We kicked off our gardening experiment with three different seed-starting methods: a greenhouse kit with growing pellets, a single-cell seed starter using organic seed starter soil, and homemade newspaper pots, also filled with seed starter soil. The goal? To figure out which method would be the easiest to manage and the most productive. Plus, I was curious about how the greenhouse kit and the single-cell starter would perform side by side on the same shelf. We planted cucumbers, tomatoes, hot peppers, sweet peppers, and broccoli in each of the three methods to set a baseline for comparison.
For watering, we used a spray bottle to keep things gentle on the seeds and prevent disturbing the soil as they germinated. The greenhouse kit had a handy cover, while the single-cell seed starter and newspaper pots were each wrapped with cellophane to help trap heat and moisture.
Greenhouse Kit with Growing Pellets
The greenhouse kit with the growing pellets was by far the easiest and most hassle-free method. All we had to do was add water to the container, let the pellets soak and expand, and then plant one seed in each pod. After popping the lid back on, we barely had to worry about maintenance—it only needed water once or twice a week since the pellets held moisture so well. In terms of seed success, most of them sprouted—everything except for two peppers and one cucumber. I can’t fault the greenhouse kit here, though—when we checked the pods, the two pepper seeds had rotted, and the cucumber pod was empty.
Single-Cell Seed Starter with Organic Seed Starter Soil
Next, we tried the single-cell seed starter with organic seed starter soil, which was also quite effective. The prep for this method was a bit more involved than the greenhouse kit. We had to fill each individual cell with soil, making sure to sift out any larger chunks of organic material. Once that was sorted, we planted one seed per cell and watered them with our spray bottle. This method required a bit more attention, with watering about every other day. The soil held moisture well, though. In terms of results, almost all the seeds sprouted, but unfortunately, one of the broccoli plants didn’t make it.
Homemade Newspaper Pots with Organic Seed Starter Soil
The newspaper pots, while charmingly DIY, were the most time-consuming method by far. Using a tomato paste can, we rolled our own pots—20 of them, to be exact. While the process worked well, it was definitely a lot of work, and honestly, the time spent creating the pots didn’t quite pay off in the end. We’ll likely try this method again next year, though, since we suspect the pots were too tall and lacked enough soil to give the seeds a solid start. Like the others, we planted one seed per pot and watered them with the spray bottle. The tricky part was figuring out how much water they needed—some pots seemed too dry, while others felt soggy. In the end, we had 17 sprouts, but only 14 made it through to the transplant stage. The real disappointment, though, was how spindly and weak the sprouts looked compared to the other methods. To make matters worse, the newspaper started growing mushrooms by the end of it, which made watering even trickier.
Final Thoughts
Looking back, we’d say the single-cell seed starter with organic seed starter soil was the clear winner. It was the easiest to water, and the seeds had the highest success rate. Next up was the greenhouse kit, which was also simple and convenient to use, though it didn’t yield as many sprouts as the single-cell starter. Finally, the homemade newspaper pots, while the cheapest option, were the most time-consuming and didn’t produce great results. The watering issues and low yield made it a less-than-ideal choice, though we’ll give it another shot next year to make sure it wasn’t just user error.
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