7 Reused Items to Boost Your Garden

2. Egg carton seedling starter

Instead of buying plastic containers to grow starts, egg cartons are a great alternative.

Hate to throw out that foam egg carton? The small size and shallow depression make egg cartons (both foam and paper) perfect for planting seeds for eventual transplantation.

If you have a space indoors for the seeds to germinate, or a south-facing patio that gets enough early-spring warmth, the egg carton method is for you.

How to do it:

1. With a half-dozen or dozen carton, cut off the lid portion of the carton.

2. Puncture small holes in the bottom of each depression (where each individual egg once rested).

3. Evenly fill entire carton with soil. Place one seed per egg depression/section. Gently water entire carton (be careful not to wash the seed out).

4. If growing and watering indoors, place egg carton lid underneath the planted section of the carton to act as a water catchment device. Once seedlings reach optimal growth for transplantation, gently pop out each start from its section, keeping soil and delicate root ball in tact. Place in outdoor garden or in larger pot if container gardening.

3. Milk jug shovel

After cutting the milk jug in half, a shovel emerges. Use the remaining portion as a planter (remember to puncture some holes) or as a scoop (sans handle).

To give you precision when placing soil in pots, and to prevent a total mess indoors, small, easy-to-control shovels are a welcome addition to any gardening operation.

To make your own shovel from recycled materials, save those milk jugs!

How to do it:

1. Cut off the top portion of the milk jug (the spout). Depending on the amount of shoveling you need to do, both half-gallon and gallon jugs will work.

2. About 1-2 inches underneath the handle, draw a line around the entire milk jug. Puncture the plastic jug so you can cut along the drawn line.

3. Cut along drawn line, and then get to work shoveling!