The content of the article:
Preparation for the summer season begins in the winter, when it is necessary to take care of seeding. That is why the question of selecting boxes for seedlings is one of the most popular. There are several options for solving this problem: you can buy ready-made options in the store or make boxes for seedling yourself. Each option has its own characteristics and advantages.
What should I focus on when choosing a box?
In order to get a good harvest, you need to take care of the seedlings, which can be placed both in a common container, and in an individual box or glass. When choosing a container, it is necessary to take into account the size of the plant and the characteristics of its growth. If it remains in a container for a long period in a container of small size, it can damage its measles system, which will affect the development of the plant as a whole. If the root system can not develop normally, then the growth of the plant itself will stop. That is why one of the most important criteria when choosing a container for a plant is its size.
In addition, depending on the specific nature of the plant, it is also necessary to pay attention to the following criteria:
- The box must have holes for drainage.
- The walls of the container must have the optimal thermal conductivity for the plant, which protects the seeds from sudden temperature changes.
- The choice should be made to the side of tare from opaque materials, because in this case the sunlight will not act on the roots of the plant.
As for the material, the packaging can be either standard plastic or wooden, and be made from improvised materials.
Purchase of ready-made boxes
Tare for seeds can be bought at almost any hardware store. Plastic boxes for seedlings or their wooden versions differ in the following advantages:
- Saves time. You do not have to do anything yourself, because the container is ready for use.
- Large selection of sizes, shapes and colors.
- Possibility of multiple use.
- Ease of transportation.
- Such containers are easy to wash and disinfect.
- Boxes are convenient to store.
- Tara has a low thermal conductivity and an opaque color, which is great for almost any plant.
- Convenience in operation.
In this version, however, there are some drawbacks. The price of such boxes is relatively low, however, if there are many seedlings, the purchase of containers may be quite expensive. That is why many summer residents are looking for alternative ways to solve this problem and find ways to independently make a box for seedlings from wood or other improvised materials.
Wooden boxes for seedlings
A tree is one of the most popular materials in the construction of containers for seedlings. It is environmentally friendly material that can be reused, and which is fairly simple to operate.
As to how to make a box for seedlings from boards, it is necessary to determine with the size of the structure. Traditionally, the size of the container depends on the size of the window sill or other location of the box.
Since in most cases seedlings in such boxes are not siphoned, planting seeds is necessary at a certain distance from each other. This will protect plants from disturbing the development of the root system.
In order to make boxes for seedlings of this option, you need to prepare the necessary materials:
- boards;
- corners;
- loops;
- self-tapping screws;
- polyethylene film.
To work also need a screwdriver, a hacksaw, a tape measure and a stapler for furniture.
In order to make boxes for seedlings from a tree, you must take the following actions:
- Choose bars and boards of the required length.
- Construct a rectangle from the material using corners and screws.
- Using self-tapping screws or nails, attach the bottom of the structure.
- You can also take care of the roof structure. For these purposes, door or window loops and screws are required.
- The top of the structure is made of polyethylene film, which is fastened with a stapler for furniture. All excess pieces of film are removed.
Such containers are easy to use, and making boxes for seedlings with their own hands made of wood will not be difficult. However, this option also has its drawbacks. Firstly, it is quite difficult to clean such a container, and the effect of moisture leads to the fact that the material begins to swell, change its shape and rot. In addition, unlike plastic variants, wooden structures are less durable, so in time they will need some repair or replacement.
Other alternatives
In addition to the widespread plastic and wooden boxes, widely used and improvised materials, which are characterized by simplicity, ease of use and, importantly, minimal financial costs. In particular, we are talking about paper.
Before making boxes for seedling paper, you must first prepare all the necessary materials and tools. This is paper, in particular for this old newspapers, scissors, plastic bottle, sticky tape will do.
To make tare like this, you should do the following:
- Cut the newspaper into strips. In this case, the length of the strip should be greater than the circumference of the harvested bottle.
- The paper strip is twisted around the bottle and fixed with adhesive tape, with part of the newspaper remaining and will serve as the bottom of the glass, which is also fixed with a tape.
- After all is fixed, the finished glass is removed from the bottle and is completely ready for use.
In addition, it is also possible to make containers from used foil containers, for example milk, juice, or other packages. At the same time, despite its cheapness, foil paper containers are one of the most optimal options for growing seedlings.
Due to the presence of an additional light reflector, the plants will not stretch. In addition, the advantages of such a container are the following:
- A small height, which is suitable for growing a variety of plants.
- The presence of additional reflective walls, which is especially important in the winter, when solar energy is supplied in insufficient quantities.
- Convenient location. Compact boxes can easily be placed even on small windowsills.
- The paper base of the design makes it easy to label different plant varieties using a marker.
- A budget option.
To make such a container it is necessary to take an empty packet from juice or milk, wash it with running water without using detergents and cut it in the form of a "box".
At the bottom of the container, drainage is laid, then a previously prepared substrate. Thus it is necessary to leave a backlash to the top of the container approximately by 1 cm. As soon as seedlings appear, the packaging is placed so that its "cover" reflects additional light on the plants.
In addition, unlike the variant of newsprint, the foil can be reused, it only needs to be washed with water and dried.
Instead of packets of juice and milk, you can use baby food cans, and also put ordinary foil on cardboard boxes with a stapler or adhesive tape.
There are several ways to prepare a container for seedlings. The choice depends on personal preferences, the characteristics of cultivated plants and financial possibilities.
