They say necessity is the mother of invention and this morning I discovered my own need. Yesterday I removed the greenhouse lid on my yellow pepper starts as I had 11 beautiful 1 inch plant seedlings. I took a look this morning and something had eaten the tops off all the new seedlings. Needless to say I was not happy. Luckily I had not yet removed the cover on my red peppers as some were not yet germinated. A closer inspection of my plants also revealed some insect damage on my kohlrabi starts. So what to do to protect my seed starts indoors?
What I needed was a larger ‘greenhouse’ to protect the young seedlings while they grew. I have often used those large disposable clear plastic salad containers to start plants. The lids provide a nice greenhouse effect, keeping in the moisture and heat, while allowing the light to pass through. Once the seedlings germinate, remove the lids and let the plants continue to grow.
![salad-container-plant-pot Lettuce Starts](http://www.everchanginggarden.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/salad-container-plant-pot.jpg)
Lettuce starts grown in disposable salad container
What I decided to do was invert the process. First I cut a hole in the lid the size of my seedling container about half way up. This would allow the container to fit in the hole but not pass right through. Next, I placed my seedling container into the hole, with the inside of the lid facing up. Finally, I put the bottom of the salad container on top, snuggly fitting it into the lid. A few spacers underneath the container allow me to adjust the height of the greenhouse as the plants grow. I’ll keep the starts inside my small mini-greenhouse until they develop a couple of sets of leaves and are ready to be potted into larger containers.
![salad-greenhouse Salad Container Greenhouse](http://www.everchanginggarden.ca/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/salad-greenhouse.jpg)
Disposable salad container used as a mini-greenhouse and for insect protection.