Yes it is still winter with 10 inches of ice on the lake! BUT Stand back! We are about to have a floral and vegie explosion. As the moon phase indicates today is the day to start all flower seeds, which I have done. The 21st and 22nd of this month I will start all above ground veggies.
On the other hand, I remember Blue Lake in the summer and it's a darn nice place. However, when we moved Southwest, we brought a snow shovel with us. When we got to where no one knew what it was, we stopped. Then we got dumb and moved to the mountains. dr
Wow you did get lots of seed sowed.I can't wait to see the pictures when they start blooming.I think the 1st picture is great as long as you are the one that took it,
I agree. As an original Michigander, I love the South. I had a windshield scraper when I moved here. Remember, they used to give them away at gas stations. No one knew what it was. A friend of mine used it as a barnacle scraper and love it. My parents sent cartons of them here and I sold them all up and down the Gulf Coast.
Soon the best bit of sowing seeds will be with you - the very first sprouts to pop through the earth!! Did you make the light box yourself btw as it's much bigger than any I've seen before? Happy growing. :-D
Nice setup, what type and wattage bulbs do you use. Are they a special plant bulb or can a cool white florescent be used? Can't wait to see them in bloom.
Seed Starting Set up Yes I made the setup my self but soon found that it is almost not big enough. I us four florescent shop lights with plant and aquarium lights. They have the full light spectrum for growing plants. It is said that you can also use one cool white and one soft white standard florescent bulb but have to leave on longer. I leave mine one 12 hours, with the other set up they recommend 16 hours.
How much, approximately, did it cost to set up and how much to run it? I've not got a greenhouse and a lightbox would be an ideal alternative for me. Is it possible do you think to make a multi-levelled one? Any help you can give me would be much appreciated. :-D
Eileen ask? How much, approximately, did it cost to set up and how much to run it? I've not got a greenhouse and a light box would be an ideal alternative for me. Is it possible do you think to make a multi-levelled one? Any help you can give me would be much appreciated. The four (4 foot) shop lights at Wal Mart were 8.00 dollars (US) each and the plant grow bulbs were 7.00 dollars each ( eight required). How ever you could use one cool white and one soft white fluorescent bulbs in each light and those would be about 3.00 each. My set up is 49 inchs x 39 inchs for the base unit with 22 inch uprights. The piece of lexan that I used on the bottom was given to me. I used the lexan to seal the bottom of the unit so that I could bottom water all the flats at the same time. How ever if you used seed starting trays with the clear plastic lids you could bottom water individually. My trays do not have holes in them. I used pieces of left over 2 x 4's to build my unit. With a little calculating you could build any configuration that would me your needs. (ie) single tier or multi tiered. I also used deck screws to hold everything together so that I can take it apart to store for the summer. Other than the cost of the lights I probably have another 15.00 in materials. For the operating cost I have not noticed any large increase in my light bill. Maybe 3.00/month.
Oh thanks for all the info J. :-D Not as costly as I had imagined. Guess what I'm going to have a try at making!!!! Now where to put it???
If you don't want to go the trouble of building a table, a wooden potting table ($39) at a hardware store works. They are usually about 4 ft wide and the shoplights fit perfectly. I bought screw in hangers and screwed them in the wood underneath the top shelf and placed my seedlings on the bottom shelf. I scrounged around and found some insulated wire things that were being thrown out and placed another shoplight on them so that I would have a shoplight on the upper shelf. Works great. LoreD
