To do: Grow seedlings indoors in an egg carton
Time: 30 minutes
Materials: Cardboard Egg Carton, potting soil, seeds
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Rather than buying seedlings at the store, try growing them at home this year. Here’s what you’ll need and how to do it:

Materials: Cardboard egg carton, potting soil, seeds for whatever type of plant you’d like to grow, scissors, spray bottle to water the seeds

Instructions:

1. Cut the egg carton in half so you end up with two halves of 6 egg cups each. Let your child use a spoon or hands to add potting soil to each egg cup.
2. Poke a hole in the center of the soil in each egg cup. Place one seed in each hole and cover with a layer of soil.
3. Lightly spray soil with water from your spray bottle. Place the carton in a sunny location indoors and keep soil moist (not soaking). Rotate tray if you see sprouts begin to lean towards the light source. Explain to your child that the seedlings lean towards the sunlight to make food for themselves in the process called photosynthesis!
4. When the seedlings are big enough, consider transplanting them to your outdoor garden. Begin this process by first placing the egg carton seedlings outdoors to let them acclimate to a different environment. When ready, dig small holes in your garden and place seedlings at a good distance from one another to allow for growth!

Seedlings grow very quickly indoors and it’s fun for a child to track this growth. Think about keeping a “Seedling Journal” or taking photos every day see the growth over time.

Enjoy planting seedlings and watching them grow alongside your child!

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