Hub's is having problems figuring out how to put together light stand for me and I can't find the thread that had the link nor see it in the stickies for instructions on building one from PVC pipe.
P
PVC light stand
Is this the one your looking for ?
http://www.mygardenguide.com/tutorials/tut.html?id=181&title=Building%20A%20Light%20Rack
More plant stand links :))
http://www.jimmietoney.com/stand.html
http://www.avsa.org/PlantStands.html
Thanks...that's it.
P
Cool ! That's great ! Glad I could help :)) Happy stand building !!
I like the 4 shelf stand on that Jimmie Toney link best.
Thanks for finding those for me.
P
your well come that is a nice on
I thought about making a PVC stand, but my husband, who likes things that are really, really sturdy (such an engineer) went out and picked up a "Gorilla Rack" storage shelf unit at Sam's instead... they make one (or did make, at least) that can be assembled side-by-side (3 shelves each side) rather than 6 shelves tall, and that's how I put them together for my seedling light shelves downstairs. The lights above the top shelf are raised & lowered on ropes (great for tall-growing tomato seedlings). The adjustment holes in the metal uprights are great for putting 1/4 inch dowel through to support adjustable-height lights above the lower shelves. The 18" shelves will hold four standard 1020 flats, if you don't mind a bit of overhang front & back.
I know you don't need all that adjustment for AVs, but I really do like this setup. I did have AVs down there last fall, and I may have to move some propagation trays down there this winter (will use heat mat), because I'm out of room upstairs.
I was thinking about the issue of sturdiness with your pups, P... If you do go with PVC, you might want to see if you can find a way to add some cross-bracing to the stand design. I wonder if making X's with rope on the back side of each shelf would do the trick...
This photo shows how I support the lights on my Gorilla Rack stand...
So cool there must be as many different types of plant stands/ and shelves as there are growers ! Something Special for each growers need , personality , and afordability ! I like this link from AVSa of plant stands then they give the link of where you can buy or links for instructions of ones that were in AVSA magazines !
http://www.avsa.org/PlantStands.html
MSN group has a picture album where people posted their different types of stands very interesting !
Wow I just looked and they have one for about $20.00 :))
Jiffy Plant Stand
From PVC Pipe
By: Kenneth W. Barbi
Reprinted from
African Violet Magazine
September/October, 1995
If you could build a basic plant stand for $20, and then add lights and trays, wouldn’t it be worth it? Commercial vendors sell comparable stands made out of metal for as much as $266. With a little bit of time spent following these instructions, a substantial PVC pipe plant stand could be yours.
Instruction at that link above posting !
We had to buy Hubby's back/health he had had a Heart attack the Jan I started wishing for a stnad and his back so we had to buy .
Oh you lucky growers who can make them ! How much fun !
Also there at the link is a story and info how to buy and put one together simular to Jills nice stands :))
A Quick and Easy Plant Stand
By Mary Ann Swizer
Chesterfield, MO
Several years ago some of my friends started growing Streptocarpus and I decided I wanted to try my hand at it too. But my plant stands were already full of African violets and I didn’t want to part with any of them. What was I to do? The only logical conclusion was to get another plant stand. But I was busy and didn’t want to take the time to build one of wood.
While cruising the hardware store I found my solution: steel shelving.
I brought a four-shelf unit that resembles a baker’s rack for about $100, on sale. It stands 74” high and the shelves are 48” by 18”. It is a sturdy unit; the manufacturer boasts that each shelf will hold up to 500 pounds. Easy, no tool assembly is advertised. Actually a hammer and a scrap block or wood is needed. And, while you could assemble it by yourself, it is much better to have a helper. It goes together in about a half an hour or less. You decide the distance between shelves.
Please check link above from AVSA sight for more how to's :))
It is important that your plants and plant stands fit your lifestyle.
Have fun !
Just a note... there are also relatively inexpensive steel shelving units that go together with nuts & bolts... We bought some several years ago and discovered they were time-consuming and explitive-provoking to assmble... The frames that you can just knock together with a mallet are far easier to deal with!
I do like the idea of just dropping trays down into a PVC frame. Now that I have my nice perma-nest trays from Parks, I may try a PVC frame... especially if I can figure out a way to cross-brace it to satisfy DH's need to overbuild everything.
Hub's had a bunch pvc pipe left over from a plumbing job he did and I have the light fixtures from old bench so all we're out are the joints.
P
Sounds ike you will have a super duper special plant stand :))