As I have previously stated I have been interesting growing plants hydroponically for the past couple of year. This year I have also started a couple of experiments that you can read about under each experiment menu.
Usually what I have done in the past is simply start the seedling on a shelf mostly with small 18“ grow lights. This year I looked into getting larger 4’ foot grow lights either florescent or LED or more of the smaller lights. I Looked around during the latter part of 2017 to see what was available. Then in Costco I saw they had 4’ LED 4200 lumin lights on for $49.99 which was a big saving over other florescent light setups and even a better deal on florescent grow lights. As an example, in the hydroponic store that I use 18” florescent grow lights (as I have) are $34.95 while 18” LEDs are $79.95. They also had heavy duty 102 litre totes on for $9.99. I picked up 2 totes and one light came home and installed the light on the shelving unit that I already had set up.
Of course one is not enough so on the next visit I picked up another light and two more totes. Now that I had a complete hydroponic setup, lights and water containers, I thought it would be a good idea to make a light support unit which could also be used as a tomato support when the tomatoes go hydroponically outside. It was then off to Lowe’s to see what they had, I purchased three 10’ x 3/4” white PVC pipe, 2 x T-sockets, and 6 x elbows to make the frame. I had the the pipe cut into 4’ lengths at Lowe’s and at home cut two of the two foot lengths in half and assembled without using any glue so the unit can be stripped down. The two totes fit nicely in the frame. Total cost for the hydroponic unit (totes, light, frame) including 15% GST (tax) $132.39. Oh I see I forgot the four S hooks from the Dollarama store at $2.30 including tax so full cost is $134.69!
Usually what I have done in the past is simply start the seedling on a shelf mostly with small 18“ grow lights. This year I looked into getting larger 4’ foot grow lights either florescent or LED or more of the smaller lights. I Looked around during the latter part of 2017 to see what was available. Then in Costco I saw they had 4’ LED 4200 lumin lights on for $49.99 which was a big saving over other florescent light setups and even a better deal on florescent grow lights. As an example, in the hydroponic store that I use 18” florescent grow lights (as I have) are $34.95 while 18” LEDs are $79.95. They also had heavy duty 102 litre totes on for $9.99. I picked up 2 totes and one light came home and installed the light on the shelving unit that I already had set up.
Of course one is not enough so on the next visit I picked up another light and two more totes. Now that I had a complete hydroponic setup, lights and water containers, I thought it would be a good idea to make a light support unit which could also be used as a tomato support when the tomatoes go hydroponically outside. It was then off to Lowe’s to see what they had, I purchased three 10’ x 3/4” white PVC pipe, 2 x T-sockets, and 6 x elbows to make the frame. I had the the pipe cut into 4’ lengths at Lowe’s and at home cut two of the two foot lengths in half and assembled without using any glue so the unit can be stripped down. The two totes fit nicely in the frame. Total cost for the hydroponic unit (totes, light, frame) including 15% GST (tax) $132.39. Oh I see I forgot the four S hooks from the Dollarama store at $2.30 including tax so full cost is $134.69!
Once seedlings are ready to be planted in the4 hydroponics (rootlets out bottom of cups) I will drill 1" holes in the tote tops and drop in the cups.
It was then on to begin experiment number two.
It was then on to begin experiment number two.
RSS Feed
