Create A Mini Greenhouse For Your Seeds With A Must-Try DIY

Don't make a mistake that beginning gardeners make too often and forget to start your seeds indoors to have them ready for spring planting. The best environment for germinating seeds indoors requires adequate moisture and warmth. Getting it right can be the difference between your seeds sprouting or not. It can be tricky if you live somewhere that is too dry or drafty. With a simple DIY, however, you can craft miniature greenhouses to nurture your flower and vegetable seeds into strong seedlings that can be transferred outside in the spring after the last frost. And if you have kids, this DIY is a great way to introduce them to the magic of gardening.

For this project, you can use a mixture of new and old items. The more you can repurpose, the better. To start, if you purchase beverages that come in plastic cups, like iced coffee or soft drinks, don't throw them away after you've finished. Instead, rinse them out, dry them, and reuse them for this project. You can also buy plastic cups for this purpose. Other supplies you'll need include plastic cling wrap, and potting soil or other growing mediums. And, of course, you should pick out some seeds to plant. There are many seeds you should consider starting indoors in spring, including tomatoes, rosemary, and petunias. 

This project can take only a few minutes to complete from start to finish. Grab your plastic cups, fill them with the growing medium, and set them aside. Next, select your seeds and carefully make indentations in the growing medium according to the instructions on the seed packet or general growing recommendations. Loosely cover the seeds with the soil and lightly water. To recreate the effect of a greenhouse on a smaller scale, you will add some type of clear cover to the cups. A little bit of cling wrap placed around the cups will work well. If you don't have cling wrap, you could also use plastic cups that are slightly smaller than the other cups. By placing the smaller cups on top of the bigger cup, you can create a lid. 

Once you have a cover in place on your cups, select a sunny location where they can receive plenty of light. These tiny versions of greenhouses work on the same principle as larger ones, using solar radiation to create a great environment for growth. Check on your mini greenhouses occasionally to monitor growth and lightly spritz them with water to encourage germination and then growth. After a few weeks of growth in a warm, moist environment, your seedlings should be ready for transplanting. Just don't forget the one important step you don't want to forget before bringing seedlings outdoors – making sure the soil is properly prepared.