I was recently inspired by this greenhouse design posted on the Instructables website http://www.instructables.com/id/Greenhouse-From-Old-Windows/.
While I would love to build a greenhouse this size, the current constraints on my free time won’t allow it this season. But….. I did decide that a small greenhouse box would be a perfect way to sprout seeds on our porch prior to transplanting them as seedlings to our garden, and I wanted to build one. The idea was to build a wooden box with a window attached as a slanted lid to provide warmth to the seeds during early spring weather. In the spirit of our project, I wanted to use as many materials as I could that were already in my house. This effort was mostly successful and a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
First to find an old window. Our basement contains a few old windows that are beautiful and probably date from around 1900. Perfect, or so I thought. While the windows were in fairly good shape, they were clearly covered with lead paint. I considered scraping or sanding the paint off, but that would create lead dust, which represents a greater exposure to lead than the intact paint. So, the old windows were out. I then went to the local Habitat for Humanity Restore, where contractors and homeowners donate housewares that are then sold to the public to fund Habitat for Humanity projects. I felt pretty defeated as I walked into the windows section and saw a sign reading, “Windows: $50 a piece”, but then I spied the perfect window. The window has a simple wooden frame and a 30-inch by 27-inch sturdy piece of glass. Better still…… it was on the “free” shelf. Score!
A few years ago, my husband replaced a few of the pine floor boards in our house and had an extra 8-foot pine board in the basement. With this one board, we were able to contruct both the front and the base of the box. All we needed to purchase was a second pine board to complete the back and sides of the box and a few hinges.
First to find an old window. Our basement contains a few old windows that are beautiful and probably date from around 1900. Perfect, or so I thought. While the windows were in fairly good shape, they were clearly covered with lead paint. I considered scraping or sanding the paint off, but that would create lead dust, which represents a greater exposure to lead than the intact paint. So, the old windows were out. I then went to the local Habitat for Humanity Restore, where contractors and homeowners donate housewares that are then sold to the public to fund Habitat for Humanity projects. I felt pretty defeated as I walked into the windows section and saw a sign reading, “Windows: $50 a piece”, but then I spied the perfect window. The window has a simple wooden frame and a 30-inch by 27-inch sturdy piece of glass. Better still…… it was on the “free” shelf. Score!
A few years ago, my husband replaced a few of the pine floor boards in our house and had an extra 8-foot pine board in the basement. With this one board, we were able to contruct both the front and the base of the box. All we needed to purchase was a second pine board to complete the back and sides of the box and a few hinges.
We’re now looking forward to watching squash and bean seeds (saved from last year’s harvest) sprout in the greenhouse box during early spring and be transplanted to the garden in late spring. This was a really fun family project, and we were able to mostly use recycled materials (the window) or from around the house. We plan to use it throughout the upcoming growing season!
That's so cool Liz! What a great project for the three of you (as I saw Maddie in the pictures), both in the building and growing process. You need to be an inventor because you are so innovative!
ReplyDeleteLiz,
ReplyDeleteYou have given me a great idea. Tomorrow we are having a window replaced because the seal is broken. However, the glass is still fine, so I can repurpose it. It is a long, narrow window (10.5" wide by 46" long). But it just so happens that we have really nice ledges in our kitchen that get tons of light, and would accommodate that size well. Awesome idea!
This is great Liz. Cold frames like these are really useful for starting plants early. Looks like you did a great job - it is really fun when you can do a family project and come out with such a useful project. Your daughter seemed to be having fun too.
ReplyDeleteYou can also just leave the bottom off the box and build the sides and put the window on top and then set it in your garden and grow in the soil there. That has worked for me on more than one occassion.