Hi fairydancer...love your name...love faries and collect them. I just wanted to mention that none of my delphs have sprouted yet either. I know your zone 5 is warmer than my zone 5...we only had 1 80 degree day last week and our nite time temps are still in the 30's. I have used many 4 inch flower pots that I had from my african violet obsession and have pretty good germination in them. Mostly alyssums, "Foxy" foxglove and lavender hyssop. I put these pots in a sterlite container with translucent banking plastic on top so I guess that gave them more head room. I will definaely do this again next year (this is my first year but I'm hooked) because planting out will be so easy and I have the supplies. I sure hope our delphiniums sprout and grow. I'm trying to be patient about them.

Bonny

I am voting for milk /water jugs too as the best "free/cheap" container I've got. But I have to say that the foil lasanga pans with high domes that I bought at Walmart are my favorites. They were pretty cheap (less than a buck each) and very sturdy. There is just more room for letting seedlings grow longer before planting and I am finding I really appreciate that in the spring "crunch" to get so much done! The covers go on and off very easily too.

Least favorite container? Shallow "take- out food" tin pans with shallow plastic covers. I got lousy germination and they are just too tight and dry.

Nancy

Hi Deb, I use milk jugs and 2 liter soda bottles exclusively. They give the best results by far. As to the delphs, they seem to take forever. Hold out till sometime in June at least.

Thanks ladies, I'll hold out hope for my delphs. I have about 6 or 7 varieties sowed, and I'd love to add them to my gardens.

Deb

I've been using milk jugs and juicy juice bottles, kids go through a lot of both!!! Oh, and the occasional 2lt bottle, but I like to return those, so I only use them when I can't find anything else. But I did use an old empty window washer jug, I think that one is my favorite!! It's big, it's tough, and my Mamoth Sunflowers are doing great in it!

I used milk jugs,2 lts. and the roasting pan.This yr.I have favored the 2 lt. and used more of those than the others.To me,they are alot easier to plant out.Maybe I just don't over seed them like I do the others..lol.I have over 400 to plant out and so far have only planted about 20. I'm groaning already and swearing next yr.I'm cutting way down.
moonphase

Sometimes it matters *what* is in what you planted in. The hardy stuff like echinacea will handle the freezes better than the tender stuff no matter what you put it in; my echinacea were in recycled plastic nursery pots covered in vented plastic bags and didn't seem to flinch when we had the week of teens after the 2 weeks of 60s-80s.

I do personally prefer the jugs and 2 liters for the convenience (handles/necks to grab, easy to pack into crates), the look, and the improved moisture conditions (I don't remember to water, and sometimes the open containers dry out), and I will do my best to use them exclusively next year myself. I think to make an authentic scientific determination of best, though, you'd have to compare the same plants in different containers under the same exact conditions. Just my humble opinion. :-)

I use just the milk jugs. This is my third year ws and they're all I have ever used.

I love milk jugs as well. I did a comparison last year, with alyssum sowed in containers where I had to take the lid off as soon as there were sprouts because there was no headroom, and in salad containers, where the lids stayed on for a few weeks, and in milk jugs, where the lids stayed on until I had time to plant out. The alyssum in the milk jugs were bigger plants, more blooms, healthier root systems.

If you like the styro cups for planting out ease, you could put them inside milk jugs.

I use toilet roll or newspaper roll pots inside milk jugs. They don't need a bottom as the soil rests on the bottom of the milk jug. Roots stay separate, so no tearing when planting out, and you just plant the whole pot, which then degrades in the soil.

Just make sure to have your soil level right to the top of the roll, otherwise you have to tear a strip off the top when you plant out, unless you like a little newspaper fence around your seedling.

I use a combo of milk and juice jugs (drink more juice than milk sometimes).
Collectively, they stood up to 7 feet of snow...can't ask for better than that!
Here they are peeking out when things started melting:
{{gwi:371713}}

i use corsage containers from the craft store.

Here is a link that might be useful: Large corsage boxes

This is just my first year, but I am a big fan of the 2 Liter bottle. No tape is necessary--you just cut slits in the "lids" and this "sizes" it. This makes it a lot easier when you're going back and forth in weather. You can just take the tops on and off. Also, you can reuse them because you don't have to keep cutting them. I also used a few 1 L seltzer bottle containers (we have a LOT of these) for tomatoes because there were so few seeds and they also worked great.

My very favorite was a cookie container from Trader Joe's. It's about 8" across and 4" deep. It was perfect for allysum which has a gazillion little seeds.

I only used one milk jug and I really hated it. It was just too much work for me--taping, cutting, etc. I eventually just took the top off. I'm never using a milk jug again.

I use milk jugs almost exclusively. I did try some soda bottles this year, using the no-tape, tab method. My problem with these, though, was I kept forgetting the top wasn't taped to the bottom, and when I would pick the bottle up by the neck to look inside, the whole top would come off in my hand, lol! Ithink I'll stick with milk jugs or at least use tape on the soda bottles!

:)
Dee

Jenfee,
I don't do the "window" thing on my jugs. I just cut them "Grover-style" 1-2 inches away from the handle on each side. I can't be bothered with the window thing. Too hard for me to get the seedlings out, and I can't reuse the jug after I've attacked it with the X-acto knife trying to get the seedlings out.
Hey, Fairydancer,
I don't know if you WSed Delphs in previous years, but mine took a while last year. I put it in the ground in late summer, early fall. It's coming up again where I transplanted it.
I'm sowing more Delphs this year, but I got them out late. They aren't up yet.
Linda

I must preface that this is my first year so I am not one to really make a call BUT... I am not one to not share so....

My favorite is the deep lasagne pan.... with the plastic lid... I could hardly get the lettuce out fast enough .. and I could see inside easily without opening. I put duct tape tabs on either side - top, to bottom, folding under enough to keep the flats protected.

My second favorite is 2 LT bottles, easy to check on.... hard to water though... I think best for small seeds destined for HUNK OF SEEDLING planting.

Milk jugs are #3... I just do not think they get enough light... the opaque coloring. I planted the same snap dragon seeds in a 2 LT and in a milk jug, the sprouts in the 2 LT HAD to be planted out today, the others, in the milk jug, are no where near ready....

I think I am going to like alyssum in tomato containers... they are still small but... I think the hunk of seedlings plan will be perfect with these containers!

Also, I must add, I am starting my vegetable gardens and am going to try to cover my dill, marigolds, parsely, and basil seeds with pop, water, etc bottles... "mini greenhouses!" I removed the bottoms, put additional air / water holes in the top, 2 holes in the bottom of the open bottom to stick nails though to hold the containers in place in the ground until the seeds germinate.

NBD but... I used my new electric scissors to prep the bottles and the best part was my new soldering iron! Too bad I blew it out today, I am hoping it was a cheap thing that couldn't stand up to my needs BUT for the holes it melted in my bottles for ventilation and hydration all I can say is WOOZEERS!!! ZIPPY QUICK!

Isn't gardening such fun?!

This is my first year, but I also noticed the seeds planted in the milk jugs did the best. Worst were clear plastic lettuce containers--the first strong sun sizzled some of my sprouts. BUT... I have another favorite container, made of the same transluscent plastic as milk jugs but it's a 5 gallon oil jug from the local Chinese restaurant. Because there is a lot of room in it, it seems to moderate the heat/chill very well. In one jug I sprouted chrysanthemum, coreopsis and larkspur.
Let's hope they transplant well too
Peace
George