Clementine Box Seed Nursery (a tutorial!)

Last weekend I told you about a Huge Project we worked on. I am pleased to report that everything has worked out as planned!

I wanted to start some seeds to grow beans and cucumbers for pickling this year. I went to the hardware store and picked up seeds and some soil. However, I wanted to find something a little more earth-friendly than those plastic seed tray starter kits (besides, they're expensive!). I figured that if I looked around the house I could find something that would work.

I found Clementine boxes!!!

They are so adorable I can never make myself get rid of them! They stack really well and have cute little illustrations and are way nicer to store things in than those little plastic boxes. I have a pile of them in my room holding pens and staplers and such, but I've also used them for craft supplies and mail. I thought a seed nursery would be a great fourth use for some of the extra ones!

So, if you'd like to play along, gather your materials:



You will need:

Clementine boxes
soil
seeds
some paper bags or newspaper
water
Munchkin helper (optional)

Most Clementine boxes have little drainage holes built right in. Drainage = good!



Line the bottom of your boxes with paper bag (I recycled the bag I brought home from the hardware store) or newspaper, tucking down the edges and corners:



Fill the boxes a little more than half-way with soil:



Poke little holes for the seeds:


My seeds called for a 1/2 inch planting depth. The amount of dirt you put into the boxes and the planting depth may vary depending on what you are growing.

Place seeds in the little holes:



Cover over with a little more soil and pat the soil down gently:



Water the soil well:


(Gently, not like I did!)

Cover the boxes with plastic wrap and tape the bottom and corners:



Did I mention that these boxes are full of Awesome Stacking Wonder?!?! Move the boxes to a sunny location:


(Unstack them so the Sun can find all of the seeds!)

Wait patiently. Check the boxes at least once every three hours for signs of growth. Repeat as needed, until seeds sprout.

(Ok. That last part isn't strictly necessary, but I *swear* it makes the seeds sprout faster.)

One week later:


Lima beans.


Cucumbers.


Bug.


I really hope he doesn't like lima beans.

The boxes are showing no signs of cracking or warping from being full of wet soil and sitting out in the rain. I was a bit worried about that when I started. I'm hoping that they weather well and I can reuse these again next year (and reassign all of my Clementine boxes to seed sprouting duty!).

So, if you get around to starting seeds on the late side this year like I did and decide to give this a whirl, let me know how it works out! =)

In other news, there was a wild turkey in the backyard:



He said, "Don't Even Think About It, Woman!!" before he ran away.