How to Convert a Fridge to a Grow Box
Provide your indoor plants a controlled environment by placing them in a non-functional refrigerator. Recycle your old refrigerator as opposed to discarding it to extend the season of plants, or start them early in the season, long before they appear in the market. Add hydroponics medium or soil to your pots before adding plants to them and placing them in your refrigerator grow box. This method is suitable for apartment dwellers who lack garden space. Make sure the fridge seals tightly so you can control the temperature within.
Push the fridge to a ventilated area with good air circulation. Stand it up and remove the freon. Remove the cord, any wiring, air compressor and coils, along with the all shelving or racks except one. Sponge the interior walls, sides and base of the fridge thoroughly with soapy water so it is clean.
- Provide your indoor plants a controlled environment by placing them in a non-functional refrigerator.
- Push the fridge to a ventilated area with good air circulation.
Select a suitable place for your grow light so it hangs over the shelf for the plants. Wear earplugs and drill a hole in the back of the fridge for the cord to go through.
Pass a chain or cable through the top of the grow light and extend it so it suspends over the shelf. Slide the cord through the hole in the back.
Measure the length, width and height of the exhaust fan and drill a hole with the exact dimensions in the back of the fridge. Position it in the hole with its back sticking out of the fridge and its front facing the interior, and slide it in carefully. Seal visible spacing or gaps with silicone sealant.
- Select a suitable place for your grow light so it hangs over the shelf for the plants.
- Pass a chain or cable through the top of the grow light and extend it so it suspends over the shelf.
Cut another hole just below the exhaust fan with the exact measurements—so it offsets its effect to ventilate the interior of the fridge properly. Insert another exhaust fan into this hole, and seal gaps with silicone sealant.
Slide the rack back in the center of base of the fridge. Fill seed start flats or pots with hydroponics medium or potting soil until 2/3 full, and add seeds or seedlings into them. Place them over the rack and extend the power cords for the fans and grow light into an electric outlet.
Tip
Suspend the grow light 8 inches above the tips of your plants. Keep raising it as the plants grow, to provide the appropriate spacing. Keep the door of your refrigerator grow box closed most of the time, opening it occasionally when you want to water the plants.
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References
Tips
- Suspend the grow light 8 inches above the tips of your plants. Keep raising it as the plants grow, to provide the appropriate spacing.
- Keep the door of your refrigerator grow box closed most of the time, opening it occasionally when you want to water the plants.
Writer Bio
Tanya Khan is a freelance author and consultant, having written numerous articles for various online and print sources. She has a Master of Business Administration in marketing but her passion lies in writing.
