Carton Gardening is a wonderful, eco-friendly way to recycle old products and grow vegetables, herbs and flowering plants for your home! Taking steps to recycle and reuse are rewarding and great for our environment. This project requires minimal supplies and a friendly home.

This is a great way to start plant growth before transplanting your plants outside or into larger planters.

Step 1: Gather Your Materials

1. Save cartons or contact friends, families, and organizations for donations. Cartons are easy to come by if you purchase milk, cream, juice or other products in cartons at your local supermarket.

2. Purchase soil and seeds at your local garden center or hardware store.

3. Prepare an environment that will receive an adequate amount of sunlight. This could be indoors or outdoors.

4. If choosing an outdoor environment, make sure to safeguard the area from animals.

Step 2: The Planting

Make sure to clean your cartons with water (Do NOT use soap) and allow them to dry for 24 hours. After the drying period of time, gather your supplies, including soil, seeds and containers.

For each container, fill them 2/3 of the way (use your judgment as cartons may vary in size depending on your resources) with soil. Vegetable and flower friendly potting soil is recommended.

Place 2-3 seeds spread out in your container. Cover them with soil, making sure to pay attention to the top soil depth required by the plant you are planting. Many seeds require 1/4 inch of top soil. Water the container after planting carefully to make soil saturated. Do NOT over water. An indication of over watering is pooling in the container.

Step 3: Plant Upkeep

Make sure to place the containers so that they receive an adequate amount of sunlight.

Follow planting instructions on seed packets for watering instructions. Most plants need water every two days, but make require a soil check (utilize fingers to test top soil moisture) regularly to ensure the success of the seeds.

Once plants have sprouted, prune them (remove unhealthy or weak plants) to ensure healthy growth.

Step 4: Enjoy Your Garden!

The final step to this project is to enjoy all of your hard work and the beautiful plants you grow. Keep in mind that plants will need to be transplanted outside or into larger planters as they grow.

Happy gardening!