My grow light system
Thursday, April 14, 2011 
This simple set-up in my home office was inspired by Gayla's and Meighan's lighting systems that I read about earlier this year.
description
Shelves
I'm using two chrome 3-tier carts, similar to this Whitmor Supreme Cart with wheels & adjustable shelves. Each cart is about 24 inches wide, 13 inches deep and 33 inches high. Placed side by side (narrow ends abutted) the two carts' combined width is 48 inches, the same length as the fluorescent lights I'm using. Though I could have bought 24-inch fluorescent tubes to fit the width of one cart, the larger size is more economical -- only $2.00 more per light at the store where I purchased them.
Source & cost of carts: Homesense, $25 each, purchased 5 years ago to store office supplies.
Lights: SunBlaster T5HO fluorescent lamp & fixture sets
My system uses two T5HO 48-inch 54W 6400K lamps (lights). One light is between the top and middle shelves & one is between the middle & bottom shelves. In theory, I could stretch the system's capacity with two more lights: one suspended from the ceiling for plants on the top shelf & one suspended from the bottom shelf for young seedlings.
Source & cost of lights: West Coast Seeds, $31.99 each (February 2011 price). Though more expensive than standard fluorescent tubes, the lamp & fixture kit includes an electronic ballast so I eliminated the expense of a separate ballast.
Hanging hardware
Because the hardware that came with my SunBlaster lights is designed for mounting to wood or drywall -- not the open, wire shelves I'm using -- I devised a simple hanging system with large clips & hooks.
Bulldog-type clips, 1-inch capacity, 3-inch wide
Quantity needed: 4; two clips per fluorescent tube, one clip placed close to the ends of each light.
Source & cost: generic version of Boston® Bulldog® Clips from office supply store; about $3 for 2 clips.
The ballast, which is integral to the fixture, is just under 1 inch wide so the clips hold it snugly & securely. There hasn't been any slippage due to weight or breakage due to pressure since I applied the clips 4 weeks ago.
S-hooks
Quantity needed: 4; two hooks per light (or multiples of two if you want to link them together instead of using chain).
Source & cost: local hardware store; about $2 per package of 4 hooks.
One hook at each end of the light suspends the light from the shelf (see photographs above and below). The top loop of the "S" is placed over the middle wire of the shelf and the bottom loop of the "S" is threaded through the bulldog clip's opening. Hooks can be added (linked together) or subtracted as needed to adjust the height of the light above the seedlings.
As the seedlings grow, I'm also able to easily adjust spacing (by one-inch increments) between shelves. In the photo above, if you look closely at the front pole, you can see the top portion of the black plastic insert that holds the tier at the desired position.
I bought 4 feet of lightweight chain for under $3 which I haven't used yet. I prefer linking together S-hooks as it's quicker, simpler & less clunky. Chain would be useful if you were suspending lights from the ceiling or had large spaces between fixed shelves.
Other supplies:
Plastic trays with clear plastic domes for holding seedling pots. I purchased mine more than 15 years ago so I don't remember the cost or source. If I didn't have the trays, I would reuse the plastic containers from salad greens.
Reflectors would be a useful addition but I haven't yet found a local retail store where I can buy them.
evalution
Three weeks ago -- as soon as the first tomato seedlings germinated -- I turned on the switch on. An exciting moment! Today I have 29 young tomato, eggplant and pepper plants growing green, straight, strong and fast. Turning on the grow lights, brushing my fingers against the leaves, watering, rotating the pots and comparing growth rates have become a pleasant morning ritual.
Grow lights -- highly recommended. Much as I love window sills for many things, they mine aren't the best for nuturing young tomato seedlings.
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It's taken me a little longer than I planned to write this post so I'm going to publish it now & perhaps add some notes as I think of them.
I'm happy to answer your questions in the comments.
Reader Comments (8)
This is such a good idea Elaine, and I love how you've put it together. No wonder you have so many healthy tomato seedlings if they're getting that degree of care and attention. It looks like the seedlings are in yoghurt pots, is that correct?
Wonderful detailed instructions, and I love the sound of a morning routine of tending to your plants. I like your yoghurt tub recycling effort too!
Hello, Kathryn. I'm so glad you like the system. As Lucy might say, it evolved "organically." I was thinking about her brick oven while writing this post.
Yes, the seedlings are in small (100 & 120 mL) yoghurt containers.
Thank you, Arwen. Yes, I had to tend to the seedlings this morning, which made me a few minutes late for a conference. (Oops.) I'm filling a bin with assorted empty food containers from yogurt and canned vegetables as well as used paper coffee cups. These all make excellent seedling pots.
How great to see all of the details of your home set-up Elaine - I particularly like the inventive use of bulldog clips. The seedlings look wonderfully straight (mine are a bit wavy from constant turning on the windowsill but otherwise growing well)
Thank you, Sophie. I'm glad to hear your seedlings are growing well on the windowsill. When the sun has been shining -- a rare event so far this spring but for a few hours yesterday the sun was bright and warm -- I move some of my seedlings to the south-facing window sills.
Yes, the set-up has worked well -- almost too well as the seedlings are growing so quickly, I may run out of room for them indoors before it's warm enough to put them outdoors.
As for the bulldog clip idea...well, I'm not known for my inventiveness but I think I got the idea from a simple picture framing method I'd seen years ago: glass and backing held together with bulldog clips & then suspended from a hook on the wall.
Hi Elaine
This is a great post. I did a quick link to it because it’s such a great description of a set-up for an apartment or condo. I really like the idea of using the clips and s-hooks to hang the lights – simple, brilliant solution. I’m late on this comment, hope the seedlings are still happy and healthy. You must be getting close to potting them up and sending them outside.
Hi, Kim. Thank you for mentioning this post on your blog. The tomatoes, eggplants & peppers are still indoors but I hope to set them out in about the third week of May -- maybe earlier though I may have to bring them in at night.
I wish I'd set up grow lights years ago. I think I'll be using them year-round, except perhaps in the high summer months. I love the thought of growing tomatoes in my office, just as Gayla's been doing.
You are a genius, really. Thanks for sharing you ideas.