Economic Recycling

So, I initially said that this blog was just going to be about my AP system. Well, I have decided that every once in a while I will post about regular dirt gardening.

With the end of winter in sight, I have decided to start some seedlings inside to plant outdoors when the time comes. This year I am going to dedicate part of my garden to dill pickles! So I am starting my pickling cucumbers inside.

The other day I bought two 2lb boxes of strawberrys from the supermarket (I know, they are not in season and are probably full of chemicals and have been shipped from 1000 miles away). After I cut and dehydrated them, I was about to put the boxes in my "take to Durango because Cortez doesn't recycle plastic" pile when I realized, these would be excellent seed starting trays! They have ventilated lids and bottoms, and are a good depth.

Today, I went to Let It Grow, the excellent local nursary/ gardening store/ awesome cafe and bought quality seedling soil and filled my trays. I have what I hope to amounts to 6 cucumber plants in each tray. From a very informative seed starting pamphlet from LiG, I learned that when starting seeds, it is best to water from below, so as to not disturb the seed before it becomes stable in the soil. Since my trays are vented from the bottom as well, I placed the trays in a lipped cookie sheet and put in a few cups of warm water and have been watching it wick up into the trays.



The main point of this post is use what you have at your disposal, and improvise. I saved ~$5 and the eliminated need to purchase more plastic by using what I was going to throw away.