One thing that may be a good distraction for families & Kids until the Covid-19 pandemic has past:
Milk Jug Greenhouse.jpg
This 'milk jug greenhouse' has a base for rooting cuttings. My bay tree has had a few propagations this way. A lot of grapes and wisteria have also been propagated this way.
It is easier to make one for sprouting seeds by cutting the bottom of the jug about 2" up the side. Drill holes in the bottom. Slit the corners of the top to allow the top to fit inside the bottom.
If adults do the cutting and drilling or supervise kids doing the hard parts, then the kids will likely enjoy planting seeds. Grow some flowers too to bring a little color to life.
Other size jugs can be used.
In a gallon jug it is easy to start from five to nine tomato plants. They should be transplanted when they are about 4" tall. My mother always said tomatoes like to be roughed up a bit. One time growing beans from transplants it seemed all of my bush beans from transplants did better than those started in garden rows.
There are other ways to work on the jug so the bottom can be removed for plants that are sensitive to transplant. For plants like zucchini it might be better to cut the jug bottom a little higher and pre-slit the bottom. Then the jug bottom could be set on the ground while a few final cuts remove the base. The remaining sides of the jug may provide some protection from insect activity.
Most of the time it seems these do fine if set in a tray of water until the soil saturates. Then it can be checked by removing the cap and looking in on the plants.
We can not predict the future, but my feeling is people with 'victory gardens' might help us all in the long run.
jtk
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