It is not always the growing season, and not all outdoor conditions permit the growth of different kinds of plants. Some plants also need the growing provisions of a greenhouse before you can transfer them to your outdoor plant stand.
With a touch of DIY on a small space of your choice, you can start a small garden indoors. We’re here to present an easy way to create a DIY indoor greenhouse that can help you kickstart your indoor gardening.
DIY Indoor Greenhouse for Seed-Starting
An indoor greenhouse is an inexpensive and sustainable way of propagating plants inside your house all year round. With an indoor greenhouse, you control the growing conditions for your plants and make them more accessible to you for whatever purpose they may serve.
One of the most important purposes of a greenhouse is to give seeds the boost they need to turn into highly productive foliage. Growing your seedlings can save you a lot of money from purchasing ready seedlings from a nursery.
Growing from seeds also gives you a more expansive selection of plant varieties than what a typical nursery can provide. Open up your tool organizers and prepare the required materials and equipment for the following procedure.
Materials:
- DIY shelving kit
- Reclaimed wood planks
- Cable ties
- Seed-starting containers
- Fine gravel
- Seed starter mix
- Seeds
- Recycled trays
- Water
- Plant labels
- Clear plastic film
- Clear packing tape
Equipment:
- Working gloves
- Tape measure
- Level bar
- Pencil
- Circular saw
- Power drill
- Assorted drill bits
- Screwdriver
- Grow lights
- Indoor heater
- Ice pick
- Spray bottles
- Scissors
Procedure
Before everything else, come up with a feasible game plan for your indoor greenhouse. Aside from considering your budget, understand the growing requirements of the seeds you want to grow.
Be mindful that you have to assemble separate planting cells for different plants with varying growing requirements. Some plants may require more light than others, and some seedlings won’t require heating at all.
Also, choose a growing spot with access to a power outlet, and decide whether to use a permanent or movable setup.
Step #1: Assemble Shelves
You will need your inner handyman for this particular step. If you decide to use a permanent wall spot, measure the shelving levels with a level bar, and mark the final bracket positions with a pencil.
Consider the height of your planters, the required headroom for seedling growth, and the overhead space allotment for lighting equipment. Also, consider the dimensions of the indoor heater you want to use if you need heating.
The overall dimensions of your mini greenhouse will determine the final size of your wood planks, so make measurements as precise as you can. If you don’t have a circular saw, any ordinary wood saw will do.
After measuring everything and cutting the wood to size, affix the DIY shelving brackets using the included screws with a power drill. If you need a more mobile indoor greenhouse, choose an easy-to-assemble freestanding shelf kit with casters.
Step #2: Install Lighting and Heating
Some areas within your home might not have access to natural lighting or optimal temperature levels. You won’t have to worry about providing the seedlings with the light they need to grow as long as you install artificial lighting devices. Some grow lights have built-in timers that can make your mini greenhouse more manageable.
Depending on the lighting fixture you choose, you can use screws or cable ties to affix them to the bottom side of each shelf. For heating, any small electric indoor heater will do provided that the device fits between two of the shelves.
Step #3: Assemble Your Planters
While shelving, lighting, and heating can be pretty technical, your creativity will come into play as you assemble your planters. This step can easily become a fun activity for the whole family.
You can repurpose old plastic cups and soda bottles into planters, given that they provide enough room for seedlings to sprout.
Poke small holes on the bottom of each container for drainage of excess moisture and water. If the planter material is too dense and too hard to poke with a screwdriver or ice pick, you can always use your power drill.
Fill each container with one-inch fine gravel and put in the seedling starter mix up to an inch to the brim.
Step #4: Begin Planting
Most seed packets come with easy-to-follow planting instructions, including planting depth, required lighting, heating, and watering. Follow the instructions as specified by the manufacturer, and you might just reap more than you sow. Almost all seedlings need the soil to be damp for planting.
Fill a spray bottle with water and mist the soil, but avoid overwatering. Sometimes, you have to transfer already rooted plants to another container. When doing this, take the plant out of its container and carefully shake off the old soil from the roots before replanting.
Step #5: Organize Your Plants
After potting all your seeds and plants, organize them on your shelves according to lighting, watering, and heating requirements.
If you are not sure how your plants will look as they grow, using plant labels is practical for easy identification. As you get better at identifying your plants, you can get rid of the labels gradually.
Be sure to put the pots on drainage trays if they don’t have their own trays. Doing so will save you a lot of time in tidying up any mess from watering leaks.
You can recycle used plastic plates that fit your shelves. Thoroughly soak the potted plants and allow them to drain.
Step #6: Cover the Plants
A greenhouse is not a greenhouse if you don’t give it the necessary cover for carbon dioxide accumulation and heat and moisture retention. As such, we recommend you cover your plants, especially during the cold winter months.
Transparent polyethylene sheets are an excellent option for covering a mini greenhouse. Aside from being affordable, they are easy to cut into smaller pieces with a pair of scissors.
In addition, they offer better visibility for viewing your plants without having to disturb the humidity and temperature inside your greenhouse. You can use clear packing tape to secure the upper edges of the plastic sheets.
Final Thoughts
A DIY indoor greenhouse project for seed-starting can cost you lots of cash and eat up much of your valuable time. If you follow our recommendations, you can rest assured that you spend less and see some sprouts in no time.
You can vamp up our procedures with more creative approaches to miniature indoor greenhouses, so long as you provide the necessities of your plants. With enough tools, technical know-how, and creativity, you may come up with a unique indoor greenhouse of your own.