Green house heating on the cheap

The summer in my area is short and I always seek to improve it. One way of doing it is by getting plants ready earlier in the season! I used to start some plants inside near by the windows and then buy some plants at the store, but this year I experienced a new technique to free up some place in the home. I bought one of this mini green house in which I installed some automatic heating for the cold nights.

To do so, I used one of my old mechanical home thermostats connected to a heat source. As heating source I found it convenient to also use recycled part, so I when for an old incandescent bulb that was replaced by newer efficient one. So from a piece of 2x4 woods I hook up everything together and here is the results. When it’s too cold in the green house, the light turn on automatically and heat up the place. I started with a 40w bulb and it seems to be doing just fine. By placing the green house near the house it keeps its temperature more stable as well.

During day time it can get a bit hot in there so make sure to have some vents to let the heat go out. I'm already brainstorming some idea to open an air vent on the top automatically when its too hot. Maybe for next year!