If I plant seeds next spring in a styrofoam egg carton, should I
punch a small hole at the bottom of each for a water drain or not?
Seems I would want to so they don't hold too much water and rot, but
having never planted seeds early nor used a hot frame, I'm unsure.
TIA

Depends on the kind of seed -- ones that need to stay moist
should have intact cups and less frequent watering -- but, in
general, yes. However, may I earnestly encourage you to actually
invest in some biodegradable starter pots rather than egg
cartons; the cartons don't hold enough volume for successful root
development.

Chris Owens

John DeBoo wrote:

If I plant seeds next spring in a styrofoam egg carton, should I
punch a small hole at the bottom of each for a water drain or not?
Seems I would want to so they don't hold too much water and rot, but
having never planted seeds early nor used a hot frame, I'm unsure.
TIA


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"Chris Owens" wrote in message
...
the cartons don't hold enough volume for successful root
development.


Having tried the egg cartons, I have to agree. If you want to go with
something on hand, you'd be much better off with small yogurt cartons and
margarine tubs.

Cheryl

clc wrote:

"Chris Owens" wrote in message
...
the cartons don't hold enough volume for successful root

development.



Having tried the egg cartons, I have to agree. If you want to go with
something on hand, you'd be much better off with small yogurt cartons and
margarine tubs.

Cheryl


Thank you both, I'll heed your advice.

On Fri, 08 Aug 2003 13:12:22 -0600, John DeBoo
wrote:

If I plant seeds next spring in a styrofoam egg carton, should I
punch a small hole at the bottom of each for a water drain or not?
Seems I would want to so they don't hold too much water and rot, but
having never planted seeds early nor used a hot frame, I'm unsure.

Without drainage, you may have problems. I'd punch holes.

I've had a lot of luck with a series of seed-starting
'mini-greenhouses' from Gardener's Supply Co. :

gardeners.com

Click on 'seedstarting' in the left-hand column, then take a look at
their APS products. They're 3X as expensive as they were when I bought
them, but the pages *do* have a good diagram of how they work, which
you might be able to apply to other arrangements. You may also be able
to find something similar elsewere for cheaper. The advantages of the
setup were that the matting wicked up enough water to keep things
moist, but not wet, and the seedlings were fairly easy to remove and
transplant.