Living Lime

Shoplights, My Seed-Starting Sun-sub

May 11, 2009 at 11:36 pm Leave a comment

I have a grow-op in my basement. It’s not what you think. I have more than 60 baby pepper plants, 100 baby tomatos, 3 hibiscus, 5 brugmansia trees, 2 abuliton, jacobinias, artichokes, 5 varieties of basil, a goji berry yearling, and many many other beautiful or edible plants that would be dead if I left them outside for the winter. I grew a pineapple in my basement. If I used high pressure sodium grow lights, the utility bills would kill me. Instead, I have 5 banks of fluorescent shop lights with wide spectrum bulbs on a 16 hour timer (2 of those banks are borrowed just for starting my veggie seeds). They keep my plants happy without using a lot of power.

I just tie my cell packs of sprouted seedlings directly to the lights to make sure they get enough ‘sun’. If I don’t remember to lower them as they grow, they bend around the bulbs in funny ways, but they never burn, and it’s enough light to keep them happy.

I already started hardening off my seedlings 2 weeks ago, because the end of may is way too long to wait to plant them!

Entry filed under: Food, Garden. Tags: fluorescent lights, garden, grow lights, indoor garden, seed starting, tropical plants, winter garden.