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If you live in the Kansas City area like I do, Mother Nature has been less than kind to our area. At eight o'clock this morning, my thermometer registered 29 degrees. The forecasters predict that at the same time tomorrow morning our temps won't be much above 20. It's very frustrating for gardeners, farmers, etc, who grit their teeth at a 70 degree March, knowing frost is inevitable in April. So much for that. Since we can't get outside and garden, let's talk about indoor gardening.
Most people refrain from starting outdoor plants indoors because they lack space. I pot up so many decorative hanging baskets, urns, and planters that I have to start seedlings inside. As always, I have more trays than I have natural light and have to rely on grow lights for the majority of what I start in the house. And, my dining room and dining room table are occupied from the first of March until the first of May.
I'm always looking for another way to take advantage of the natural light coming into the house. Regular seed trays won't fit on the sill of a normal house window. They are just too wide. I set up TV trays right in front of the windows for them. But then recently, while I was looking for one thing in the garage, I happened upon another---my old wallpaper tray. I do my own wallpapering so I always have a tray stored in the garage and the minute I laid eyes on it, I knew it was meant for a dual purpose.
If your house has 2X6 walls as mine does, your window sills are probably around six inches wide. Check it out. If so, a regular wallpaper tray will fit perfectly on any sill whose window is at least 32 inches wide. The average wallpaper tray is 6 inches wide by 32 inches long. The tray has a nice depth and will collect excess water without doing any damage to wooden sills. You can fit quite a few seedling trays and/or peat pots in a wallpaper tray.
