12 ways to make a DIY seedling rack

What to do before starting work

• Determine where the shelving will be located. You can install the structure on the windowsill so that the seedlings grow in direct sunlight. You can make a high rack of several shelves and put it against a wall or in a corner.
• Decide if lighting is needed. Seedlings on the windowsill usually have enough light. But if the sun appears infrequently or the rack stands against the wall, where there is always a shadow, you will need a phytolamp.
• Decide on the design and take measurements. If you are going to install the shelving in a window opening, measure the height of the window, the width and depth of the window sill. If the structure will be located inside a room or kitchen, determine its dimensions. Decide if you will dismantle the rack after landings seedlings or make it stationary and use it for storage.

How to make a rack for seedlings on the windowsill of wooden beams and boards

This rack will fit on a wide windowsill, and its dimensions will be 2–3 cm smaller than the parameters of the window niche. For example, on a window sill measuring 105 × 30 cm, a rack with a base of 100 × 27 cm can easily fit. The height of the structure is limited by the size of the window opening. Our rack will have three shelves, the total height of the structure is 95 cm.

What you need

• 10 boards measuring 95 cm × 10–14 cm × 2 cm.
• 6 wooden blocks with a section of 2.7 × 2.7 cm and a length of 27 cm.
• 48 wood screws 3.5 × 41 mm.
• Drill driver.
• Sanding attachment for a drill (if using old boards that need sanding).
• Roulette.
• Pencil.
• Water repellent primer and brush.
• Thin twine 80 cm long to hang the phytolamp.
• Insulating tape.
• 2 clips with a cord stopper (you can use clips from an old sports jackets);
• Phytolamp.

How to do

Prepare all the necessary tools and materials for work. Cut the boards and bars to the desired length. Sand old boards with a special drill attachment.

If you take new boards and bars, you can skip the grinding step.

Take two boards and three bars - this is the side wall of the future rack.

Measure with a tape measure on both boards 5 cm from the edge - this is the height of the legs of the rack. On these marks, draw noticeable lines with a pencil.

Lay the first block across the boards exactly on these lines. Make the same pencil marks at a distance of 50 cm and 90 cm and place the bars on them.

The width of the wall is determined by the length of the bar, the boards are aligned along its edge. There may be a gap between the boards - it will not affect the strength of the structure.

Take a drill with a diameter of 15 mm. Insert it into the drill so that the working length of the drill is 35 mm, or simply make a mark on the drill with a marker at a distance of 35 mm from the tip - this is the depth of the future hole.

Press the bar firmly and drill two holes at a distance of about 1 cm from the edge of each board. Screw the screws into them with a screwdriver.

Do the same for the second wall.

To assemble the rack, fix the walls in a vertical position so that the bars are inside the future structure - they will hold the shelves.

Lay two boards on the bottom pair of bars and align their edges to the width of the bars. Make two through holes in the corners of each board and secure the shelf with self-tapping screws.

Do the same for the middle and top shelves.

Cover the rack primer and wait for the design to dry. Use a water-repellent primer - it will protect the wood from moisture when you water the seedlings.

Make a mount for a phytolamp. To do this, cut the twine in half. Tighten the loop so that the twine covers the middle bar, and the ends of the rope are above it.

Tie the ends in a knot, leaving about 2 cm free, and secure the “tail” with electrical tape.

Put a plastic retainer on the resulting loop. It will help to adjust the length of the loop on which the phytolamp will hang.

Make the same fastener on the other side.

Now you can install the rack on the windowsill, hang the phytolamp on a twine loop and secure it - for example, by making two turns around the ends of the lamp. Clamps will allow you to hang the lamp at the desired height.

Can be placed on shelves seedlings.

What are the options

Try making a shelving unit out of sanded pine boards, lumber, and MDF sheets. For fastening, you will need bolts, screws, self-tapping screws and steel corners. The construction is solid and you can use it for years.

This rack is made from the lumber that was at hand. From a thin beam for racks, a light structure is obtained - such a rack is not difficult to move and rotate. But it requires reinforcement - the back wall needs to be strengthened with stiffeners.

How to make a floor rack from pallets and wooden beams

This wooden shelving unit can be placed on the floor in the corner of a room or attached to a wall. When seedlings will be planted in the ground, the structure can be used for storage - for example, place jars of jam or homemade pickles there.

What you need

• Wooden beam with a section of 40 × 40 mm. The length of the beam, which is also the height of the rack, is limited by the height of the ceiling.
• Wooden pallets. Each will make one shelf.
• Steel corners for fastening 50 × 50 × 35 mm. Each shelf will need 4 corners.
• Packing of self-tapping wood screws 30 × 3.5 mm.
• Drill driver and drill with a diameter of 15 mm.
• Nail puller and hammer.
• Pencil.

How to do

Make shelving racks. To do this, put the polished timber on the work surface (for example, on the floor) and mark with a pencil the place where the shelves are attached.

Set the steel corner to the mark. To fix it, mark the places for drilling with a pencil on the beam. Remove the corner, drill holes in the timber according to your marks. Then return the corner and fix it with self-tapping screws.

Fasten all other corners. Make four of these racks.

From the pallet, cut the shelf of the desired width.

For pallets, remove the lower support part, then remove the nails sticking out of the boards.

Attach each shelf to a piece of timber. Lay the shelf on the corner, align the edge and secure the board with self-tapping screws.

Attach all your shelves to the same rack.

Also attach the remaining three racks to the resulting structure.

The rack is ready. Now it can be coated with a water-repellent primer, then painted and hung from the phytolamp shelves.

What are the options

This rack can be made quickly and is inexpensive, especially if you have old pallets in your garage. True, it is heavy and does not fit into interior apartments. But it can be used in the country.

But this small rack for seedlings fits on the windowsill. Instead of shelves, there is a base of two boards, on which wooden pallets for seedlings are installed. They can be replaced with plastic cuvettes.

How to make a collapsible seedling rack from plastic window sills and chrome pipes

This collapsible rack is not afraid of moisture. The design is designed for a window opening with a height of about 1.5 m. The distance between the shelves, which are made of plastic window sills, is 45 cm.

Shelving frame - three vertical racks made of chrome-plated pipes.

When you plant seedlings into the ground, the rack can be easily disassembled. In this form, its parts will take up little space, they can be stored on the balcony or in a small closet.

What you need

• 2 plastic window sills 150 × 20 cm wide. These are shelving units.
• 5 chrome pipes with a diameter of 25 mm. The length of three of them is equal to the height of the rack, the length of the remaining two is the distance from the floor to the stationary window sill.
• 7 chrome-plated pipe holders with lock.
• 5 plastic plugs for pipes.
• Polypropylene twine.
• Drill driver.
• Feather drill.
• Bolts to fix pipe holders.
• Short self-tapping screws to attach the pipe holders to the window sill shelves.
• 4 self-tapping screws 7 cm long with a dowel to fix the rack in the opening window.
• Pencil.
• Roulette.

How to do

Make side holes with a diameter of 25 mm for racks in the window sill shelves. Step back from the end of the window sill 15 cm and make a pencil mark on the middle line of the shelf. The third post will be located exactly in the center of the window sill, at the intersection of its diagonals - mark this point with a pencil too.

Then, using a pen drill, make 3 holes, the center of which is your marks.

Do the same for the second window sill.

Insert the pipes into the holes in the window sill shelf. At the desired height, put the chrome-plated holder on the pipe and fix it with a bolt and a screwdriver.

Attach the holder to the window sill with self-tapping screws. The picture shows the upper part of the structure.

Put plastic plugs on the open ends of the pipes.

To fix the rack in window opening, take 4 self-tapping screws about 7 cm long with a dowel and polypropylene twine. Make a loop, put it on the screw and tighten.

Stick a thick adhesive tape on the self-tapping screw.

Open the window and tape the self-tapping screw to the outside of the window frame exactly opposite the right edge of the lower shelving.

Pass the twine through the gap between the inner sash of the window and the frame and close the window - the twine will be inside the room and will be pressed by the sash.

Make the same fastening for the right edge of the top shelf, then for the left edge of the bottom and top shelves.

Install the shelving unit on the windowsill. Fix each of the side tubes by firmly tightening the upper and lower twine loops on it. The nodes will be located directly under the shelves.

Mount the remaining two pipes as props under the window sill, placing them directly under the side posts of the shelving unit.

From below, put holders on the pipes or insert plugs so as not to scratch floor.

How to make a collapsible rack from polypropylene pipes

This seedling rack is installed on the windowsill and additionally attached to the window handles. The design is light and mobile. PVC materials will not be affected by moisture.

What you need

• Polypropylene pipes with a diameter of 25 mm.
• 16 tees (this is the node to which 3 pipes are attached).
• 10 branches (corners for connecting pipes).
• 2 sheets of plexiglass or plastic for shelves.
• Roulette.
• Drill driver.
• 2 phytolamps.
• Thin twine for fitolamps.
• short polypropylene tube with a diameter of 16–18 mm.
• Roulette.
• Pencil.

How to do

Measure the width and depth of the window sill and subtract 2–3 cm from the resulting numbers. This will be the dimensions of the rack. For example, the width of the window sill is 140 cm, the depth is 38 cm. This means that the width of the rack will be 138, the depth - 36 cm.

Calculate the consumption of the main material - a polypropylene pipe. You will need:

• 5 pipes that will be located horizontally (4 for the frame and 1 for fixing the phytolamp), their length is equal to the width of the window sill;
• 5 jumper pipes, their length is equal to the depth;
• 8 pipes half the height of the window opening.

Connect the pipes with tees and elbows into a single structure, as shown in the picture. Please note that the short side lintels are mounted slightly higher than the long cross pipes that serve as the bases for the shelves.

Shelves from plastic, plexiglass or plywood, lay on the base of the pipes and attach with self-tapping screws. In plexiglass, you must first drill holes for self-tapping screws.

Fasten a few self-tapping screws to the upper vertical supports. They are needed to adjust the height of the phytolamp.
Hang the phytolamps on twine.

Insert a small polypropylene tube between the window handles and secure the far center support of the shelving unit.

What are the options

This rack is also assembled from lightweight PVC pipes and standard fittings. For shelves, you can take boards. The design is installed on the windowsill. Its feature is long legs and a large distance to the bottom shelf. Therefore, you can also put seedlings on the windowsill itself or indoor flowers.

This rack is made entirely of plastic. Frame - PVC pipes, shelves - plastic pallets. To make the structure stable, stiffening ribs from the same pipes were added. The rack is tall and sits directly on the floor. It can be easily moved around the apartment.

How to make a floor rack from aluminum profile and plywood

This is a stationary seedling rack. Its frame is assembled from an aluminum drywall profile. Aluminum is lighter than steel, so the rack is easy to lift and move to another room.

Instead of aluminum, you can use a PVC profile for panels, and replace plywood with plastic. Then the rack will become even lighter and more mobile.

What you need

• Aluminum profile for drywall.
• Sheets of plywood or plastic for shelves.
• Self-tapping screws for metal.
• Drill driver.
• Nozzle for cutting metal (disk for stainless steel) or grinder.
• Roulette.
• Building square with a right angle (or other measuring tool that can accurately measure the angle of 90).
• Thin marker for marking.

How to do

Make racks for shelving and fasteners for shelves from the profile. To do this, measure 4 strips with a length equal to the height of the rack. Here is 2 m.

Determine the number of shelves and their size.

For the base of each shelf, cut 2 profile strips equal to the length and 2 strips equal to the width of the shelf. Here are 3 sets for shelves measuring 100 × 50 cm.

Treat the ends of the crossbars 50 cm long. Along the edges of the U-shaped profile, make cuts with a length slightly less than the base of the profile.

It is important to make all cuts the same length so that there are no distortions when assembling the structure.

Bend the resulting side "tails" outward and round off the sharp corners.

Assemble the base of the shelving. On the racks, make marks with a marker for attaching each shelf.

Insert the long rails inside the U-profile of the rack and fix each connection with two self-tapping screws.

First fix the top and bottom crossbars, then the intermediate ones.

The result is two "ladders" with rungs 100 cm long.

Connect both frames - add short crossbars.

Fix the base of each crossbar with two self-tapping screws and each side "tail" with one self-tapping screw.

Take plywood or plastic for shelves. Trim off excess if needed to make 100 x 50 cm rectangles.

Cut two slots in the corners of each shelf to align with the legs of the U-profile.

Lay the shelves on the base, carefully inserting the profile into the grooves. Shelves can not be fixed - so it will be easier to remove them to wash or paint.

To make the structure more stable, on the one hand, you can add stiffeners to the corners.

What are the options

Try making a seedling rack out of thin timber and metal rods. The beam goes to the base for the shelves, and from the rods bearing racks. The design consists of three shelves and is installed on the windowsill. For shelves, you can use any material - plastic, plywood, boards.