Ikea Greenhouse Hack Socker Countertop with Grow Lights
Ikea Greenhouse Hack Socker Countertop with Grow Lights
The Ikea Socker makes a fantastic small-space garden greenhouse for indoors. Ours is located in a empty corner countertop section that’s normally very dark. We have this Ikea Socker Greenhouse hack with grow lights, sitting next to our Aerogarden. We have both of the automatic lights come on around dinner time, and they stay on for 6 hours.
We use both this Ikea Greenhouse Hack and the Aerogarden to start most of our vegetable garden seeds indoors. The Ikea Socker is also a perfect size to grow herbs. It was an inexpensive solution at only $24.99 at Ikea for the Socker, plus $12.99 for the 2-strip grow lights with automatic timer from a Amazon… DIY countertop lighted greenhouse for less than $40!
Ikea Socker currently $24.99 at Ikea
If you have a local Ikea nearby, this Ikea Socker is currently just $24.99. Otherwise you can find them on Amazon for more, but if you have Amazon Prime you’ll get it in a day or two with free shipping, delivered to your home (convenience).
The size of the Ikea Socker:
Width: 17-3/4″
Depth: 8-3/4″
Height: 13-3/4″
The Ikea Socker is lightweight, the frame is made of steel and is powder coated white which is resistant to rust. Rather than using glass, the transparent panels are made of lightweight polystyrene.
There is a metal bar across the top that is a perfect way to hang two grow lights. We used zip ties. There is also a maker on Etsy that we’ve seen sell an Ikea Socker grow light solution that’s much better than ours. Maybe you can figure out a great way to hang the grow lights, better than how we use the plastic ties!
Assembly is Very Easy! (not like some of those other Ikea Projects!)
- Remove all parts from box and seperate, organizing all like/kind together
- Start with Base plus front and back panels
- Metal Bar connects front, back panels
- Slide top and side panels into sides
- Tip: when sliding sides, use 2 people if possible
- Take less than 5 mintues, no tools needed!
Ikea recommends adding their FIXA stick-on floor protectors to the bottom corners in order to protect any kitchen countertops or other sensitive surfaces. Use felt floor protectors, or place the Ikea Socker on top of a countertop mat, with the felt facing down so you can easily slide the greenhouse around the countertop if needed.
2 cheap 13″ grow light strips
Super easy to assemble
Top opens for easy watering
Add Hanging Grow lights to the top!
There are lots of shapes and sizes of growlights available. And prices range from less than $10 to hundreds.
We use a very inexpensive set of 2 grow lights, 13″ long, that came with an automatic timer.
We used zip ties to hang the strips from the top metal bar that crosses the diameter of the Ikea Socker. With loose zip ties as the way to hang the grow lights, they can easily be slided over from one side of the greenhouse to the other. This allows you to reach inside, move stuff around and water very easily.
The lights come on at the same time every day and they work great. The seeds, herbs and salad greens we’ve grown in our Ikea Socker Greenhouse Hack have all been healthy and happy.
If you’d like to see more steps on the assembly of the Ikea Socker Greenhouse Hack or for more info on how we hung the growlights, visit our sister site Ikea Socker Greenhouse Hack for under $35 (floridabalm.com). [prices went up slightly since that blog was posted]
