If you are a beginner to sowing seeds it can all seem a little daunting: which seeds to buy, when to sow, when to plant out, and then there is all the equipment you need!

Even those who have been gardening for years may need to replace their items often, but getting started can be as simple as using items which you already have around the home. Look inside the recycling bin to see what you could use this season to get your seeds started.

Create Planting Spaces

Collect used toilet rolls as they are ideal for planting in, and there are several ways you can do this:

• crunch some used paper or packaging paper in the bottom to stop the soil coming out
• cut 4 slits 1” long at the bottom and fold them up to make a base
• or as we do, just simply fold them to make them square, and fill them straight up inside your container. Making them square makes them easier to fill. 

Save cartons to create a planting space with the toilet rolls placed inside. We use soya milk cartons as we have the most of those, but juice cartons work just the same. They need to be able to hold water without leaking as the planted seeds will be bottom watered in the container (putting water in the bottom of the tray to encourage the roots to grow down for water). There is no need for an additional drip tray which means the cartons can be located to even the smallest window sills.

Create Mini Greenhouses

Keep your seeds warm and moist by covering them to encourage germination, then remove as soon as the plants have germinated to allow air to circulate and for them to get the best light. 

Propagation tray lids that fit sowing trays often come with the trays. They look and work well, but are not necessary to get started. 

Cut fizzy water bottles in half and use the bottom half to sow in and the top half to make perfect mini greenhouses for pots. We have been using these for over 4 years now – they come in handy for many projects. Plastic cups and glass jars work great too.

Using any packaging that would be thrown out to keep seeds warm and moist is ideal. We use bread bags, roll bags, and used compostable cling film.

We kept the bags that our heated bedsheets came in – they are ideal zipped up to use as a propagator. Cake boxes or any storage box works perfectly too. We propagate in these storage boxes outside (with drainage holes), and tie another one on top with string as a lid. 

Reuse what you have around the house before you start buying new items. You will be surprised at what you come up with once you start looking! We would love to know what you use!

Katrina and Clayton Gelderbloem live with their family in East Ayrshire, and share their daily life in the garden on Instagram. They practise permaculture principles in the garden, reducing and repurposing waste whenever they can.

Clayton is 15, autistic, non-verbal, and has been home-educted for the last 5 years. Katrina believes home-educating in nature has helped Clayton thrive. He completed the ‘Grow and Learn’ course with the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society last year, and this year has started the Level 2 ‘Nurture Course’.

You can keep up with Katrina and Clayton on Instagram, Facebook, and on their website.