Old cart becomes a seed station

Several years ago I wanted to try my hand at growing fodder for my chickens.  I found a cart thing at the thrift store. It's one of those shallow drawer carts crafters use. It was pretty cheap because it didn't have any drawers. I wired pieces of wire fence, and scrap hardware cloth and made shelves water would run through.  It worked great.  I didn't grow fodder long. I discovered fermenting grains easier, just as nutritious, and less water waist, not to mention there's plenty of veggies in the garden to share.
The cart has sat around rusting for a while now. Today I decided to repurpose it into a seed starting station. I removed all the shelves. Removed some of the rust, and painted it with some paint I got on clearance for a dollar quite a while ago. The shelf I took from my old greenhouse. ( In the process of building a greenhouse, so will make shelves).   I'm super happy with it. I think it turned out great.  Didn't cost me anything, took very little time to make, and takes up less space.  I can see myself using this for a long time. I figure this is the third life for this little cart.  I love to think outside the box, and make what I have useful in a new way.

Great project, Jen, the paint will give the racking a life extension too!
I have some smaller racks like those which we use for laundry sorting. One of the racks broke, but the baskets come in for all sorts of uses.
Your rack looks similar to one I have in my polytunnel- covered with plastic, it makes a greenhouse within a greenhouse for more tender plants (I use it for seed starting plants that need transplanting). If you found a large plastic bag (like a compactor bag or white goods wrapping) you could put your unit outside and it would last a season in a sheltered spot as a mini greenhouse too.

I use something similar. I wrap mine in a space blanket.  It increases the warmth and the reflectivity of the light.

John F Dean wrote:I use something similar. I wrap mine in a space blanket.  It increases the warmth and the reflectivity of the light.

That's an excellent idea.  I have used tinfoil to do the same, but a space blanket would be cheaper for the area it will cover.

I love to recycle or multipurpose items that can be bought cheaply at thrift stores. That is a really good use of your cart thingy that you found.

My first thought when I saw the cart was microgreens.

You might enjoy this thread about microgreens.

And take some pictures once you get started to get a Badge Bit (BB)

Hi Trace,

In that case, I also drape an old wool army blanket over the space blanket. It adds insulation and cat protection.  A few large safety pins keeps everything in place.

Wow thanks everyone.  Lots of cool ideas to make it even more functional.

Fabulous up-cycling project.  I particularly like the use of the LEDs

Quick update.  I'm super happy with my seed starting cart.  The second batch of seed I started using the cart from the beginning look so amazing.  Most are peppers, some the hot kind, and those are supposed to be hard to start.  I didn't get 100% germination, it was way up there.  The seedlings look healthy and and aren't spindly at all.  The only thing I plan to change is to put a wire shelf on the bottom.  The tray goes across the bottom, so it isn't necessary, but it will make moving the tray easier.