Using K-Cups for Seed Starters

food

I’m not sure if my husbands frugality is rubbing off on me or if I just hate to see things go to waste, but I had a genius idea a few months ago. Part of my idea came from my mother’s newest obsession – her Keurig. She loves that thing. [LOVES IT.] The thing with the Keurig is that every time you want a cup of coffee you have to use a new pod, or K-cup. She would have stacks and stacks of these cute little empty pods just sitting on her counter leftover from the week. I hated to see her throw them away so I decided to start our garden with them!

Use your old k-cups to start your garden

Last month I took home two gallon sized bags full of empty K-cups to start our garden. Well, they weren’t completely empty. The Keurig pokes a hole through the top foil wrapper and the bottom plastic and water filters through the grounds. So the grounds are still in the pods when we got them. The kids and I spent one afternoon taking off the foil wrapper and emptying the cups with little spoons. They had a blast and it was a great afternoon activity for all of us.

After the kids emptied the K-cups I put them in a hot water/vinegar bath in the sink for an hour or so. I wanted to kill any bacteria and lower the acidity of any leftover coffee grounds. [ Yes, that’s a tower of empty K-cups, cute daughter, messy fridge and one silly pup named Brewster.]

I picked up two basic window planters from Home Depot and was excited that two K-cups fit perfectly next to each other in it. [These window planters are similar to what we bought.] I was able to fit two rows of 12 little pods in the planter. We added a tiny bit of soil to the empty pods before adding the seeds. Then we completely covered the pods with a few inches of soil.

I’m excited to see how easy our seedlings transplant in the next week or so. They seem to love their little recycled homes as much as I do. Ok, maybe I love their little homes a bit more. The K-cups have worked perfectly, especially since their is a hole at the bottom for drainage. I think that may be my favorite part. Now, I just need ideas for what to do with the other gallon sized baggies of empty K-cups I have sitting in my house.

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Kelley

Hey y'all!I'm Kelley. I'm a recipe making, picture taking, coffee drinking momma to 4 crazy kiddos. Join me as I share our family favorite dinners and my copycat coffee drinks too!

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Comments

Breenah says

March 18, 2014 at 8:28 am

That;s so smart!

Reply
- Kelley says
  
  March 18, 2014 at 9:16 pm
  
  Thats Breenah! I thought so too 😉
Crystal says

March 18, 2014 at 1:58 pm

What a great idea!! I’ve been toying with the idea of a herb garden ever since your post. We have at least 6-8 keurig cup things a day that I could use. Thanks for the awesome idea!!

P.S. How is your natural hair shampoo going? I’ve been curious about it 🙂

Reply
- Kelley says
  
  March 18, 2014 at 9:14 pm
  
  Yes! Use those K-cups for your seeds. They would be perfect for a little herb garden too!
  
  And its been good. I alternate between that and a natural shampoo and conditioner I found recently. Im happy with it!
Marlys (This and That) says

March 19, 2014 at 4:40 pm

I have thought of using the k-cups that way but also was going to keep the coffee in as I do put coffee grounds in my garden … may give it a try and see what happens.

Reply
- Kelley says
  
  March 19, 2014 at 10:00 pm
  
  Oh yes! Let me know how the coffee grounds go! I put them in my compost (thats goes into my garden) but I didn’t want to put the seed directly in the grounds. It may work out great though!
Vicky says

March 22, 2014 at 11:00 am

Love the k-cup gardening!

Reply
- Kelley says
  
  March 24, 2014 at 12:08 pm
  
  Thanks so much Vicky!
Adelina Priddis says

March 22, 2014 at 11:06 pm

Look at you go – little sprouts already! I’ve been itching to start planting, but I have to wait until I can plan it with my mom…since it is her garden I’m using this year.
And fyi, posts like this are always welcome on Foodie Friday! Food Waste turned to garden planting gives you more food 🙂 It works for me at least. Thanks for stopping by again this week.

Reply
- Kelley says
  
  March 24, 2014 at 12:04 pm
  
  My sprouts keep on growing! I can’t wait to transplant them soon. What are you planning on planting in your garden this year? 🙂
- Adelina Priddis says
  
  March 24, 2014 at 12:11 pm
  
  Oh the basics. Lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, peppers. I haven’t had the time to get with my mom and really plan it all out though. I like doing corn, but I’m not sure she has the space for it.
- Kelley says
  
  March 24, 2014 at 12:12 pm
  
  That’s still exciting! Hope you have lots and lots of fresh veggies!
Faith Lohr says

March 24, 2014 at 10:05 pm

What a wonderful idea. 🙂 I don’t have a Keurig (gasp!) but if I did I would definitely use this idea! 🙂 I usually use my old egg cartons.

I found this post through the Tip Me Tuesday party! 🙂

Reply
- Kelley says
  
  March 26, 2014 at 11:46 pm
  
  Egg cartons work great too! And I don’t have Keurig either.. my mom does and I take all her cups 🙂
jess says

May 20, 2014 at 12:46 am

That is a great idea! We usually just empty them and wash them out. Then, we fill them with more coffee and put a piece of foil securely on top. It saves us so much money. Plus all of our cups are not just getting thrown in the trash.

Reply
- Kelley says
  
  May 20, 2014 at 1:31 pm
  
  Ohh.. Ill have to tell my mom to try the foil trick! That would save so much money! Thanks Jess 🙂