Gardening update; and things you can use to start seeds

I've now used a bunch of different things to start seedlings in, and I can now safely proclaim there is absolutely no reason to buy seed-starting trays, or tiny plastic containers, or tiny biodegradable containers. Or anything, really, other than seeds and potting soil.

Best of all, you already have all these things. Start saving them now, and next year you'll have a whole stockpile of seed-starting things to choose from. Just be sure to cut or punch holes in the bottoms of all these things, for drainage. (And clean them out first.)

Yogurt/sour cream containers
Non-styrofoam egg cartons, with half a cleaned, whole eggshell in each depression
Grapefruit and orange halves (eat the fruit first)
Bottoms of milk jugs and plastic soda/water bottles
Paper cups
Toilet paper tubes (fold the bottom under to make a little cup)
Paper towel tubes, cut in half (see above)
Cleaned out food and coffee cans (any size)
Cleaned out soda cans, cut in half
Those plastic tubs mushrooms come in
Plastic take-out containers
I even repurposed some random, lidless Tupperware.

You can also make cute little containers out of newspaper.

So far, I can't tell any difference between growing things in these containers and the fancy seed-starting kits. So it's a win-win: you don't have to buy anything special, thereby saving money, AND you keep all of these things out of the landfill.