Many of us love to garden, but not all see success right away.
Like people, different plants have different preferences and requirements for reaching their full potential. And that full potential begins with a seed.
There are multiple methods of growing plants from seeds and many work well on most if you pay attention to all the right factors.
Then there’s this method of seed-starting that takes the guesswork completely out of the equation.
The “double-cup” seed starting method.
This simple method can grow a wide variety of plants.
The video we’re sharing with you comes from the Youtube Channel Grounded Roots. He explained how you can make your own and the benefits of this method.
It easily regulates soil moisture so seeds don’t drown while also creating a greenhouse effect by using plastic wrap as a cover.
The setup is simple.
Prepare these items:
- 2 disposable plastic cups
- Potting soil, just enough to fill the cup
- A small nail or any sharp object
- Plastic Wrap
- 4 to 5 small pebbles
- Your favorite seed
Now for the fun part- assembly.
First, you have to poke holes in one of the cups so water can drain at the bottom.
Get your nail and heat it up from a fire, either a candle or from the stove. Use pliers to hold the nail while doing this.
Once you poke enough holes from the bottom of the cup, fill the same cup with potting soil until it is almost full.
Don’t overfill.
Leave an inch of space from the top. Once you have the soil in place, use your fingers to make holes in the soil bed.
Then, scatter your desired seeds before covering them back up.
In the video, he uses mint seeds and did an over-seeding method.
This gives a better chance of germinating and growing seeds successfully, then he thins them out to the desired spacing later on.
But what about the other cup?
Grab your pebbles.
The idea here is that the pebbles will make enough room for water to drain later on, as well as provide enough bottom weight to keep the containers standing.
After you’ve added the pebbles, pour water into it until the cup is about half full.
Grab the top cup with the soil and nest it inside the second cup.
Now, let it sink.
The holes will let water in gradually so the cup will eventually sink in.
Once it’s all sunk in, remove the cup with the soil, and dump out the excess water in the bottom cup, leaving just the pebbles.
Also, let the cup with the soil drip until it slows down to a trickle before placing it back in the bottom cup.
This maintains the soil moisture.
Germinating seeds this way will ensure your soil has enough moisture to get the job done but not enough to water-log the soil.
By adding plastic wrap, we get the benefit of a greenhouse effect which drastically speeds up the sprouting process by providing warm and consistent temperatures.
As an added bonus, the plastic wrap also helps trap in moisture, allowing you to go even longer between waterings.
To moisten the soil again, just remove the cup with the soil, and repeat the bottom watering process.
See how simple it is to put this no-fail double-cup method to use in the video below!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
