Selling a car. Now have all this space in the garage ....

... and I want to build some sort of structure for my plants. Kinda like, areas for starter seedlings, pre-transplants, and even those that don't grow well in Texas heat (okay, 6 straight weeks of rain here this year ... strangest darn thing I've EVER seen) ...

I wanted to have something semi-permanent, and am planning light, water, etc. for the area.

Any ideas would be appreciated.
W J

My next door neighbour took their garage door off and replaced it with custom made patio doors...they got a nice sitting room now, custom screens for the summer too....would be a good idea for natural light....

Why not grow some houseplants...like African Violets, Episcias and Rex Begonias maybe even a few terrariums?? They never get rained out, frozen or too much heat from the sun.
You can add shelves with 4 foot fluorescent lights and grow almost any type of plant..even start your seeds on flats on the bottom shelves...they cost only a few doolars to run & you can enjoy an indoor garden year round.

Here's a pic of a few of my shleves...but there are many others.

Food for thought..

MsC

Selling a car? Just think of all that money you will have to spend on plants... LOL

Seriously, good luck with your project. Please post the progress...

Critter Keeper ....

... that is EXACTLY what I was thinking. I can put that on the back wall, and still keep space for the bikes and the tiller, and the wagon ...

... What lights would be most appropriate? Simple fluorescent?

WJ

WJ,

You ask

Yes, Simple fluorescent and the cheapest bulbs, unless you have a lot of cash...then you could use the "grow lights" .
Typically we use the 4 ft length with 2 tube fixtures but if you wanted you could do 8 ft lengths along one wall and save some floor space.....

I'd say on average depending on the plants you want to grow you could set them on timers 10-12 hrs a day and about 12-14 inches above the plants....

It's too much fun and it's all indoors in the comfort of your home..:)

MsC

typos


This message was edited Jul 3, 2007 11:06 PM

Can be addicting too...

But, doesn't everyone need a vice???

;-)

Cheap and easy. All my money goes to the three girls in the house.

Sigh!

But I digress ...

4 foot fluoro ... the 40 watt okay?

just a suggestion..........walmart has full spectrum lights for 6.95 each..........or just use cool white 40 watts.......i read that today in the National AV magazine.....some people use 1 warm and 1 cool..........but the magazine said full spectrum is best but 2 cool works fine............

WJ,
Yes, 40wts are fine...some of it depends on the type of plants you decide you want to grow under them. They are the cheapest to get started with...you can also use any combination of types of lights, as well. 1 of each type...and do a different combination on each shelf so you can experiment with them to see which you & your plants prefer.

The full spectrum lights gessiegail is talking about are a lil more expensive...I do like them because they are easier on your eyes and they kinda intensify the appearance of the colors of flowers... but it is only a "light show" so to speak, it doesn't really change the actual color of the plant/blooms.

Be sure to post some pics when you get all set up.

MsC