6 Best Diy Easter Egg Planters For Children’S Gardens That Anyone Can Make
Explore 6 simple ways to create DIY Easter egg planters for a child’s garden. This guide shows how to upcycle eggshells into tiny, biodegradable pots.
Spring on a small farm always feels like a fresh start, but getting kids involved can be a challenge. You need projects that are quick, engaging, and deliver a tangible result before their attention wanders. That’s where turning leftover Easter eggs into miniature planters comes in—it’s the perfect intersection of a fun craft and a real-deal gardening lesson.
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Prep Your Workspace with Crayola Washable Paints
Before you even think about seeds, think about the mess. Setting up a kid-friendly workspace is non-negotiable if you want to keep your sanity. Cover your kitchen table with old newspaper or a cheap plastic tablecloth.
The key here is using the right tool for the job. Crayola Washable Paints are your best friend for this project. They’re non-toxic, designed for little hands, and most importantly, they clean up with a damp cloth. This isn’t the time for fancy acrylics; you want a stress-free activity, not a permanent art installation on your floor.
Have a roll of paper towels and a small bowl of water handy. Let the kids paint faces, stripes, or polka dots on the outside of the clean, empty eggshells. Once they’re decorated and completely dry, you’re ready for the soil and seeds.
A Simple Start: Giggles Organic Cress Egg Heads
If you need a project with a fast, guaranteed payoff, start with cress. A child’s interest in gardening is directly tied to how quickly they see something happen. Cress delivers on that promise, sprouting in just a few days.
The "egg head" concept is a classic for a reason. After painting a face on the eggshell, the sprouting cress becomes its green "hair." It’s a simple, visual gag that kids absolutely love. We use Giggles Organic cress seeds because they have great germination rates and you know they’re safe.
To plant, carefully fill the decorated shell about three-quarters full with moist potting soil or even just a few damp cotton balls. Sprinkle the cress seeds on top and gently press them down. Place the egg in an egg carton on a sunny windowsill and wait—you’ll likely see green shoots in two to three days.
These hypoallergenic, 100% cotton balls are ideal for makeup application, skincare, baby care, and household cleaning. Each pack includes 200 soft and absorbent cotton balls.
Marigold Magic: Ferry-Morse ‘Petite Gold’ Eggs
Once you’ve had success with cress, graduating to a flowering plant is the next logical step. Marigolds teach a different kind of lesson: patience. They take longer to germinate and grow, showing kids the full life cycle from seed to bloom.
The trick is choosing the right variety. You can’t stick a giant ‘Crackerjack’ marigold in an eggshell. A dwarf variety like Ferry-Morse ‘Petite Gold’ is perfect because its compact size won’t overwhelm the tiny planter in the early stages.
Fill your decorated eggshell with potting mix, press a single marigold seed about a quarter-inch deep, and water it gently. This project introduces the concept of thinning; if you plant two seeds and both sprout, you’ll have to explain why you need to snip the weaker one to give the other a better chance. It’s a fundamental, if sometimes tough, gardening lesson.
Fragrant Fun: Burpee ‘Genovese’ Basil Planters
Gardening isn’t just a visual activity; it’s a sensory one. Introducing herbs like basil brings the sense of smell and taste into the equation, creating a much richer experience for a child. The moment they rub a leaf and smell that fresh basil aroma is a powerful connection to the plant.
We like starting with a classic like Burpee ‘Genovese’ Basil. It’s a vigorous grower with that unmistakable pesto scent. The process is the same as with the marigolds: fill the shell with soil, plant a seed or two, and keep it moist in a sunny spot.
This project’s real magic comes later. When the basil is big enough, you can help your child pinch off a leaf to put on a slice of pizza or into a sauce. This closes the loop, demonstrating that gardening isn’t just for looks—it’s for the kitchen, too.
Quick Greens: True Leaf Market Radish Sprout Eggs
For another fast-growing edible, radish sprouts are a fantastic choice. They offer a different experience than cress, with a surprisingly zesty, peppery flavor that can be a fun culinary adventure for kids. It shows that even tiny plants can have big personalities.
Sources like True Leaf Market offer seeds specifically for sprouting, which ensures high germination and safety. Unlike basil or marigolds, you’ll want to sow these seeds quite densely over the soil surface in your eggshell. Just barely cover them with a fine layer of soil.
Like cress, these will sprout in a matter of days. You can harvest them with a small pair of scissors when they are just an inch or two tall. They make a great topping for salads or sandwiches, giving kids a sense of pride that they contributed a zesty ingredient to the family meal.
Elmer’s Glue-All Mosaic Shell Planters
Painting isn’t the only way to decorate. This method teaches resourcefulness by using the waste from the project itself. When you crack eggs to empty them, save the broken shell pieces.
You can dye these pieces or leave them their natural color. Let your child crush them into smaller, mosaic-sized bits. Then, using a small paintbrush and Elmer’s Glue-All, they can "paint" a section of the planter egg with glue and sprinkle the crushed shells on top to create a textured, colorful mosaic.
This is a fantastic fine-motor-skill activity that happens before you even bring soil into the picture. It reinforces the idea that you can make something beautiful out of something you might have otherwise thrown away. Let the glue dry completely overnight before you consider planting.
Dyeing Your Planters with McCormick Food Colors
If you want a classic Easter look, you can’t beat simple food coloring dye. It’s a quick, low-cost method that most people already have in their pantry. This is perfect for a last-minute project when you don’t have paints on hand.
The process is straightforward. In a cup or bowl, mix a few drops of McCormick Food Colors with about a half-cup of warm water and a teaspoon of white vinegar. The vinegar is the key—it helps the color bind to the calcium in the eggshell.
Submerge your clean, empty eggshells in the dye for five to ten minutes, or until they reach the desired color. Carefully remove them with a spoon or tongs and let them dry completely on a wire rack. While the color may not be as vibrant or permanent as paint, it’s a perfectly safe and fun way to add a splash of color to your planters.
Transplanting with Miracle-Gro Potting Mix
Miracle-Gro Potting Mix feeds container plants for up to 6 months, promoting more blooms and vibrant color. This bundle includes two 8-quart bags, ideal for annuals, perennials, vegetables, herbs, and shrubs.
The most important lesson an eggshell planter teaches is that living things need room to grow. An eggshell is a nursery, not a permanent home. Once your basil or marigold seedling has its first set of "true leaves" (the second set that appears), it’s time to move up.
The beauty of an eggshell planter is its biodegradability. You don’t need to remove the seedling. Simply give the shell a gentle squeeze to crack it all over, allowing the roots an easy escape path. This is a crucial step; otherwise, the roots may become bound.
Then, plant the entire cracked shell and seedling into a larger pot or directly into your garden bed. Using a quality soil like Miracle-Gro Potting Mix will provide the nutrients the young plant needs to handle the shock of transplanting and thrive. The eggshell itself will break down over time, adding valuable calcium to the soil right where the plant needs it.
Ultimately, these tiny planters are about more than just a holiday craft. They are a hands-on lesson in patience, life cycles, and the satisfaction of nurturing something from a single seed. It’s a small project with a big impact, creating a connection to the garden that can last a lifetime.
