growing seedlings from egg cartons

about a month ago i brought a pile of used cardboard egg cartons to my neighbor, Monica's, home with a bag of seeds.  some jr. youth had brought a large bag of rich soil for us to use.  we started sprinkling soil and a seed into each egg holder and by the time we were done, we had made about 10 cartons' worth of seeds.

the benefit of growing them first in the egg cartons is to prevent the possibility of chickens coming and eating the seeds out of the garden before they have sprouted.  the family kept the cartons in a sunny area where the chickens couldn't fly to them; they also chose a place very close to where they hang out so when the rain came suddenly, they were able to quickly manage bringing them into shelter.

Monica's family took on the responsibility of caring for the seeds.  they watered them daily and within 2 weeks they had begun the process of transplanting the seedlings into their own keyhole garden which was made by Emil and Magdelene, ages 12 and 10 respectively.  it isn't a true keyhole garden but they tried their best and it is serving, for the first time in their family, as a formal garden dedicated to growing food.  it is simply beautiful.  the seedlings have taken root and are thriving now in Ghana's rainy season..

adjacent keyhole gardens made by Emil and Magdelene

Monica tilling the garden and removing weeds; beans plants are growing in the foreground

tomato seedlings growing in a cluster; the kids will transplant them to the completed keyhole garden across the road

Monica decided to replant some of the carrots i gave her to see if they'll grow bigger