Using eggshells as seed pots provides a fun activity with children. It also recycles shells into biodegradable, natural, nutrient-rich pots and gives a head start to young plants that will be planted later in the garden. Discover our step-by-step tutorial to germinate your sowings directly in eggshells.
Why sowing in eggshells?
Shells are an ideal medium to germinate and grow your young plants before transplanting them in the garden. They are biodegradable, so you can bury them directly with your plants and the egg carton lids make ready-made supports.
Sowing indoors also gives you a head start for the garden; even if it is still cold outside, you will be ready for first warm days and will find transplanting easier. Indoor culture also lets you check your sowings daily and remove the weakest ones.
How to sow seeds in eggshells?
Materials to prepare to sow in eggshells
- Vegetable seeds, herb seeds or flower seeds (radish, peas, squash, melon, tomato, courgette, sweet pea, nasturtium...). If doing these sowings with little ones, favour fairly large seeds, easier for small fingers to handle
- Lower part of a cardboard egg carton with empty eggshells (use the largest eggs possible)
- Sowing compost in a small container
- Teaspoon, handy for putting compost into shells
- Large needle
- Pencil or felt-tip pen
- Mister
Steps to sow in eggshells
- When cooking, keep eggshells in good condition until a cardboard egg carton is full (6, 12 or even a whole tray if you want to make lots of young plants!)
- If preferred, you can wash and leave shells to dry before using them (facultative)
- Poke a small hole in the bottom of each shell to allow water drainage
- Fill shells with compost using the teaspoon
- Sow 1 to 3 seeds per shell depending on seed size
- Cover with compost (follow recommended sowing depth on your seed packets)
- Replace shells in carton; it serves as a ready-made support
- Moisten using the mister
- If you have sown different seed varieties, note plant name on top of shell with pencil or felt-tip pen
- Place in bright spot and water regularly with mister to keep compost moist, without excess
Transplanting outdoors
- Watch your sowings grow
- When your seedlings are sturdy enough and outdoor temperatures are mild, you can transplant them
- When planting your shoots in garden, simply crack each shell and its inner membrane slightly and set small plants into ground, or into a pot or windowbox
- Bear in mind that eggshells are small, so your plants will be small too and resemble plug plants. They will need attentive care to establish well!
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