K-cup Seed Starting

I work in an office, and offices nowadays have K-cup machines. AKA individual little plastic thingies to make coffee that aren't recyclable or compostable. But - they are reusable!

I've had a jar next to the coffee machine for the last month or so, asking people to save their cups for me. I've been taking them home and prepping a week's worth or so at a time.

Cut the top off (which is recyclable metal, if your recycling center will take small pieces), scrape out the coffee grounds (and put them in the compost), and you're left with a paper filter inside of a little plastic container that has a built-in drainage hole. Perfect!

I lined them up on a seed tray set in a clear tote (which works as a mini greenhouse), added potting soil and seeds, and gave them a good watering.

For even more re-use fun, I cut old twist ties in half and used them as color-coded seed markers. Since I'm starting a lot of tomatoes, I put a dozen or so in their own "greenhouse" - a salad container that my mom saved for me.

A nice part about the cups, since the liner stops a few mm above the plastic, if there's a little bit of water in the bottom of the tray you don't have to worry about the dirt sitting in water - they're already elevated. AND, in theory I should be able to cut out the paper and plant that directly in the ground along with the seedling.

c'mon baby tomatoes!