How To Make A Mini Greenhouse

Spring is here which means it is time to get your garden ready! Start your seeds growing in a mini greenhouse. Your kids will love to make their own mini greenhouse and watch their seeds start growing. 

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Every spring my kids and I enjoy starting our garden seeds growing in our homemade mini-greenhouses. It is super simple to make your own little greenhouse and a good lesson in science for your kids to watch and see how long it takes for the seeds to begin growing into small plants.

Throughout the winter they collect seeds from some of the foods we eat, like cantaloupe, pumpkins, peppers and beans, and try to grow plants from them. We also make it a point to get some packets of seeds from the store just in case the ones we have on hand don't work.

We live in Michigan so the last day for frost can be hard to determine! In an effort to grow seeds but not let them die from a late frost we made our own mini greenhouses to help protect the baby seeds. 

DIY Mini Greenhouse Tutorial 

Here are the materials you will need to get started making your own mini greenhouse:

• cardboard egg carton(s) (link for biodegradable empty cartons)
• bag of good quality potting soil
• disposable aluminum lasagna pan + lid (clear plastic) 
• seeds 
• popsicle sticks
• Sharpie marker
• clear nail polish (optional)

Tutorial

To begin have your child fill up each of the egg carton sections with potting soil then poked their finger into the middle of the dirt to create a little hole. 

Sprinkled a seed or two into the hole then covered the seed with dirt and spritzed the soil with water. Make sure you don't flood the dirt/seedling.

After the seeds are planted in the egg cartons, fill the disposable tin pan with about 1 inch of water. Place the egg cartons in the tin pans and then put the clear plastic lid on.

Tip - Keep track of what kind of seeds are planted in each row by making your own seed markers. Popsicle sticks and a sharpie marker are all you need to mark the rows. If you are worried the sharpie will fade put a coat of clear nail polish over the sharpie writing to protect it from water. 

You now have your very own mini-greenhouse!

I usually set our mini-greenhouses outside during the afternoon so the sun can warm it up and get those little seeds to germinate.

If there is a chance of frost I just bring the mini-greenhouses inside to stay warm at night.

Windy day? no problem - put a large rock on top of the plastic lid so that it doesn't blow off - you could even put a large rubber band around the entire pan + lid.

Tip - You don't need to open up the mini-green house very often since the water that evaporates will just accumulate on the lid and then fall back into the soil to keep it moist.

Once the plants are big enough and the risk of frost is not longer a problem you can start planting your seedlings into a garden or pots.

Since you used cardboard egg cartons that have been soaking inside your mini-greenhouse the cardboard by this time will be soggy and easy to tear. No need to throw away the egg carton or pull your plants out of the egg carton - they are biodegradable! Yeah!

Instead just tear apart each of the egg cups that contain the soil and seedling and plant it right into your garden.

Happy Earth Day everyone - now get out and start planting!!

Nature Inspired Crafts E-book

Are you looking for more inspiring and easy to do nature projects to do with your kids?  Check out this great arts & crafts ebook, Secret Garden Crafts: 10 Nature Inspired Craft Projects,  I wrote and published on Amazon!

Click to purchase here

Included in this e-book are ten nature inspired craft projects that use simple supplies easily found around your house.  Step by step instructions and a picture of the final project are included to help you create something special.  All of the crafts in this book were inspired by nature, classical literature and the characters found within these classical books.  

As you read books like The Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables or maybe Alice in Wonderland and do the crafts in this e-book the stories are sure to become more memorable and truly come alive!