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I built a 2 shelf rack out of wood for my indoor greenhouse to start my vegetables in.... Then I placed the shleving unit on a large piece of 2 mil plastic to hold in heat. I have the lamps set up and a small heater hanging from below the bottom shelf. It has a thermostat and really rarely kicks on.... here is my problem. I cut large flaps in the top and a window in the side so that I could manipulate the pllants, light and water. I attached adhesive velcro to the plastic so that I could close the 'windows.' However, with the heat the adhesive doesnt stick.... I don't want to waste the heat that is escaping out b/c my velcro is failing.


Any ideas

Adhesive velcro doesn't stick to all surfaces. If you know someone who sews, you might ask if they will sew the velcro on for you. That's really your best bet.

If you don't have that available to you, you can use sandpaper to very slightly roughen the surface of the plastic. Then, attach the velcro strips with a strong glue that is formulated for use on plastics. I think Gorilla glue might work for such a project, but you might have to experiment with some other brands, maybe even some type of epoxy. Be careful to read the label on the glue, because I've had some glues melt right through plastics.

HTH!

You are dealing with very thin plastic. I'm thinking you want a glue that is flexable. I would try RTV Silicone. I use the Blue on many projects.

Eric

I planned all sorts of things for my seedlings to have a heated area but all seemed too complicated. My final model was a three level shelf with a north 2 inch foam insulation with a small heater at the bottom! Because I had like 12 feet of length and wanted easy access I decided to use 3 heavy clear shower curtains. on a slider plastic pvc tube. I just slide them open during the day wih easy access to all the plant boxes and close them at night. The sun shines through the curtains and it work great just like a shower curtain over a tub!

You could use two sided tape with mesh shade tarps. Velcro could work as well. We did something like this with a greenhouse - the doors were key for us. We needed to use door jam rubber on the bottom to prevent more heat and to keep bugs out. I know that wasn't you main thing but it was for us.

Seems like a lot of feed back came in on this. We live in Texas. Everything is hard to grow out here.

drill a couple small holes (or poke if it's thin plastic) on the container and on the flap. and use nylon rope or string (might rot or break fast if it's not nylon)? can also use zipties, but don't fasten them down tight. It'll be a bit of a swinging door this way.

cavinsco wrote:I built a 2 shelf rack out of wood for my indoor greenhouse to start my vegetables in.... Then I placed the shleving unit on a large piece of 2 mil plastic to hold in heat. I have the lamps set up and a small heater hanging from below the bottom shelf. It has a thermostat and really rarely kicks on.... here is my problem. I cut large flaps in the top and a window in the side so that I could manipulate the pllants, light and water. I attached adhesive velcro to the plastic so that I could close the 'windows.' However, with the heat the adhesive doesnt stick.... I don't want to waste the heat that is escaping out b/c my velcro is failing.


Any ideas

Attach the velcro with an adhesive made especially for extreme temperatures. Go to Home Depot. They have several options, ask the experts.