Eggshell Planters
Long ago, Bulgarian, Yugoslavian and Greek farmers would bury painted eggs in their fields at Eastertime to make their grapevines grow. The paint probably didn't help anything, but the calcium in the eggshells probably helped enrich the soil. That's one reason why eggshells make good containers for little plants. A second reason is that an eggshell is a good size to start out tiny seedlings. The third reason is that a dozen eggshell planters sitting in an egg carton fit nicely in a small place, like a windowsill.
To make eggshell planters, you don't need whole eggshells. You can use the halves of eggshells that were cracked for cooking or baking. Just be sure the eggshells are clean. Rinse the shell parts in very hot water or pour boiling water over them. Then, turn the shell parts upside down to drain. To dye the shells, you can use them still wet. If you want to paint faces on your shells, let them dry first. Put the faces on the eggs so that the plants will look like hair sprouting out the tops.
When your eggs are decorated, put the eggs back into their carton so they'll stand upright. Put a cotton ball in the bottom of each shell to collect water so the soil won't get too soggy. Spoon potting soil on top of the cotton. Then, add grass seeds to make a green-haired pal or add herb seeds to make a kitchen garden with a nice smell. Gently water the eggshell planters and put the cartonful of planters near sunlight. (See the seed package to find out exactly how much water and light your plants need.) If your plants grow really well and get too big for the eggshells, you can put them into bigger pots of soil - eggshell planters and all. Just crack the shells in a few places so the plants' roots can reach the new soil.
~ Resourced from Kids and Family
No comments:
Post a Comment