Making Recycled Mini-Greenhouses

With the return of warm weather comes the time to start the garden.  Although in many zones, seed can be sown directly into the ground now, chances are there are a few varieties of plant that should be started inside.  Some examples of plants that need an indoor start in most cases are peppers, tomatoes, and celery.  Rather than buy trays for starting your seeds, why not collect some of the plastic waste that is already in your recycling bin to reuse?  Milk jugs, vinegar jugs, and clear packages that often hold cupcakes or cookies make great mini-greenhouses.

Materials:

• Plastic containers
• Heavy duty scissors (a woodburning tool would also work well for this)
• Packing tape
• Soil
• Seeds

Directions:

1. For jugs, cut around the middle leaving the top and bottom connected in a small space.

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2. 2. Discard lids, and poke holes in the bottom for drainage.
3.  Add about three inches of soil, and soak the soil.  Let the soil drain completely before planting about four seeds.
4. Tape the jugs back together.  Supposedly you can leave these little greenhouses outside even in the winter, but thus far I've had better luck with the ones that only go outside on nice days.  
5. For the clear bakery containers, follow the same steps, but poke holes in the top and bottom.  There's no need for cutting or taping because the container opens nicely and snaps back shut.
6. Place containers next to a window that gets direct sunlight, and add a light if possible.

This week I'm featuring some of my favorite Eco Kids links from last week.  They are all great tips for using around the home:

10 Green Cleaning Essentials by Mums Make Lists

Homemade Orange ACV Cleaner by Scratch Mommy

DIY Flexible Icepacks by Homestead Dad

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