To follow up on our post about great herbs and veggies to sow early, we wanted to share some of our tips for DIY seed starting. This is also a great project to do with kids! All you need to give those seeds a happy new home is an old egg carton (the classic kind – plastic and styrofoam won’t do, it needs to be able to absorb moisture), soil (just enough to fill the egg carton), plastic wrap and sunshine.
All of the seeds we use are heirloom varieties and non-GMO, meaning our seeds have developed their unique flavors and ability to grow in our climate through generations of seed-saving, and are ideally suited us.

Photograph by Jessi Bautista.
I’m going to start with Rosemary, Eggplant, and Basil, all certified USDA Organic. First you want to puncture a small holes at the bottom of the carton to allow water to run through. Then, fill your egg carton with a bit of soil. Make sure the soil is moist, it’ll make for easier planting and give the seeds a good head start. This might be a little messy at first, but once it’s set up it’s easy to maintain.


Photographs by Jessi Bautista.
Your seed packet should come with instructions on how far deep to seed, but sometimes I just guess!
When you’ve finished putting seeds in, loosely cover the egg carton with plastic wrap. This helps create a mini-greenhouse effect, keeping the seeds warmer and moister, perfect for germination.

Photograph by Jessi Bautista.
Label your seeds, set it in a bright windowsill, and wait for em to sprout!
Just remember, seeds want to grow, so experiment and have fun.