Make Your Own Grow-light Shelving

We've had a reprieve from winter's onslaught that has put me in the mood for outdoorsy type stuff. I grabbed a bundle of new plant markers and headed out to the hosta garden. I've been meaning to replace a few homemade ID tags for a while now but with college classes becoming a little more intense I've had to put in extra time studying and some things have been moved to the back burner. I'm a senior and will be graduating in the spring of 2006, at which time I'll also become a senior citizen. I hear there's several cruise lines that offer discounts for "old" folks. Maybe I'll be checking into a few of those in the near future. For now though, I had those plant markers I wanted to put out.

Little did I realize that although the outside air temperature was almost sixty degrees, the ground temperature was still way below that. As a matter of fact I found out just how cold the ground temperature was when I tried to push the first plant marker into the ground surrounding 'Out House Delight.' The ground was frozen, that's how cold it still was. Needless to say, I didn't get to put out that first plant marker. Which leads me to the how-to I've prepared for y'all here in this months installment of Gardening Out of Style.

After treading on frozen ground I decided it'd be a good time to check my grow-light shelving in the basement. We start about eight or ten flats of seeds here around March and this past spring I noticed that one of the screw hooks holding the chain that connects the shop light had worked its way loose and needed tightening. I was aiming to make sure that my lights and shelves were in good condition before seed starting time this year. After checking each screw hook and tightening ones that needed it, I double-checked the shelving boards to see that none had water damage. Everything looked good and I was satisfied that my homemade grow-light shelving was in perfect condition and ready for another seed starting session in March.

Starting seeds indoors and watching them sprout while winter winds whip up a blizzard outside is a most enjoyable gardening feat. You can make your own grow-light shelving for around $50. This project only takes a couple of hours to complete and you'll be making two grow-light units which will allow you to start four flats of seedlings.

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