Dress up your seed starting trays

Nothing more boring than a row of black seed trays with nothing growing in them. Right?

Since most people use the 1020 trays which are purchased most everywhere, I will be using these for this article however, this will work with different sized trays.

The basic 1020 seed tray with micro greens all "dressed up".

The dimensions of the 1020 seed flat is 21"x 10.5"x 2.25" (Length x width x height)

The first step is to determine the size of your tray.  The dimensions of the 1020 seed flat is 21"x 10.5"x 2.25". (Length x width x height) This measurement is what is used to construct our project after adding at least 1" to each of these numbers.  

Measure and cut end pieces. Remember to add a little extra for proper fit.

I used scrap lumber in my project as there always seems to be some laying around.  The first piece to mark out and cut to length was the side pieces.  This can be done with either a miter box or a power saw.  

Extra wood lathe left over from another project. 

Cut wood lathe to proper length

The next step is to cut the wood lathe to length.  My design required 8 equal length pieces.  

Hammer and nail work fine.  Remember to use a small shanked tack to prevent splitting.

Fastening the wood lathe to the side pieces can be done in a number of ways.  I used a pneumatic finish nailer, but a hammer and tacks can also be used.  Keep in mind, wood lathe splits very easily so use finer shanked nails or screws.  

Nail wood lathe to side pieces of your seed flat holder.

After everything is nailed or screwed together, you will have something that looks like this!  Make note of the 2 pieces of wooden lathe which make up each of the corners.  This helps to ensure your box will be strong and hopefully last for many years.

Drill out a hole for a handle

Although you can end right there or with a coat of paint, I chose to drill out a hole on either side to act as a handle.  

Basic seed flat with tomato seedlings

Good Luck and Enjoy!  Feel free to email photos of your projects so I can share.

kevin@ourlittlecoop(dot)com

Cheers ~ Kevin

Looking for a fun way to get seeds and save money? 

>Check out my post on Mikes seed of the month club!<