DIY Garden Gifts: Seed Starting Kits

By Amanda Shepard

As you probably know, there’s nothing better than getting a gift that grows. With Valentine’s Day and spring just around the corner, we thought it would be fun to put together DIY Garden Gifts for friends, significant others, kids, and more. These seed starting kits are super easy and affordable to make. They can be customized to fit your creativity and personal style. This is a fun project for a cold winter afternoon, and also a great activity to do with children.

The complete seed starting kits can be started on a sunny windowsill 4-8 weeks before the last frost in your area, depending on the variety. Our seed packets offer easy-to-grow wildflower, vegetable, and herb seeds, and can make even a novice gardener feel like they have a green thumb.

See the materials and instructions below for DIY Seed Starting Kits! Plus, take a look at four ideas for seed kit themes, including Easy Pollinator Garden, My First Garden, Valentine's Day, and Easy Veggie & Herb Seed Kits.

• Materials For DIY Seed Starting Kits 
• Instructions For Making Seed Starting Kits
• 4 Ideas For Seed Kits
• Tips For Starting Seeds
• Shop Seed Packets

Depending on who will receive your seed starting kits, there are endless themes to choose from! Below are four ideas using some of our most popular seed packets.

Easy Pollinator Garden: Featuring our Bee Happy, Let’s Grow A Butterfly Garden, and Feed The Bees Seed Packets. Whether you're gardening on acres of land, or gardening on a balcony, we can all make a difference when it comes to supporting pollinators.

My First Garden: Featuring our Little Sprouts, My First Garden, Zinnia, and Sunflower Packets. A great activity for kids, or beginning gardeners of any age.

Valentine’s Day Garden: Featuring our Love Is All You Seed, Let Love Grow, and Cosmos Seed Packets. A great alternative (or addition) to the typical candy-focused valentines!

Easy Veggie & Herb Garden: Featuring our Basil, Parsley, Tomato, and Cucumber Seed Packets. A tasty gift that can be used to add some flavor to your friends' cooking! These popular veggies and herbs can be grown in garden beds or containers.

Using the kit is as easy as it looks:

1. Simply fill each cell of the carton with seed starting mix
2. Sprinkle 2-3 seeds per cell and spray with a water bottle.
3. Place this in a warm, sunny spot in your home and keep moist.
4. Once there’s no more threat of frost in the spring, cut the cells apart and place each one directly in the ground (egg carton and all).
5. Provide supplemental water regularly until sprouts have reached a few inches in height.

Learn more about starting garden seeds in these helpful articles:

• How To Start Wildflower Seeds Indoors
• How To Start Vegetable Seeds Indoors

by Amanda

As you probably know, there’s nothing better than getting a gift that grows. With Valentine’s Day and spring just around the corner, we thought it would be fun to put together DIY Garden Gifts for friends, significant others, kids, and more. These seed starting kits are super easy — and inexpensive — to make and can be customized to fit your creativity and personal style. This is a fun project for a cold winter afternoon and also a great activity to do with your children.

The complete seed starting kits can be started on a sunny windowsill 4-8 weeks before the last frost in your area, depending on the variety. Just like most wildflowers, the seed packets you include with your kit are extremely easy-to-grow and can make even a novice gardener feel like they have a green thumb.

DIY Garden Gifts: Supplies

The supplies for these Seed Starting Kits can be found on our website, around the house and at your local craft store for just a few dollars.

Materials Needed For Seed Starting Kits:

• Seed Packets
• Egg Cartons
• Seed Starting Soil
• Plastic baggies
• Twine or ribbon
• Notecards or index cards
• Fun stickers or other materials for decorating

Diy Garden Gifts: Putting Your Kits Together

Depending on who you’re giving your seed starting kit to, there are endless themes to choose from. The four kits we made were:

Easy Pollinator Garden: Featuring our Bee Happy, Let’s Grow A Butterfly Garden, and Feed The Bees Seed Packets.

Valentine’s Day Garden: Featuring our Love Is All You Seed, Let Love Grow, and Cosmos Seed Packets.

My First Garden: Featuring our Little Sprouts, My First Garden, Zinnia, and Sunflower Packets.

Easy Veggie & Herb Garden: Featuring our Basil, Parsley, Tomato, and Cucumber Seed Packets.

Once you’ve figured out the themes you want to use and have your seed packets in hand, simply follow these steps to make your Seed Starting Kit:

1. Cut a full sized egg carton in half using a serrated knife. Clean up any rough edges with a pair of scissors.

2. Fill ziploc bags about ⅓ to ½ full of seed starting soil.

3. Write the name of your garden on a tag that will go on the outside of the kit and on a notecard for inside. Add any growing instructions you’d like on the note card (although our packets do have instructions on the back). Decorate these with stickers, colorful writing, and more. Have fun!

4. Place your soil bag inside the egg carton with the notecard and seed packets. Close the carton.

5. Use ribbon or twine to wrap a bow around the closed kit and don’t forget to include your handwritten tag.

6. Decorate with stickers or however you’d like to get creative.

7. Give to your lucky friend, neighbor, significant other, or child to start their own seeds.

DIY Garden Gifts: Planting

Using the kit is as easy as it looks  — simply fill each cell of the carton with seed starting mix, sprinkle 2-3 seeds per cell and spray with a water bottle. Place this in a warm, sunny spot in your home and keep moist. Once there’s no more threat of frost in the spring, cut the cells apart and place each one directly in the ground (egg carton and all). Provide supplemental water regularly until sprouts have reached a few inches in height.