How To Make A USB Greenhouse

Step 1: Gather Your Equiptment

LED's are the new hi-tech way to grow plants. Why? Because their high brightness, low power, and light frequencies make them ideal for the task. This chart shows that chlorophyll production occurs mainly in blue and red spectrums.Companies are already beginning to produce desktop greenhouses that use LED light.

So why not make your own for less than $10.00? All you need are two 2-litre bottles, an old USB cable and an inexpensive LED flashlight you can buy just about anywhere.

Step 2: Cut Off The Top Of The Bottle

A good way to mark off an even line around the bottle is to take a rubber band and draw a line using a felt-tip pen.Then take an xacto knife and carefully cut along this line until you've cut the top off the bottle.

Step 3: Make The Top Of Your Greenhouse

There's a nice even line around along the bottom of the second bottle. Just cut along this. This will be the top of our greenhouse.

Step 4: Create The Hole For The USB Cable

Use a sharp pointed object and poke a hole in the center of the top. Now take an xacto knife and enlarge this hole until it's big enough to accomodate our USB cable.

Step 5: Attach The LED

You'll notice that almost all LED flashlights have a blue tinge. This makes it ideal for our project. Remove the LED housing from the top. If your casing looks like this, you'll solder the red wire from your USB cable to the spring and your black wire to the casing.

Step 6: Plug In Your USB

With my casing, I had a black and red wire already attached.I removed those and soldered the red wire and black wire to the appropriate spots. Now plug in your USB cable and make sure it works.

Step 7: Attach The LED Assembly

We're almost finished. Pull back the excess USB cable. Use some super glue or a hot glue gun to attach the LED assembly directly to the center.

Step 8: Create Air Holes

And finally, poke 5 evenly spaced air holes around the top.The top will overlap slightly and fit snugly onto the base.

Step 9: Add The Soil

Add some potting soil and your favorite plant or start from seeds and you're already to go.

Step 10: Watch Your Plants Flourish

The soft blue light from your LED flashligh is ideal and your plants will flourish. This mini-rosebush has done great.Add some green to your desktop today.It's easy, inexpensive and fun.