Starting seeds in eggshells

[wheelysneakycat]

Has anyone tried starting seeds in eggshells?

I've come to the conclusion that direct sowing is difficult for me at my allotment. Because a) not much seems to germinate and b) I find it nigh on impossible to tell what is plants and what is weeds. I know people say to put a string along the row with sticks and labels at the ends. But that doesn't work for me because there's nothing to stop the weeds growing along the row as well, and as I'm blind and new to this, it's really hard for me to know which is weeds.

So I want to start as much as possible from home and plant out when they're big enough that I can feel the difference. Looking for cheap/easy ways to start the seeds I've tried starting in trays then transferring to pots; in giffy pellet things; in biodegradable pots; in toilet roll tubes; and now finally I'm trying eggshells.

Transferring from trays to pots works well but can be fiddly and difficult not to damage the seedlings (as well as being blind I only have use of one hand). Giffies and biodegradable pots work great but I don't want to keep paying for them. Some people swear by the toilet roll thing but I found it hard to make a stable pot withe them and the thing went rotten and manky before the seeds had a chance to really get going.

So now the eggshells, another idea I found online. I've washed out egg shells, pricked a hole in the bottom, filled with compost and put in the egg box. At the moment I've just covered with the lid of the eggbox. Some people do that, some use clinggfilm. Apparently when ready to plant out, gently crush the shell around the seedling.

This appealed to me because I thought it would make the seedling easier to handle than getting out of a seed tray, I always have eggs around so it's cheap, and hopefully I can more easily tell the difference between plants and weeds as plants will be surrounded by crushed eggshell.

Has anyone tried this or any opinions on how this would work? Any other suggestions about how to cheaply start seeds and how I might be able to tell the difference between my seedlings and weeds?

[Bigmallly]

What I used to do with loo rolls was fold them in half longways, open it, put the creases together & fold again so making a cuboid. Cut half an inch up 4 corners & turn it into a long deep box. Overwatering can cause them to go mouldy but should be of no detriment. The eggshell idea sounds great. Try putting more than one hole in the bottom & with a bit of luck the roots will break their way through.

[Potstubsdustbins]

It should work without to much of a problem but would it work with lime hating plants?

I grow everything in containers and in order to get decent crops I have to successional sow. Over the years I have accumulated a dozen or so polystyrene formers that make plug plants, and literally dozens of different size plastic plant pots.

I firm the compost into the plug plant jobbies and set seed in there. When the plugs are ready to pot on you stick your finger into the hole in the bottom and out pops a complete plant with no root disturbance this then goes into a 3 inch pot. I would think for your purpose this would be far enough as you could then plant on into their final place.

[muddled]

I think the eggshells sound like a wonderful idea...I've not heard of that before and since I own chickens and therefore have LOTS of eggshells, I think I'll join you and give that a try.

I also use loo rolls,
and modules,
and margerine tubs, yoghurt pots, cardboard take out coffee cups and so on.

Experiment (especially with free stuff) some plants get quite big rather quickly before transplanting....things like beans for example. (you still have time to sow dwarf french beans by the way) they will do well in the coffee cups.
Some plants like a long root run and resent being disturbed. Sweetcorn and things like that do well in toilet rolls.

I would imagine that brassica family plants, cabbages and so on might love eggshells. Now is a good time to sow some brassicas ready for eating i the spring and even some, like kohl rabi, for eating this autumn.

Try as many different ways as you can because it's a balancing act to find what works well for both you and for the plant.

[Alison]

In theory it would work but a) sounds a bit fiddly to support etc and b) do you have enough egg shells? I sow hundreds of seeds and don't eat that many eggs . I make little newspaper pots using a wooden former and find that works really well, free too as I use the freebie local paper.

[Bren In Pots]

Has anyone tried this or any opinions on how this would work? Any other suggestions about how to cheaply start seeds and how I might be able to tell the difference between my seedlings and weeds?

I make newspaper pots then plant the whole thing in the ground that way there's no damage to the seedling, you can either buy a wooden potter, wrap newspaper around a narrow can or make a potter.

https://simplyflagstaff.wordpress.co...per-pot-maker/

I made mine using some old bits of pipe we'd got laying around and instead of the Dome Slip Cap I found a piece of wood to bung up the end of the inner pipe.

[wheelysneakycat]

Wow thanks everyone, some ideas for me to try. I have some seeds in eggshells at the moment and may try the newspaper thing too.

[SusieG]

Eggshells!

Wheelysneakycat, hi!
Not tried the eggshell method but it sounds positive. As you say, at least you'll know where your seedlings are by the crushed shell.
I've used toilet roll holders and found 'em very useful. Started some spring onions and leeks. Both were successful and am going to use them next year to start my sowings.
I'm going to try your eggshell method too - will report back next year!!!

[vixylix]

I'm intrigued by the eggshell idea! I think they'll look quite pretty while still in germination stage and maybe, just maybe, planting them with the crushed eggshell will deter the slugs?! Worth a try!