bury them with dirt. That trash will sit underground for millennia! Rather than stuffing landfills with unnecessary trash, why not reuse it?
Reusing these containers avoids adding extra weight and space to dumps. They’ll have more room for materials we can’t reuse like degrading plastics, single-use items, and other trash. Help the planet, your garden, and your wallet by giving cartons a second life.
Egg Cartons Are Biodegradable
Though most paper egg holders are biodegradable, some types aren’t! They’re usually made with wood pulp, plastic, or styrofoam. Wood pulp is biodegradable and works well for seed-starting. Plastic and styrofoam aren’t biodegradable—they’re less than ideal for growing seedlings.
Avoid styrofoam at all costs, as it’s difficult to recycle and impossible to compost. Plastic is okay, though it’s best to buy eggs in wood pulp containers. Wood pulp holders are often brown or gray with a flaky texture and flimsy structure.
Plastic holders are perfect for planting seeds, though you can’t put them into the ground. You’ll have to remove the seedlings from the containers and transplant them into the garden. Some are recyclable, meaning you can put them in your recycling bin for easy disposal.
In the spirit of reusing, here are some other biodegradable materials that work well for sowing seeds:
- Paper pots
- Paper towel rolls
- Toilet paper rolls
- Newspaper
- Cow pots
- Peat pots
Transplant Easily
When using wood pulp containers, transplanting is easier than it’s ever been before! Simply separate the individual cells from each other. Tear or cut them with scissors, and use extra care to avoid disrupting the seedlings’ tender root systems.
After separation, dig holes as big as the rootballs and transplant the plants into the holes. Don’t remove the containers from the seedlings, as the disruptive action may cause roots to break. Simply place the plants in the holes with the containers still attached. They’ll decompose, letting the roots creep out into your garden soil.
Monitor your plants to ensure they survive. With shallow root systems, they’ll suffer from extreme heat, cold, or moisture imbalances after planting. They should have healthy new shoots or buds after a week or two of growing in the ground.
Cons
Though there seem to be more positive than negative associations when reusing egg holders, there are some downsides that make this method unsuitable for certain situations. Consider the cons before repurposing old egg containers.
Constant Watering
Because eggs are small, their containers hold relatively little space compared to seed-starting pots. Water-loving seedlings may dry quickly and their roots are at a high risk of shriveling. Rather than staying moist as the soil does in plastic or paper pots, it’ll grow hydrophobic and repel moisture when you water.
Hydrophobic is a term for materials that repel water rather than soak it. Soil is hydrophobic when it’s completely dry—the moisture beads and rolls right off the dirt chunks.
Combat constant soil dryness with continuous watering or misting. The key is to keep the dirt slightly moist, so it’s absorbent, or hydrophilic, rather than hydrophobic. The more light and heat your seedlings receive, the more moisture they’ll need.
Shallow Depth
As we mentioned above, eggs and their containers are small compared to seed-starting pots. The shallow depth works okay for seedling roots, though it’s not best for deep-rooted crops and mature seedlings. Their reaching roots hit the bottom of the cells and begin circling around and around. Left unchecked, they’ll become root-bound and stop growing.
Because of the shallow depth, egg holders are best for germinating seeds rather than growing seedlings. They’ll limit root growth and lead to poorly performing crops later in the growing season. For best results, repot germinated seedlings shortly after they sprout or transplant them into the garden before they mature.
Toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls, and paper pots are all better biodegradable options than egg containers. Their longer depth is better for seedlings, and you can leave the plants to grow in them for a while before they need transplanting or repotting.
Messiness
Growing seeds in these trays can quickly grow messy! The cells have low walls and water and soil fall out of them. If you accidentally overwater or brush up on them, they’ll dump your precious seedlings all over the ground. Though a messy garden is desirable, a messy propagation station is not!
Avoid messy propagation areas by using bottom trays below the egg holders. They’ll catch excess dirt, moisture, and other debris from the pots. They also allow you to move multiple seedlings in one trip, making less work for you during the planting and transplanting processes.
