Hi Wonderers,
I am so happy to show you this next DIY. If you have been following me, you know I love plants. I like nurturing them from baby, to playing in the dirt, to splitting them off into new plants.
I feel like plants are getting me through the pandemic. Well, last winter was my first test to keeping them alive, misting them and putting them under grow lights. It was a rough time watching as many of my leaves yellowed and fell off.
I have a northeast-ish apartment, but there are buildings on either side. Luckily. I do get SOME light. The east facing window has a vent right above it, so that causes my plants to dry and crinkle. It’s quite sad.
So during this summer, I built a greenhouse to avoid a repeat. I have seen so many of the IKEA Milsbo transformations and it looked easy enough to make. Mine isn’t as elaborate as some of the other plant enthusiasts, but I am OK with mine. I feel mine still looks astethically pleasing.
First, Mr. Lumberjack drilled a 2″ hole in the bottom. I knew that I wanted it in the back, but sigh… I still messed it up and now it is in the front. Oh well, not the end of the world.
Then, I taped off the glass and spraypainted the metal a happy pink color (Rustoleum Candy Pink), which still makes me happy to this day. Afterwards, just follow the IKEA instruction manual to put the cabinet together.
For the lighting situation, I used 4 hook magnets and 2 round magnets. Then, I bought two Feit 32 W growlights. This one doesn’t have a timer, which may become a problem when I go on vacation. However, growlights are so expensive. I have to save where I can.
Once you have everything, you need to decide how many shelves you want. I decided on two shelves. In the growlight box there is a kit for hanging the lights,, but the way it hangs takes up so much real estate. I had black zip ties from my garden wall project. I looped those in the holes and that is what I used to get close to the top as possible. You can use anything similar to that like string or keychain rings.
Once you have the loop in the growlights, take two of hook magnets and insert it through the loop. Then, place it on the top of the cabinet. For the second glass shelf, you are going to do the same thing, except you need the two round magnets on the other side to hold the hook magnets.
Next, you’re going to run the cord down the side of the cabinet to your drilled hole. I used some cardboard boxes to line the bottom of the shelves and then the fun part, cramming as many plants as you can into the greenhouse.
Surprisingly, it takes more effort than you think. I had to keep rearranging them to make sure they all got some light and the right kind of light too (dappled light or direct light). Decorate with any other cool things you would like, functional or just for looks.
Some ideas are
- A humidity reader
- A fan
- A fountain
- Small figurines
- Glass cases
- Rocks
Also, I will mention here a couple of things I have seen from other users, but I won’t be doing it to mine.
- Replace the shelves with racks to increase airflow.
- Add pegboard in the back to hang plant holders.
- Seal the edges around the cabinet to keep in the moisture.
This is where your creativity can go wild. Enjoy and let’s keep those plants alive this winter.
Ciao,
Amy
amy 