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I always grudge paying for those small pots. Seedling starter kits I think you call them but they're made of cardboard material and you plant the seeds in them and transplant the whole thing when it's time to put them outside. Instead do what I started doing and use egg cartons. It has to be the cardboard ones, not the foam type. Just fill them with potting soil, make small holes in the bottom for drainage, plant your seeds and give them the usual TLC. Cut the box apart into individual sections when you're ready to start transplanting them and lift out the plants carefully.
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I don't know if you could do that or not, bringmeroses. When I buy the six packs of plants usually I tap them out and plant all the surrounding soil with the young plant. What if the carton dried out fast? The roots would be constricted long before it decomposed.
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bringmeroses there's a thread about free seeds you can send away for. I thought I'd bring that to your attention before you buy any. :)
http://savingtools.com/content/all-you-butterfly-lovers-free-seeds
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I use the egg cartons and just cut away the cardboard very carefully when the plants are ready to go in the ground or a bigger pot. That only works on the years I'm not too lazy. When I don't feel like doing all that I buy the packs of six. I think it's better to get them at high turnover garden shops, not small roadside ones. The plants will be healthier and fresher IMHO.
You can also put on your best smile and ask for cuttings from neighbors. I have plants I got by admiring a garden over a fence. Gardeners love to share and will often offer you a cutting before you ask. Ooh and aah when the gardener's around to see it LOL.
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bringmeroses there's a thread about free seeds you can send away for. I thought I'd bring that to your attention before you buy any. :)
http://savingtools.com/content/all-you-butterfly-lovers-free-seeds
Thanks for the help and a special thanks to Savannah for showing me that. I got some biggish pots in the dollar store that will sit on my porch. They had seeds but no potting soil yet. I'm going to ask one of the neighbors about a yellow bush he has scattered around. There's no harm in trying. :)
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Another small tip for saving money in the garden if you put your plants in medium size pots. Instead of buying the drip trays that go under them to catch the water, use the extra plastic lids from coffee tubs. You know how they give you free coffee sachet samples attached to the lids and that are under another clear lid?Maxwell House does it. Use that clear lid. It's deep enough to hold the pot base. I save mine up.
It was so sunny here I was thinking about Spring and bought seeds this afternoon. Thanks for that tip! I'll change to the cardboard cartons. Do you think you could plant them still in the carton sections? I'm thinking if you soaked them well and then planted the whole carton they would degrade. You don't have to disturb the roots then.
When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a rose with the other.