To grow seedlings in an apartment or your home, you will need a specially equipped shelving. It can have lighting, consist of a different number of tiers. In this case, it will be possible to grow seedlings even in a small one-room apartment. It will not be difficult to make a rack for seedlings with your own hands. How to assemble a similar design will be discussed later.
Features of a home-made rack
Plants need certain conditions. If you make a mistake, the seedlings will start to hurt and die. Therefore, the creation of a rack for seedlings with your own hands (a photo of the finished work is presented below) must be approached responsibly.
It must meet certain requirements:
- the design must be strong and stable, withstand the weight of containers with seedlings;
- the material from which the rack will be made must not be destroyed by moisture;
- the design must be reusable, durable;
- plants should be comfortable on the shelves of the product;
- free access to seedlings should be left so that it can be watered, loosened the soil, etc .;
- the rack should be aesthetic, as most often it is installed in the apartment, in the living room.
Before starting assembly, you must carefully develop drawings of the rack for seedlings. With your own hands, making the design in this case will be easier. On the drawing you need to specify the exact dimensions of all the elements of the rack. It can have 3-6 shelves, the length of which should correspond to the dimensions of standard fluorescent lamps. Their parameters need to be known in advance.
The width of the shelves should be no more than 60 cm. Otherwise, the care of seedlings will be complicated. The distance between the shelves should be at least 40 cm and not more than 50 cm.
Some gardeners doubt whether it is worth equipping a shelf with lights. Experts say that you can not do without it. Therefore, it is worth indicating on the drawing the places where the lamps will be located, and also consider their connection to the network.
Varieties of designs
How to make a rack for seedlings with your own hands?
When developing a drawing, you need to consider what features the design will characterize. She may be:
- stationary;
- collapsible;
- mobile.
Stationary varieties are fixed to the wall or to the ceiling. It is a strong and therefore durable construction. This type of shelving is suitable for a large apartment. Stationary varieties are characterized by significant dimensions. After transplanting seedlings in the garden or in the garden, the rack can be used to store household items. Here you can arrange a flower garden or arrange children's toys.
Mobile structures are equipped with wheels. They can be moved around the room, rotated if necessary.
Collapsible structures are dismantled in the spring when plants are planted in open ground or in a greenhouse.
There are other types of shelving. They can be located directly on the windowsill. The dimensions of such a product should correspond to the size of the window opening. The advantage of the rack for seedlings on the windowsill is its compactness. It does not take up much space indoors. Therefore, this option of shelving is most often chosen by the owners of apartments and private houses. But at the same time, there will be less light in the room. Therefore, you need to consider in which room it is best to equip such a rack.
Materials
Do-it-yourself shelving rack for seedlings can be made of different materials. The most popular options are wood, metal and plastic. Each option has its advantages and disadvantages.
Wood is one of the suitable materials for the rack. It does not emit harmful substances into the environment; it is easy to process. Even a novice master can assemble a structure from wood. For this, you do not need to use special equipment. The disadvantage of the material is its lack of resistance to moisture, due to which it can begin to rot.
Also, wood is easily destroyed by exposure to insects. Therefore, it needs pre-treatment with an antiseptic. Wood is a fire hazardous material. Since electrical wiring will take place in the immediate vicinity of the rack, it is necessary to impregnate all structural elements with flame retardant.
Do-it-yourself racks for seedlings are also assembled from metal. It is a strong, durable material. So that the rack does not deteriorate under the influence of moisture, it is assembled from pipes made of stainless steel. In this case, it will not be necessary to constantly treat the structure with protective compounds, it will not rust.
It is a little more difficult to assemble a rack from metal. The structural elements are mounted by bolting or welding. In this case, you need to use special equipment, which not every master has.
You can assemble a rack of plastic pipes. Installation in this case is not difficult. They acquire a sufficient number of pipes and fittings that are simply assembled, like a designer. Such shelves will complement not every interior. But then the material is resistant to negative influences. Even a child can assemble such a design. To improve the appearance of such a rack, it is painted in a suitable color.
Wooden shelving
There is a simple technology that allows you to make a rack for seedlings. If you plan to use wood for these purposes, it is best to dwell on a stationary type of structure. It will be a pretty heavy rack. If necessary, you can attach small wheels to its legs. It is necessary to prepare the necessary materials and tools:
- timber with a section size of 4.5 x 4.5 cm, length 3 m;
- timber with a cross section of 3 x 6 cm;
- sheet of plywood or plexiglass;
- screws with a length of 4 cm;
- a grinder with a suitable nozzle or jigsaw;
- screwdriver;
- hammer;
- a chisel;
- tape measure and pencil.
A beam with a cross section of 4.5 x 4.5 cm is used to create structural support posts. From it you need to make 4 identical racks in length. With the help of a grinder, you need to qualitatively align the places of the cuts. Otherwise, the rack will not be stable. The transverse planks on which the shelves will be mounted are cut from the second type of timber. The number of crossbars is calculated using the drawing.
On the support stands, you need to make markings. Indicate the places to which the transverse rails for the shelves will be fixed. Here you need to cut the recesses. To do this, use a hammer and a chisel.
Next, you need to process the wood with appropriate impregnations. The material should dry thoroughly. This will extend the shelf life of the product, and its operation will be safe. After that, you can begin the subsequent work.
Installation completion
Considering how to make a rack for seedlings with your own hands, you need to pay attention to the process of assembling prepared structural elements. The crossbars are screwed to the previously created grooves. For this, self-tapping screws are used. To make the design smooth and stable, you need to pay great attention to the markup. The final result depends on the correctness of measurements. Therefore, you need to double-check the location of the marks on each rack several times.
Next, you need to cut shelves from the prepared material. They can be made from the same bars as the crossbars. They are installed with frequent steps at a distance of 1-1.5 cm from each other. For such crossbars, cuts are also made on the uprights. They are installed using self-tapping screws.
Often shelves are made of moisture-proof plywood, plexiglass or plastic. It is necessary to cut the selected material using a jigsaw. Cut edges are treated with sandpaper. Shelves are laid on prepared crossbars. Sheets are fixed with wood screws.
Further, the shelving for seedlings can be covered with a layer of varnish or paint. The choice depends on the features of the interior. The varnish must be selected on a water basis, since the rack will be in the living room. With it, you can give the wood the desired shade. Paint for processing the design is chosen odorless. A latex or acrylic composition is best suited for these purposes. You can cover the shelves with self-adhesive film. So the design of the rack will be more effective. Film, paint or varnish will additionally protect the wood from destruction.
Metal construction
Do-it-yourself shelving rack for seedlings can be assembled from metal corners. The design is solid, but rather lightweight and manoeuvrable. You also need to create a drawing according to which the structure will be assembled. From a metal corner create support racks, crossbars and edges for shelves.
Having drawn up the drawing, you need to purchase the necessary materials and tools:
- a metal corner with a shelf length of 3 or 4 cm;
- plywood or plexiglass (lining) for shelves;
- bolts and nuts;
- metal drill;
- welding machine;
- grinder with appropriate nozzle
- electric drill.
When everything you need is prepared, you can begin to work. To make a shelving for seedlings with lighting, you need to cut the corner into four identical racks. Further, in accordance with the prepared drawing, the required number of cross members is prepared. Usually there are at least 6 pcs.
After this, the horizontal bearing boards are cut, which will serve as the edges for the shelves. There will be twice as many as shelves. For example, four shelves will require eight sides. To fasten all structural elements, drill holes in appropriate places. Their diameter should match the bolts selected for fasteners. It is possible to assemble the structure by welding. But for this you need to purchase a welding inverter and practice using it on unnecessary metal workpieces.
Metal structure assembly
After preparing all the necessary structural elements, you need to start assembling the rack for seedlings with your own hands. The support posts and cross members must be connected using bolts. Welding still have to apply. Using an inverter, they connect the joints of the cross members and the sides for the shelves.
When the frame is ready, you need to cut the shelves of the required size. The edges, if necessary, are treated with sandpaper. Shelves are laid on the base of the prepared structure. They are attached to the sides with bolts. You can do without plywood or plexiglass. To do this, they simply fix the cross beams parallel to the sides. Their step should be such that the containers with seedlings are firmly on the stands.
It is important to consider the location of the electrical wires that will be connected to the lamps. They are fixed with plastic clamps. Since the structure is assembled from stainless steel, it does not need to be painted.
Shelving for window
To make a rack for seedlings on the window with your own hands, you need to count the number of shelves. It depends on the size of the window. Usually a rack of 3-4 shelves is required. Next, measure the size of the window. Based on this, calculate the length and width of the shelves.
You can take ready-made shields from old furniture. They should correspond to the dimensions of the windowsill. So, most often you need to prepare shelves measuring 120 x 20 cm. For the sides of the rack you need furniture panels measuring 150 x 20 cm.
Next, with the help of self-tapping screws fasten the structural elements together. The distance between the shelves is 35 cm. To make the rack stable, it is fixed in addition to the frame or slope. When the design is assembled, it is necessary to attach lighting fixtures to it.
If the assembly was carried out from ordinary boards, they are varnished or painted after assembly. This must be done before the rack is installed on the window.
Do I need to do lighting?
Assembling a rack for seedlings with your own hands, some gardeners think that you can do without additional lighting. It is worth noting that even for a structure that was mounted on a window, it is necessary to provide for the presence of lamps of the appropriate type.
In winter, daylight hours are quite short. Due to the lack of natural light, seedlings can develop poorly. Photosynthesis processes will be slow. Because of this, biomass build-up will not occur at the required pace. So that plants can develop normally, it is absolutely necessary to install additional lighting on the rack. This will provide normal conditions for seedlings, allow seedlings to gain strength before transplanting them to the site. It is important to choose the right lamp that will meet all the requirements.
Lighting Choice
Rack for seedlings, made with your own hands, be sure to complement the lamp, which will provide the plants with the required amount of light. You need to choose the right lighting device.
For such purposes, incandescent lamps are not suitable. They are very hot and may not be effective enough.
You can use fluorescent lamps with a power of 70-100 Lm / W. They emit white light of a cold or warm spectrum. However, there are no red rays in it.
LED lamps with a power of 80-110 Lm / W are durable, economical. They make it easy to select the radiation of the required spectrum.
Also, metal halide lighting devices with a power of up to 100 Lm / W are suitable for such purposes. They are effective and easy to use. Their disadvantage will be the lack of a blue spectrum.
To illuminate a shelf with a length of 1.4 m and a width of 0.5 m, you need to purchase a lamp with a white light flux of a cold or warm spectrum. Its power should be 36 watts. You can also find special phytolamps on sale. They are selected in accordance with the type of seedlings that are planned to grow on the rack.