Frugal Seedling Pots

  Snow is still covering the ground but spring is in the air! I saw a couple of cardinals just this week so it has to be on it's way. I'm starting to get excited about my garden and I've noticed the stores are starting to sell seeds. For the third year I'm going to start my own seedlings and this year I'm determined to spend as little money as possible.
  I picked up a bunch of seed packets at Aldi for $.49 and Menards for $.19 and $.95. I also got an 8 liter bag of seed starter potting soil for $3.44. To grow my seedlings this year I decided I'm reusing and repurposing items I've already got.

 I saved 17 toilet rolls and 2 egg cartons to use for my seedlings. 

  I found this tutorial on You Grow Girl on how to make your own Toilet Roll Seedling pot. Easy to do but I only had 17 rolls saved up and I want to start a lot more seedlings. When I saw that I can use newspaper to make Homemade Seedling Pots I got really excited and made a bunch.

 I cut the newspaper along the seams into fourths and then folded each page in half. I then rolled it around a small glass and pushed the edges into the cup. I carefully pulled the glass off and had an easy & frugal seedling pot. My favorite thing about these pots- I can place them directly into the ground when it's time to transplant! No more mangling the delicate roots when taking them out of a pot and putting them in the garden. The paper is biodegradable so they can go into my garden and these pots are practically free.

  For my first round of seedlings I planted English lavender, hyssop, Giant Italian parsley, Sugar Snap peas, Romanesco broccoli, Romaine lettuce, Numex Big Jim peppers, Buttercrunch lettuce, Bloomsdale spinach and Chicago Pickling cucumbers. This was way more that I had planned but when I saw the huge seed displays I couldn't resist stocking up.

  Last night I rolled up about 50 more newspaper seedling pots while watching a certain silly vampire movie. I don't know where I'm going to put them since my laundry room is pretty crowded and I have to keep them out of reach of my cat. Somehow next week I'm going to plant even more seedlings. I'm feeling optimistic about my garden and I'm ready for spring to arrive!

How about you- Do you have any frugal seedling tips? Are you ready for spring?

This post was shared at: Clever Chicks, Natural Living Monday, Make Your Own Monday, Homestead Barn Hop, Wildcrafting Wednesday, Your Green Resource

March Menu

I love planning my whole menu for March at the beginning of the month and then being ready for each meal as it happens. This way I'm not stressing each week to decide what's on the menu and I reduce the planning stress to just once a month.

This month it took me a couple of days to decide on a March menu, possibly because there are 3 more days to account for in March. Also because we'll have house guests and I was trying to pick appealing meals for them. 

Since reading Wheat Belly and learning about the many health problems associated with eating wheat I now only cook gluten free. (You can read my book review here.) My menu was only a little harder to make now that we are wheat free.

March

1 Baked Drumsticks, steamed green beans

2 Grilled lamb chops, steamed broccoli

3 Baked Salmon, quinoa, peas

4 BBQ Crockpot Ribs, steamed broccoli

5 Sesame Tuna with Avocado, tossed salad

6 Tacos with Ground Beef

7 Chicken Nuggets, steamed broccoli

8 Baked Salmon, rice, edamame

9 Grilled Chicken Skewers (from The Autism Cookbook), roasted sweet potatoes & apples

10 Crockpot roast, carrots & potatoes

11 Tacos with Ground Beef

12 Baked Tilapia, quinoa, steamed green beans

13 Crockpot Chicken with carrots and potatoes

14 Crockpot Vegetable Beef Soup, Perfect GF Bread

15 Crockpot Garlic Chicken with carrots & potatoes

16 Grilled Steaks, baked potatoes, edamame

17 Pasta & tossed salad

18 Maple Glazed Chicken Legs (from The Autism Cookbook), steamed green beans

19 Salmon Cakes, sweet potato fries

20 Tacos with Ground Beef

21 Chicken Nuggets, steamed green beans

22  Baked Salmon, rice, edamame

23 Leftovers for kids, Strawberry Poppyseed Salad for parents

24 Crockpot Garlic Chicken with carrots & potatoes

25 Dinner Out- Kids Eat Free!

26 Baked Tilapia, quinoa, steamed green beans

27 Tacos with Ground Beef

28 BBQ Crockpot Ribs, steamed broccoli

29 Grilled Chicken Skewers (from The Autism Cookbook), roasted sweet potatoes & apples

30 Meatballs & spaghetti, tossed salad

31 Slow Cooker Pulled Pork, Honey Carrots, Perfect GF Bread
He is Risen!

Snacks to try this month:

Lemon Coconut Bars
GF Mocha Walnut Brownies

You can find even more menus at Menu Plan Monday.
(Note: some links in this post are my referral links. Read my disclosure policy here.)