Starting seeds on the cheap

It's seed starting time here in south Texas! 

In the past I've bought those fancy seed starting trays and peat pellets to start my peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, and tomatillo. 

 I always end up having to transplant them to a bigger container in order to harden them off, and truth be told, it's a big pain in my backside! 

I was looking for easier (and cheaper!) 

ways to start seeds and came across the idea to

use old water/milk jugs as mini-greenhouses to start seeds.  

We buy gallons and gallons of milk and water weekly so we always have a large supply of jugs lying around.  I fished a few out of the recycling bin and cut around the middle leaving a small connecting tab at the base of the handle.

Just poke a few holes in the bottom for drainage 

and fill with soil or seed starting mix.  

Plant your seeds, label the container, and DONE!  

I set these on my back porch to heat up from the mid day sun.  

In 7-14 days you should see spouts appear.  When that happens, open the tops back so the seedlings can get plenty of air and light.  At night, close the container to protect the seedlings from cooler temps.

I'm going to wrap the cut edges of these jugs with some duct tape until my seedlings get about an inch tall, 

just to insure that the heat and moisture stay inside...

and to protect them from the prying little fingers of curious toddlers who may want to make mud pies out of the dirt!