This article was originally published in March 2020.
Last year, I started my first home garden from seeds. All in all, I was pretty successful – by the end of the growing season I had a nice garden full of cherry tomatoes, chili peppers, basil, etc – but admittedly my first introduction to the seedling growing process Advancement had its own series of accidents.
Aside from overwatering and crowding the seedlings, my biggest mistake was not giving them enough light. My old apartment had beautiful south-facing windows, but the seedlings were still struggling with the low light and variable cloud cover in early spring in Maine. Early on, many of my seedlings were exhibiting leggyness (thin stems and top heaviness that occurs when young plants stretch desperately for light), so I decided to cut my losses and start over with a new batch of plants. I thought it had to be.
Luckily, I was able to save the leggy sapling, but I don't want to go through that stress again. This year, I decided instead to build my own seedling rack with full-spectrum grow lights to ensure my seedlings had the conditions they needed to grow.
The only problem, I might add, is always a problem for gardeners on a budget – cost. The lowest price I found online for a high quality her 3 tier seedling grow rack was about $600. This does not include taxes, shipping or handling charges.
I thought it might be cheaper to make a DIY seedling shelf. I set out to do so armed only with confidence and without any tools.
learn to try
First, I looked for a place to install a DIY seedling shelf in the guest room. The room has a south-facing window, but it's small. In other words, it's not big enough to support the number of seedlings I want to grow, especially considering I (probably overzealously) ordered about 40 bags of seeds.
Still, the rooms have plenty of space, open electrical outlets, and no full-time tenants. My sister, friend, and boyfriend's siblings will have to get used to sleeping with my seedlings if they visit over the next few months. Personally, I think that privilege belongs to them.
Next, I browsed online for instructions on how to make a seedling rack. Some people had made their own tables and such out of wood, but I didn't have the woodworking skills or patience for that. Additionally, due to limited space in my apartment, the seedling rack had to be placed higher than outside. Instead, I found his inexpensive 5-tier wire rack at Ocean State Job Lot that seemed to work just fine.
Then I had to choose a grow light and, admittedly, this was the scariest part. Grow lights are inexpensive, and there are seemingly endless options at home improvement stores. I knew full-spectrum light was best for my seedlings. Some nursery growers told me I could use regular store lighting, but since my plants are my babies, I wanted to have the most spectrum I could afford. But more than that, I was lost.
I emailed Kate Garland, a horticulture specialist at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, to ask which lights I should buy. She said ideally she would aim for 40 watts for a bulb for a nursery. After considering my options and budget, 32 watts was the best I could afford. But the goal was achieved.
I got some more materials to complete the device. That means his S-hooks to hang the lights on a wire rack, and an outlet timer so the seedling gets his 16 hours of light a day despite my forgetful tendencies.
This is a rough itemized list of my expenses (taking into account some things I already had).
— Wire rack, $45
— Grow lights, $60 each x 4 = $240
— Outlet timer, $5
— S-hooks, $7 for 9
— Total, $297
This isn't cheap, but it's about half the price of a store-bought rack (again, not including shipping and handling). My DIY seedling rack probably doesn't have as many wings as the store-bought model, but it does have additional shelves, so that's something to consider as well.
Now comes the real test. Assemble a DIY seedling rack.
trial experience
First, we had to assemble the rack itself. I had previously purchased a smaller version of a similar wire rack to store pots and pans in my kitchen, but it didn't have as many shelves. My guest room has a slight slope toward the ceiling, so assembling the shelves was a little difficult.
Also, my guest room is incredibly dusty. After the third or fourth sneeze, I suddenly felt guilty about all the guests in the dust bunny who had stayed there before. Now that my seedlings have taken up residence in the empty room, I need to dust them more diligently.
After the rack was finally built, I carefully unboxed the grow light. Wire for hanging the light was included in the box, but S-hooks were handy for attaching the wire to the rack. I kept in mind the fact that I could adjust the height of the light depending on where I hooked it on the rack. This will help when the seedlings begin to grow.
I hung a grow light and turned it on to make sure it wasn't something I bought by mistake. I quickly realized that instead of using power strips to connect everything individually, I could connect them together, centipede-man style. I immediately made the changes and tested again. Succeeded.
Finally, I tested the timer. I was skeptical because I'd never used it before (I'm not the type who likes Christmas lights), but I was able to set it, forget it, and come back 30 minutes later to turn off the lights. . I'm a timer converter.
My DIY seedling rack is now ready for the upcoming growing season. I didn't think that would be possible, but now I'm looking forward to the growing season even more than before.
My tried and true points
It's not difficult to make a DIY seedling shelf if you have the right materials. Although homemade racks are much cheaper than purchased, the project will still cost some money. Still, this equipment gives you more control over the growing conditions for your precious seedlings, preparing them for a more productive growing season.
One thing I will have to think about in the future is how to prevent water from dripping from the seedlings onto the grow lights hanging below. The wires are twisted so they don't get in the way, but since it's an investment, I don't want the light itself to get submerged in water. I didn't think about it until everything was set up, but I already have some ideas. For example, you can line the bottom of a wire shelf with old towels or purchase larger grow trays. When you reach the bridge, cross it.
Of course, I won't really know how effective my grow rack will be until next month when I finally put the trays with soil and seeds on the shelf and start growing. But thanks to the new seedling rack, this year will be even more successful than last.