Home-Made Net Cups for Starting Seeds

Larry Hall, inventor of the Rain Gutter Grow System, discovered that seeds started in perforated cups, such as the net cups used in hydroponics, grow amazingly faster and larger than seeds planted in standard cups or trays.

While net cups are not expensive, free is better so I came up with my own version: Peachy Net Cups.

I made these from diced peaches cups, though they are available with several different varieties of fruit. The holes were made by heating a Phillips screwdriver on my gas stove burner and then melting the holes all round the cup. You can make slits rather than holes if you prefer, though that would probably be easier using a soldering iron rather than having to keep reheating the screwdriver constantly.

I can fit several of these cups onto a Styrofoam tray such as those from packaged meat from the grocery store. (I clean the trays first by thoroughly washing in very hot water and anti-bacterial dish soap.) These cups, filled with seed starting mix or potting soil, fit conveniently on the trays and slide easily beneath my PVC grow light.

Before planting seeds, thoroughly wet the potting mix either by carefully watering from the top or by pouring a couple of inches of water into the tray and letting the cups sit in the water until it is absorbed. Repeat until the potting mix is damp but not water-logged. Now just plant your seeds following the directions on the packet. Keep the potting soil damp until your seeds sprout.