I could have sworn that I posted about this quick and practical little project last spring. Well, at least I meant to. Anyway, I wanted to pop in and share the idea with you all this afternoon. We are having a very, very rainy spring here in Vermont and I have needed to have a few extra indoor activities up my sleeve as a result. Maybe you do too.
Planting into eggshells seems to a common enough kids' craft project, and with good reason. There is something incredibly fun about setting a little carton of hollowed-out shells on the table, and watching them grow plants. Plus, when the seedlings are big enough, you can gently crush the shell to loosen the roots and plant the whole thing into the garden. You can find many, many versions of this project by doing a quick search, but what follows should be enough to get you started.
Eggshell Planters
What you will need:
Eggs
Seeds
Potting soil
What you will do:
- During the course of your normal kitchen activites, start saving your eggshells. A good way to do this is to use a serated knife or a pair of scissors to gently remove one end of the eggshell. I found that poking a couple of holes in the eggshell along the line where I wanted to cut allowed me to use my knife or scissors to lop off the top a lot more easily.
- Fill the eggshell to the top with potting soil. Remember that the soil will shink down a bit when it gets wet.
- Plant a two to four seeds in the soil, following the instructions on the seed packet. To water, you can either pour a very small amount of water into the top of the eggshell or use a spray bottle to lightly mist until the surface is uniformly damp.
Now watch your seedlings sprout and grow! We put our eggshells back into the carton they came in and used them as a centerpiece on the table until they were ready to move outside. Just make sure that your plants get plenty of sunlight so that your seedlings don't get leggy and flop over!
