DIY Low Maintenance Mini Greenhouse

 Oh my word you can't imagine how much I miss Creekside. Not only did I learn a lot but the freedom I had with that job I will likely never have again. I am staying home today because Scarlett needs to go to the vet, I think she has urine scald on her legs from a UTI and she has been scratching her ears and I have a feeling she transferred some of the yuckiness to her ears and got a slight ear infection. So send prayers for a quick recovery. Her being a rescue she is scared of new things and I just want the vet trip to go smoothly so she can start healing. I am bringing the babies, too so we can tell what gender they are- they need to get separated in the next 2 weeks if not sooner. 

So, I thought it was a good time to get this going. March 1st down here in the South is pretty hot and it sure does feel like planting season. This little greenhouse plan is really pretty easy if you have some scrap wood. You want to build it about 10-12 inches tall, the rest of the length and width are up to you. In this one I think we had it 4 foot long and about 3 foot wide. You can use plywood, particle board or whatever you got that's big enough as the bottom. You want a box without a top. Then you need to get some thick, clear plastic. Almost like a big clear trash bag but you can get this in a roll at a home improvement store. You want this to line the bottom and the sides of the box with this and staple it near the top on the sides. You don't want staples too far down because this will get a few inches of water put in there for easy watering and humidity. It should look like the picture below. 

Once this is done, you can grab some pots with holes in them- we save all our greenhouse plastic pots to reuse for this. Mix up some soil and fill the pots. 

Then plant your seeds of whatever you want. Water the seeds from the top and fill the greenhouse bed with about 2-3 inches of water. This lets the soil soak it up from the bottom making it humid and wet for the seed to sprout. Then we attached a layer of the clear plastic to one of the long sides by staples, this time staple it on the outside of the wood not where there is already plastic. Then unroll enough to hang over the other long side about a foot. That is where you can attach it to a long piece of wood to weigh it down- I just used staples again. This board not only weighs the side down but I like to use it to roll the plastic back when I need to check o  the plants, put more plants in or water again. 

If you don't like the flat look- I like it just because it is easier to start plants- or you want some taller plants you can get some flexible rods and make a dome shape to drape the plastic on like this picture from offgridworld.com. I just checked and Amazon.com also sells dome tops. 

Whatever you choose to do, it feels like now is the time to start prepping for Spring planting. This is a very easy way to start plants from seed without spending a lot of time or money. 

The verse is, "He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches." - Matthew 13:31-32. 

-Nichole💜