Repurposed Indoor Seedling Starter Greenhouse

For this project I decided I would get into the springtime spirit of things even though it's still just the end of January I'm longing for the days when I can get back out in the garden again. So for this project I got an idea from an old shop light. In the past I have always used a shopping bag to cover my seedlings with when I planted to get the humidity just right for the tender young plants I usually start planting in the middle of March.

Since I am all about repurposing things and making them for cheap when I had this idea I just had to do it. Ones that you buy either online or in retail locations cost upwards of 20.00. I made this one which is much bigger and more sturdy than you can get out of a plastic one for an all in cost of about 10.00.

I used things that were already lying around the house or that I was going to throw out anyway.

Gather by Materials

2- 72" X 4" Primed whitee MDF Trim Board

1- Old Florescent shop light cover clear plastic type

2 I used 2 old wood floor paneling for the bottom of the box, but you could also use some plywood if you have it on hand or any number of other mediums to make the box more sturdy

Drill

6-1 1/2 " wood screws

Duct Tape

12 1/3/8 " small wood screws

Jig saw or Circular Saw

Plastic Sheeting

Cut the white MDF board in this instance to the following specs

cut 2- 46 5/8 inch

cut 2- 15 3/8 inch

Using a measuring tape mark your pieces and make your cuts following the images above.

Use the two shorter pieces of the MDF as the end pieces for your box, stand them on the end and butt the two long pieces to the shorter pieces

Using two nails or screws on each side of the short pieces drill together. You can also use some wood glue if needed to make your box stronger and more durable after you have the box framed ensure a tight fit by placing the florescent light cover on top to make sure it fits correctly. See if there are any areas which may need some adjustment. If not we are ready for the next step.

I used two pieces of old wood flooring for this but you can use anything you may have on hand, like plywood. I attached the bottom with some 6 x 5/8" screws and spaced them about 6 to 8 inches apart all the way around the frame. Use your drill

Once the box is framed and the bottom put on place the cap back on top to ensure a good fit. This seed starting greenhouse will be used for hundreds of seedling of any type you may want to plant.

On each end of our seed greenhouse you will notice there are some gaps that show. I simply covered these up with duct tape. When the seedlings are to be aired out you can simply remove the duct tape and it will produce good airflow throughout the greenhouse.

Line the bottom and sides of the greenhouse seed starter with plastic sheeting so no water seeps through.

That's it start your seeds indoors and get them growing healthy