Make Your Own Mini Greenhouse

I always jump the gun when it comes to Spring. Last year I had fully grown lettuce plants on my windowsill in March. I just can't wait!


Sometimes my goals contradict each other. I used to buy only what I could eat because I lived in close proximity to grocery stores. Now, I have to buy monthly, rather than daily and sometimes that results in packaging waste I would rather not have to begin with. I used to buy a weekly amount of apples and leave it at that. Now, I go to Costco and purchase the apples in the clamshell packaging, which has always seemed like a huge waste to me. After the apples are eaten I'm left with a huge piece of plastic that I can't recycle because my local recycling center doesn't have a bin for plastic.


I'm a huge advocate of using "garbage" for seed starters. I've done toilet paper roll starters, cardboard milk containers and  self watering pop bottle starters. I tried with egg cartons but was not pleased with the results. I decided to try and use the clamshell packaging as mini greenhouses this year and I'm ecstatic about the results!

When I used the clamshell greenhouse, my seeds germinated in about half the time specified on the package.

How To

+ Poke holes in the bottom of the container for adequate drainage.

+ Fill the clamshells with potting soil

+Plant seeds as normal

+ Cover with lid to keep them warm

The starts will need very little water because the lid traps in so much moisture. Make sure to place in a sunny location!

Starts transplanted into self watering pop bottles.

Because the clamshell's are so shallow the starts will need to be transplanted sooner than normal. If they start to get leggy they will begin to brush up against the lid. So far I have planted hot peppers, broccoli, lettuce and spinach!

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