Converted Grow Lights
Sue likes to grow plants from seeds (annuals, vegetables, etc) but we don’t have a lot of bright windows to get sunlight from. What is needed are some grow lights, only the commercially available ones are quite expensive..
What are much cheaper to buy are plant shelves without lights. I don’t remember exactly where this one came from, probably Canadian Tire.
Each shelf is separate and rests upon plastic rods. I got worried about the shelves coming loose with the weight of the lights and plants so I put a 3/8” threaded steel rod down one of the verticals. I suspect this is entirely unnecessary but I brought it so in it goes.
It’s being given two sets of 24” fluorescent lights with two T8 bulbs each. The cheapest ones I could find where about $30 from Home Depot with the lights being $3 each. Even though that adds up to $70ish for the lights that’s still cheaper than buying commercially.
Each light had to be attached differently. The top one was attached to a piece of wood and the whole thing just sits there so it can detached easily. The bottom one uses some metal brackets to hang off a plastic rod. The brackets were made from strips violently cut from some heating vent using a Dremel with cutting disc.
To protect the bottom light from water spilling from the shelf above I put on a plywood shelf. Depending upon how the growing season goes we may add additional lights and possibly a heating mat.
