Re: mini propagator

Have to agree with Deborah - there are a lot of suitable containers available for reuse. We gardeners should take the lead on recycling. Some of my reuse 
strategies:

1) Save the "hinged" and lidded clear plastic boxes that strawberries, tomatoes, and other delicate fruits come in. Some bakeries use similar containers. You 
can place seedling pots or trays in the box, or spread planting mix in the entire box - the weight of the mix stabilizes the container as well. I have a seedling-
cube maker, so I just press out cubes right into the container.

2) Still in the produce section - save the large, crinkly plastic boxes that fruit comes in. Make mini greenhouses for cuttings and larger seedlings by using two 
of these, one upside down as a cover over the other. Use clothespins or spring clips from the office supply store to hold them together. These are tall 
enough to accommodate shrub and tree cuttings, as well as big-leaved vegetable seedlings in small pots. Most of these boxes have vent holes, so the mini 
greenhouses  keep in moisture while allowing some fresh air - I have found that ziploc bags, as one poster suggested. are just too tightly sealed, and lead to 
rot if the mix is even slightly overmoist.

Nobody around here was selling those mini-greenhouse kits, so instead I bought a large styrofoam flat with pyramid-shaped rooting cells that the 
greenhouses use. I heated up a fine wire until it glowed, and cut the large flat into smaller groups of cells by holding the wire taut and drawing it through the 
styrofoam. I cut 10-cell mini-flats that fit into my fruit-package mini greenhouses. I have rooted myrtles and other evergreen shrubs in this way.

3) Our cafeteria at work gives out single-serving packages of coffee whitener (ugh!), cream cheese, and cottages cheese - after the foil top is peeled off, 
the cup is the perfect size for starting smallish seeds - about the same size as the small planting cubes (3/4 inch or 1.5 cm square). but a little deeper (which 
lets the seedling grow bigger before transplanting) and far less fussy to handle since it is in a "pot". There are also small, kid-sized yogurt, pudding, and 
creme fraiche containers that can be recycled into small planting cells.

4) Tall 2-liter (or larger) juice cans are ideal for rooting cuttings - or for growing on shrubs and trees that root deeply, like date palms. To root hardwood 
cuttings in autumn: remove the top of the can entirely, pack the can 1/3 to 1/2 full with moist sharp sand, and cram a bunch of foot-long (30cm) branch 
cuttings into the can. Pack tightly to the top of the can with more sand. Depending on your climate, the cuttings will sit for several months of cool dormancy. 
When it's time to break dormancy, punch holes in the bottom of the can with a normal can opener, and set the can in bright light. Water until you see 
growth. Turn the cuttings out and carefully separate them - the sand should be full of roots. This works for a lot of shrubs. You can write on the can with a 
marker so you know what the cuttings are.

Cans also work well to start a head of garlic - then plant out the sprouted cloves. Or sprinkle onion or scallion seed over a can of sandy soil mix. Then turn 
out the can when it's full of "grass" and plant out the small plants. The seedlings reach down into the deep soil - and wait for you instead of wilting 
dramatically if you don't immediately plant them up. This is why I generally like pots that are tall for their diameter. Which leads to...

5) Toilet paper rolls work well for seed starting - here, too, there is a good depth of soil in the "pot" - and efficient use of your planting mix. I failed with these 
for a while - they always spilled over - until I packed the rolls tightly into a rather rigid container, then filled them with soil. This way they won't tip over. A 
friend of mine holds them together in packs using rubber bands - the trick is to use two rubber bands, not just one, so they don't slide over. Some people 
plant the paper tube along with the seedling - it will probably have softened somewhat by planting time - but I peel it away and plant the rootball.

6) Be alert for road crews installing those hideous annual plantings on roadsides and traffic circles - they often chuck the seedling pots and flat trays. Even if 
they gather the stuff up, they can usually be sweet-talked out of some of the loot. I have a large collection of 2 gallon (8 liter) plastic shrub buckets that I 
rescued from a highway landscaping project.



3/16/01 8:36:06 AM, Deborah Moll <molldl@SLU.EDU> wrote:

>I use these kinds of things all the time.  I flew on TWA two months ago
>and lunch was served in a small lidded plastic container.  I asked the
>flight attendant if I could have some of the ones she was throwing away
>and she gave me a ton of them.  They stacked up nicely, opened, and I
>stuck them in my tote bag.  Wiped them out with a Clorox wipe and poked
>holes in the bottom.  Moved the strongest germinated plants to cell
>packs later.  I can also save these from my work cafeteria.  I later
>used the clear tops as pot saucers to catch drips from larger pots of
>tomatoes and such before taking outside........  deborah moll



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