I have plastic pots I use over every year and I use foil pans from the Dollar Tree store as trays.

Thanks Rose. That's a good idea. I knew someone would have come up with something. :)

I sometimes use styrofoam food containers from a restaurant supply for give-away plants. Easy to add drainage and to label with a Sharpie industrial marker.

These are shorter than cups, so tend to be more stable in wind. Recycled cottage cheese or yogurt cartons are another option.

I use narrower containers for the first transplant, though. The foil trays are a good idea if you can find one that fits your set of seedlings fairly closely. May help to deter aphids in some circumstances.

This post was edited by carolync1 on Fri, Apr 11, 14 at 0:58

I used recycled paper coffee cups to start my seeds this past winter and I put them in large oval plastic ice-cream containers that I also get from the coffee shop. They sell the ice-cream at WM.

Now I'm growing my seeds in pots that I make from recycled newspaper. I can get 12 of them in an old Tupperware celery keeper. Two of those fit well on my windowsills and under my grow lights.

Linda

Re: cups: Last year when I 'pottted up' the seedlings into larger pots, I used styrofoam cups. I ran out of those and, pressed for time, found some paper coffee cups---about 12 oz. When I planted them out to the garden, I found the seedlings in the paper cups had much better root development than those in the foam cups. Dunno if it's because maybe a little air gets through the paper, or maybe it's a drainage issue, or maybe the paper transmits less light than the foam, but there was a marked difference between the two.

I believe you all would see better root development in pots designed for plants. They have corresponding "Draining" trays and there is no need to worry if the drainage is adequate. Customers usually return a large portion of my pots and they can be reused many times.

This year I did pot up into 3.5 inch square pots. These fit just fine, 18 of them, in a standard '1020' flat. Got some extra thick 1020's and it made watering a snap. I found that 18 seedlings would suck up about 2 qts of water at a time, and there was never any standing water left in the flat.

I use the plastic containers that one can buy salad in. They are a bit sturdier than foil pans and the smaller size holds fewer cups which is easier for me to handle and high enough that cups don't tip over.

Arley.... where did you find the extra sturdy 1020 flats? All I can find are the flimsy ones that flex and crack very easily.

I went to dollar store or Goodwill to find some flat serving trays or other flat tray. They worked well and are pretty sturdy.

I didn't grow seedlings in other containers at the same time but when I went to transfer out my seedlings from styrofoam cups, I had the same concern, that the seedlings were tall enough to be transplanted out but the root system looked very dainty.

These seedlings were growing outside with exposure to plenty of light. I watered them when needed but otherwise, they got access to rain or morning dew just as if being started in ground.

16 oz clear cups from walmart four dollars per 100, allow you to observe the root growth and water retention. A 5-1-1 mix with a hole or two has worked well. You get an inside view on the health of your plant.

Where did you get the 3.5" square pots? I'm looking online, can't seem to find them locally. Running out now of the ones we pulled from dumpster of nursery that was closing (retiring) 2 years ago.

I bought a big box of trays and a big box of 36-cells 15 years ago and they were cheap in bulk. I still have half of them, so they may last my gardening life.

And I bought a gross of medical specimen vials too. They are great to keep seeds in, in the fridge.