Seedlings, Grow Lamp

I'd better start coming up with more creative post titles, or else more topics with which to suffix my titles. But entitlement (and abstruse word usage) aside...

Seedlings! Just look at all that green--compared to when there was no green at all, I mean!

In addition to the photos below, the following plants have germinated (noticeably) for the first time:

• Marigold (I think; at least it's showing considerable growth since last time)
• Sage
• Aster (pink starlight)
• Cherry Tomato - Sweet Cherry Hybrid and Sun Sugar
• Tomato - Stupice
• Oregano
• Butternut

Below:  Broccoli seedlings.  They're doing VERY well, I'm very impressed with them!  These are approx 3-4cm tall.




Below:  Purple basil seedlings!  Just look at how tiny they are!!



Below:  (still Purple Basil)  The green seedling isn't supposed to be there.  I'm not sure what it is!  It may be Genovese (green) basil, or perhaps a stray tarragon or chamomile.  It's way too early to tell!




Below:  Tall, spindly cosmos (candy stripe)...  They're way too spindly and weak...  Also, they're beginning to push against the lid.  It'll be time to transplant them soon...  The tallest are about 6cm, but fallen-over.




Below:  Calendula and marigold seedlings!  Aren't they just adorable??  These are roughly 1-1.5cm cm tall.



Below:  Chamomile and tarragon seedlings.  They're so tiny!  But they're starting to search for that sunlight...  These are roughly 1cm tall.

  


Construction - Grow Lamp

We went to Home Depot today and bought materials for the grow lamp. I'll probably make a separate post with more detailed instructions, but here's what we bought:

• 1x 4' fluorescent light box with wrap-around (unnecessary; but this lamp will go in my room when we're done with it for the season), 32W, for T8 bulbs
• 2x Natural Light fluorescent lamps, 32W T8 ("plant lights" cost too much; this'll be adequate)
• 3' house light wiring (we're going to attach it to an outlet-plug, shhh)
• 1x simple outlet timer for lights
• 2x 1.5' chain (just simple lightweight chain, this happened to be coated with red plastic, which is slightly lowers chance of electrocution I guess)
• 4x eyelet screws?  I'm not sure what they're called.  Photos to follow.  
• Lumber (we already have some)

All this cost roughly $60 (will provide more precise figures later).  A grow-lamp kit ranges from $50-$150 depending on what you want.

Hydrofarm makes some products I've heard are good, but won't they ship to Canada (dang it, this would be a decent price, too!).  ...  I'll check Walmart next year, actually--it never occurred to me to check there!

This AeroGarden system goes for $149 at Canadian Tire and is designed to work very specifically.  It's too small to adapt to my 72+60 cell seed trays; and too expensive.

This is a grow lamp from Amazon.Ca, but it looks too small for my operation.

The basic idea for my grow lamp system is to have a wooden frame, maybe 2.5' to 3' tall, screw two hook eyelets into the frame's "ceiling", suspend the chain, screw two hook eyelets into the lamp box, hook the lamp into the chain; splice the wiring to an outlet-compatible plug, and put the plants underneath.  I plug the lamp into the timer and let it turn on for maybe 6h overnight.  As the plants grow, I can adjust the height of the lamp by changing where it's hooked to the chainlinks.

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