Mini Greenhouses

Ready to Get Started? 

Materials needed for a Mini Greenhouse: 

1 gallon or 1/2 gallon plastic milk jug

Sharp knife or Scissors

Packing tape (inside use) or duct tape (outside use)

Potting Soil

Seeds

Instructions for making and using a Milk Jug Greenhouse indoors:

Wash your milk jugs. Keep the lid.

Cut around the jug about 3-4 inches from the bottom. leaving the back 1/4 attached (use it as a hinge). Be sure you leave the handle intact.

Fill it with 2″ of potting soil. No need to cut holes in the bottom if you are growing these inside.

Place your seeds inside. You can use any type of seed.  You can place seeds spaced out for easy transplanting or just toss them in.  

(Microgreens are an easy seed to grow.  You can soak them for  1 hour and then place them extra close together. A half gallon jug can hold about 8-10 pea pods.) 

Tamp the seed down a bit.

Cover your seeds with another shallow layer of potting soil. The bigger the seed the thicker the soil. Don’t fill it higher than your cut sides.

Water in your seeds but don’t water them too much.  Damp soil is the goal. 

Close the top and put tape around the jug to keep the moisture in your milk jug greenhouse.

Re-cap your mini greenhouse to keep in the moisture.

In our Texas schoolyard garden, we put the mini greenhouses outside in February and they are ready in March. 

You can also keep them indoors.  Put your milk jug greenhouse in a south or east facing window and check it every few days. Spray water inside if needed. You are aiming for damp, but not soaking.

After a few days you should see your seeds sprouting .

Depending on the type of seed you are using, they should be ready for garden transplanting or in 14 days