My Indoor Setup

16 years ago

After a few weeks of research and many years of toying with the idea of having an indoor light setup for my plants, I finally made the plunge! This forum was so helpful in my research that I thought it would only be fair to share my newest project. If anyone has any comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

Here's my setup: (click on the pictures to view a better quality image)

After reading numerous complaints about the Lights of America lights sold at Wal-mart, I made the mistake of purchasing these lights. Last weekend my husband and I worked for 5 hours to prepare this space. He installed electrical outlets for me, while I cleaned, organized and configured the lights. 5 hours later, I hung the lights and (da, da, da, da...) NEITHER worked! ONE out of the FOUR ballasts worked. I wasn't impressed and promptly returned these lights for a refund. I went to Mendards and purchased 2 shop lights for $15/ea (on sale from $20/ea), which was the same price as the Wal-mart lights. They work splendidly and are constructed of much better quality, too. Here's the brand I purchased:

As for the lights, I purchased GE Kitchen/Bath EcoLux 40W, T12s, SP30. They don't seem to give off too much heat, which is a concern. I also purchased a thermometer, which measures temperature and humidity levels and also records the min/max readings. Max: 71.6 F, 73% humidity. Min: 67.3 F, 64% humidity. Are these within the appropriate range for an indoor setup? Here's my thermometer and timer:

I only have the lights on for 12hrs/day because I don't want to "shock" the plants that haven't been getting more than 5hrs/day of natural sunlight. I don't have any South-facing windows I can use for plants and the East/West windows only receive about 4-5 hours of bright indirect sunlight per day. This was the motivating factor to do this indoor set up.

As for the table, I purchased a 30"x72" folding table from Wal-mart for $40. I LOVE it! It's sturdy and I have more than enough space to start seedlings before Spring. I lined the table with foil for proper reflection and then covered that with a long sheet of plastic for protection. Here's a close-up:

Here are some wider view pictures of the whole set up. I purchased a shelf kit from Menards for $25 to hold my accessories (pots, soils, etc.). I also cleaned an old baker's rack to hold miscellaneous tools and I had the garbage can was just lying around. All in all, I think my setup has some great potential!

Thanks for reading; I hope you enjoyed! Any comments and/or suggestions would be very much appreciated as I'm still a newbie to growing under lights.

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Comments (7)

dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Very nice setup. I don't think you have enough light. the reflective table is a very good idea. You should add a lot more reflective material all around.

What are you planning to grow?

(Kill the cat, quick! :-) )

dcarch
luigie822
Original Author
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thank you. I actually purchased 2 24" florescent strips today. I'm going to hang these over the far left side of the table to start seeds and cuttings.

I have a few ideas about what to grow, but my main purpose was just to get my houseplants through winter. I think I'm going to start some asiatic lilies from seeds. I let a few of mine go to seed this season and I'd like to take advantage of it. I also want to experiment with some bonsai by either adopting new trees or starting from seed. I also want to try a cutting from my mother's mandovilla plant. I lost mine this summer from over-watering. A few plants from my herb garden are coming inside, too. I threw in some cilantro and basil seeds mid-season and the plants are doing excellently.

Awww... kill the cat? Never! She loves the new setup and is always around when I'm down there. Besides her running off with my jade cutting (you can see it in her mouth on the second picture I posted; bottom left), she won't interfere with anything. She's a great "helper" too! :-)
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Thanks guys, My lites are about 5inches about the plants. I only have some seedlings up so far, the rest are just under the lights germinating. I have bell peppers, jalipinos, hot peppers, tomatos, petunias, pansys, marigolds and cukes. Of course the only thing coming up are the cukes and tomatos which I think I started to early.... but its my first time, so trial and error I will know more next year. I just planted my petunias yesterday so I am a bit late on them, but it took a bit for the seeds to get to me on Ebay. I hope I have some little guys to plant outside this year :) Ok I have tried to post the picture again and I cannot find this browse button it said to click to upload from my computer. So i'll just describe about 150 little seeds and some seedlings, 2 T5 floresent bulbs on top of them, I feel I need more bulbs but I cant fit anymore under my little makeshift shelf. There in the basement, sitting on towels and on top of the towels are styrophone type material to keep the seedlings warmer and off the ground. I have my lites on a timer and was told they need 18hrs a day. So I hope it goes well :)
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nyssaman
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I think you need to lower your lights more
greenelbows1
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Yeah, I was thinking it would be a good idea to lower the light too. The plants can actually touch the tubes without much damage, tho' an inch or two of clearance would be better. As for the cat--I had stopped using the bottom shelf of my light stand because of the cats. My son just put two T-8 fixtures side by side above the bottom shelf (makes the other lights--T12s look kinda dingy!) and I remembered I had some capillary matting (any old acrylic or other 'plastic' blanket will work) and put it on there, and poured hot water on it. Helps humidity, and the cats don't like it. Cats will push plants off when they decide to stretch out and take naps. They will nibble. (My sans, which are starting to bloom, tend to have little tooth marks on the outside leaves.) Some plants are poisonous to cats. Someone I know slightly had her cat drink out of the reservoir under a plant and it took a visit to the vet emergency room to save its life. It never occurred to her the fertilizer in the water was poisonous to cats! (Me either!) I love my plants and I love my cats, and prefer they all stay healthy.
nygardener
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I don't think you'll shock the plants by giving them 16-18 hours of light per day even bright indirect sunlight is much brighter than the light from fluorescent bulbs. In fact, if they start to get leggy, they might have been getting more light in the window!
luigie822
Original Author
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Thanks for the concern regarding my cats. However, I'm confident that they're safe. Neither of them sleep on the table and when they are up there, their main concern is getting inbetween me and whatever I'm doing (looking for my attention). They really don't bother the plants too much.

I didn't know that fertilizer is poisonous to cats; thanks for the info. I've been using Mircle Grow Plant Food for Houseplants for the past 5 years and I haven't found it to be a problem with my cats. One shows no interest in the water at all, but the other does. She's a very well-behaved cat and generally listens to me when I sternly say "no." She knows she's not allowed to play with the plants.

As for lowering the lights, I've definitely done that. They're about 2-3" from the top of the plants. Everything is looking great! They're definitely thriving. The two things I'd like to improve are heat and humidity.

Thank you all for your feedback!
object16
16 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
K&B is a good choice, but lower the lamps and either paint the
wall with flat white or hang some mylar. A LOT of your light is being wasted. I am recommending to people to order the
1241cw fixtures online while they are still available. This is a discontinued Lithonia lamp, get it a cheaperlights.com
or something like that, and replace the ballast so you can run
T8's. The 1241cw has a more effective reflector, and I even line the reflector with mylar fastened with carpet tape. Also, instead of hanging the lights and having a fixed garden, I fix the lights to the ceiling and hang the
garden with heavy duty chain and hooks. That way I don't waste any light and I can use the floor space underneath, my place is a lot smaller than yours, so I can still use the floor space under the garden for a desk and chair, and whatever else. Right now I have a 4x6 foot growing area but I plan to triple that.
Paul Mozarowski.

My Indoor Setup

Comments (7)

dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m

luigie822
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My Indoor Setup

Comments (7)

dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m

luigie822Original Author

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nyssaman

greenelbows1

nygardener

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object16

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luigie822
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luigie822
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