How to Build a Tabletop Greenhouse From a Plastic Food Container
Experienced gardeners will tell you that the two key ingredients to getting your seeds to sprout quickly and grow heartily are heat and humidity. Gardening catalogs sell a wide variety of countertop or windowsill greenhouses designed to give your seedlings a head start, but they can often be pricey. Instead, consider making your own seedling greenhouse from recycled materials. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Evaluate your container for growing seedlings. Ideally, the container should be big enough to house the seedling until it is ready to be transplanted into its pot or into the ground. Because certain plants grow larger than others, find out how tall of a container you will need. The top of the container should be tall enough to accommodate the plant until it has grown true leaves. The bottom of the container needs to be deep enough to hold enough soil to allow the plant to grow a healthy root system, or to hold the individual containers in which you will plant your seeds.
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Settle on a container. Some ideas for greenhouses include: clear deli salad containers, foil cake or roasting pans with clear lids, cake containers, fast-food containers and catering containers with clear plastic lids. Anything that is large enough to house your plant and has a clear plastic lid can be used in this project.
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Wash your food container with mild dish soap and water. Once all of the food and debris are removed, rinse it in a simple bleach-and-water solution to kill soil-contaminating bacteria. Dry the container thoroughly.
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Using your solderer, scissors or craft knife, create pencil-eraser-sized air vents every few inches along the side of the clear plastic lid. This will ensure ventilation and help prevent mold or damping off.
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Create a small flap in the top of the container, about 1 inch square. You can do this by drawing a square and cutting on only three of its sides. If you container is too thick or hard to make a flap, cut out a small square. This flap can be closed or the opening covered with a square of wet paper towel to adjust the amount of air that comes in and out of the greenhouse.
This step is optional. If you chose not to follow it, the lid to the greenhouse can be propped open at various angles to allow more air flow.
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Add potting mix or seedling cups to your completed greenhouse. Close the lid and place the greenhouse in a warm place. If you have too much condensation or start to see mold, you need more ventilation. Try adding more air holes, propping the greenhouse open or opening the top flap.
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Tips & Warnings
Bottom heat will speed up germination. Try placing your greenhouse on a seedling heat mat.
Some people prefer to use heating pads to provide bottom heat. Heating pads vary, and it is difficult to get a consistent temperature using one. Also, they are not made to get wet, and some are not meant to be used for long periods of time. All of this adds up to one big fire hazard. Exercise extreme caution when using a heating pad in place of a heat mat.
