Here is the sad update. My little test plant (which I now know I planted too soon) bent it's two little leaves to the ground and never recovered. So the rest, in the egg carton kept growing. I waited for 2 sets of leaves to appear, and THEN I put them in the ground. They now have more leaves and are obviously happy and growing. Except... There were two late "hatchers", and I let them wait. But outside. I wanted to acclimate them to the night air. HUGE mistake! I am a triple murderer now!! Those two egg shell babies, nestled in the egg carton were sitting on the edge of the jacuzzi, where there is sun in the day! Last night as I slept, a big wind came up... I woke up thinking I would go give them a drink, and they were no place to be found... Until I glanced in the jacuzzi! OMG!! The shells were broken, the egg carton was floating upside down, and I murdered two precious little seedlings!! Lesson learned!!

Thank you for your reply. I was worried about the soil volume also because I read that Sweet Peas are heavy feeders. The water is no problem. I poked a drainage hole in each egg shell before I put the potting soil in, and watered them well. They all drained out and I misted them every day to keep them damp. This morning I set one out. I broke a lot of the shell, especially the bottom and pressed damp dirt around it. It's my test plant. If it makes it through the day, I'll plant the rest tomorrow. They should be planted directly in the ground, but I was afraid the gardners would weed whack them before they bloomed. The little egg shell planters showing above the ground should give them a clue that these are MY plants and not weeds... Sigh I have a border for plants between my pool and the golf course. I can't wait to see the beauty these sweet peas will bring. I had a new one poke it's little head through the soil today, so all but one seed has "hatched." I like the fact that the egg shell will add nutrients to the soil and help my little sweet peas do what they do best, bloom and smell soooooooo sweet! My next effort in my egg shell "incubators" will be fennel seeds and nasturtium. It's very hot here (108-114 degrees average) in the summer, so I'm starting early. The heat starts in June. It rarely freezes here but I'll know from the news if it is going to freeze, and I'll cover my seedlings to protect them. And also, just so you know I never crack my eggs in the middle anymore because I want more soil volume for the seedlings. I crack the top off, let the egg slip out, rinse the shell, and THEN back in the tray it goes for my little seeds. When the eggs are all gone, I have a dozen new little pots for seeds. Since the shells are good for all plants, I use the tops mixed with my coffee grounds as a sort of mulch. My jalepeno peppers LOVE it!! Thanks again for your reply:-)

Hey all, thank you all so much for your efforts to get us out of the jamb. Its a pretty small pond and we were successful with patching a hole before but wanted to see if someone had some new tricks out there. I didn't want to invest in an entire tube of marine caulk so this time we purchased some Marine epoxy for underwater with some mesh tape for stability we will set it up and let it run for a while with out fish and then try some minnows out of the lake for a canary test. I will also put some more support under the pond as suggested. Again, thank you all for your help. We will fill with water tomorrow and see if were good to go.

I cannot see the image, either. Try submitting it through www.wunderground.com and then copy the image location once it's approved. You may have to sign up for an account (it's free). Meantime, blood is common. . .from veins around the yolk, to an exploded embryo, it happens (exploded embryo's occur in a fall from a nest, for example). At other times, predation occurs; when a crow, jay, or magpie will steal an egg, eat it and leave the shells. If Elly thinks Mourning Dove, then I am with her.