Standard seedling trays have 50, 72, or 128 sections or ‘plugs’ you can fill with soil to start seeds. The bigger plugs are best for crops that have large root systems early on, like tomatoes, squash, and okra. The smaller plugs are great for plants that don’t need a lot of soil space to get started, like lettuces. You can find them from suppliers like Johnny’s Selected Seeds in Maine or most hardware stores.

But you don’t necessarily need to buy trays. If you want to save money and reduce the amount of plastics you’re buying, there are endless options for repurposing items while sacrificing little in the quality of your seedlings. In the past, I’ve used egg cartons, plastic ‘clamshell’ take-out containers, coffee cans, and more. Basically, all you need is something to hold your soil in place. Paper egg cartons can be especially good for your plants, as you can put the whole cup right in the ground when transplanting- the paper will just degrade!