Easy to Make, Seed Starter Pots from Cardboard Cores. And a tip or two...

We* are getting a head start on a few gardening chores while we wait out this cold front! One task we accomplished was making Seed Starter Pots from Cardboard Cores. The first thing I need to say about this process is, I will never throw a cardboard core away, ever again! Come and take a look...

East Texas can still be cold or down right chilly even in February! So cold that no outside work might be getting done, save a coat of paint on the shop doors. I could be wrong, but I am not certain they could have taken another rain storm and survived intact, as they were! 

While we continue to work on the garden space, we also have plans for a few more garden projects. Because gardening of any kind is fun and who doesn't want to be able to feed their family fresh and grown by you, food? Even if it is only a tomato plant or a small bed of strawberries you have room for. So what kind of things are we working on right now? 

Here are a few of our current projects:

Lots of wildflowers in the side yard, for the birds. Actually this is a repeat, we are still learning to plant successfully in our new home state. 

Plant more Strawberries. Because nothing is better than strawberries from your own yard!

And lots of potatoes, I will be putting some to "chit" in the next day or so. As well as start some sweet potato slips. 

Along with more hugelkultur garden beds in what is turning into a very nice garden space for the years ahead. 

Oh and prune the blueberries! This year we will also need to put up a better barrier to the birds we love so much! It turns out they love blueberries as much as we do!

But first things first, about those wildflowers, 

we decided to make seed pots and use them scattered throughout the yard over broadcasting wildflower seed that most likely would have been eaten (again?) before they could germinate. 

However it is fair to say that these seed pots are a frugal choice for any seed that you want or need to get a head start on, with growing. Such as tomatoes, peppers, anything really. Most gardeners have been working on and perfecting their gardening skills along with their growing methods for years. And for many that includes starting seeds indoors. 

So let's get started...

You will want to gather up the following materials:

Cardboard cores, both toilet paper cores and paper towel cores work. 

Plastic mushroom boxes, the large ones from Costco are my favorite, but smaller ones work just as well. The black color will absorb heat on a chilly day. 

Salad Mix Containers, the clear ones with a hinged or closable lid are nice!

Scissors.

Plastic wrap, if using mushroom boxes.

Seeds of choice.

Water. You can drop from your fingertips or use a spray bottle.

Flatten the core, and cut into half. Cut four slits evenly around the cut edge. Fold the four flaps inward. 

Fill the container with the seed starter pots. 

Add soil, top with a seed or two, mist generously with water and cover. 

You can place the filled seed pots in a sunny window. 

Or if window space is limited, place in any sunny warm area and let the magic happen! 

Remember to mist with water daily. 

When you are ready to plant the little pots in your garden area, do remember this final but very important trick! 

Unfold the bottom flaps, before planting, so that the roots of the plants do not struggle to take hold. While the roots will eventually work their way through the bottom of a TP starter pot or even a peat cup starter pot, I did notice last year, having to do so, makes the plant work harder than it needs to...

*To clarify, we as in the royal we, where my husband has the green thumb, but I know how to cut a mean cardboard core!

THIS POST UPDATED: 02.07.2025

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