DIY Grow Light Stand - my 1st DIY project!

Well, I've done it. I've survived my first DIY project and even though it involved a saw, I still have all of my digits. (My work pants are a little worse for wear with a small hole, but there was no blood so it's a success!)

Because I'm starting all of my edibles from seed and need to sow them indoors, I needed a growing light to encourage the little buggers skyward.

Most of the light stands I found online ran $60-$200 and the $60 stands only have one small light (which is good for growing 12 little pods, but I'll have hundreds).

A little research and I came across this guy's DIY blog: http://www.vegetablegardener.com/item/10376/diy-pvc-grow-light-stand

With my shopping list in hand, I hit Lowe's and a very friendly employee walked me through the store to pick up a bunch of PVC connectors, PVC pipes, light timer, florescent grow lights, and some bolts. Getting a 10-foot long PVC pipe into my Honda hybrid meant going down the highway with about 5 feet of pipe sticking out of the back window, but nothing flew out of the window.

Here is the before:

About an hour later, I finished! 

I would not recommend sawing PVC without a clamp. I was holding it with my hand on the staircase and it wobbled all over the place. This is why my cuts look like California fault lines, but once I jammed them into the connectors, who will know?

The lights are attached with temporary ties, so I still need to get some more permanent method for hanging them, but it works!!!!

Ta da!!!!! (Cat not included)

The lights will be adjustable, so fast growing plants will go under one and slower growers get closer light for longer under the other. I just need to hook the lights into the timer and they will magically treat my soon-to-be seedlings to 12-15 hours of light without me having to remember.

Instead of paying $85ish bucks plus shipping, I whipped this sad little puppy out for:

2 grow lights = $30

PVC pipe = $6

Connectors = $7

_________________

Grand total: $43 + a wicked sense of accomplishment

Before pictures!

Before I actually get started with any landscaping, planting, digging, or growing, I wanted to capture my property in its dead-of-winter before stage. The next few months will be my first time digging in the dirt and making use of this excellent space.

In the front, I have a bed that has a few daffodils poking through and a boatload of weeds and stumps.

On the north side of the house (which gets almost zero sun), I plan on turning these raw pallets into a two-bin compost pile. I'll be painting the outside of the pallets to make them a little more visually pleasing since these will bump up against our neighbor's driveway.

Front side yard on the south side of the house. This area gets full sun all day, so I hope to have a few big beds here to soak up the bright warmth.

The backyard slopes downhill slightly. South is to the right of the photo. There are some large trees on the southside of the property, so some areas of the yard do not get full sun all day. I will have to carefully track the sun to figure out where to place the raised beds for optimal growing.

Backyard on the southside. There is some potential for a few beds here as the trees shouldn't block much of the light until the sun crests the house late in the afternoon.

Our neglected deck. The wood is in terrible condition. I'm not sure how to fix this. But, I hope to have the space lined with flourishing pots and planters by summer.

This is what pots at my house always look like. Full of weeds and stuck in a shady corner. NO LONGER! Soon, these will be teaming with life and soaking up the sun (said with my most optimistic voice).

And there you have it. A lot of potential, but a lot of work also. I'm intimidated about how to start and keep it cheap, but I am very excited by the possibilities.

New beginnings for a non-gardener

I'm terrified of spiders. I hate to sweat. Bugs bother me, too. I enjoy my pretty, well-cared for finger nails. I have a bad back. I've killed almost everything I've ever attempted to grow. And, I'm horribly allergic to mosquitoes.

Add all of that up and what do you have? A crazy woman who is stupidly attempting to homestead.

Here in Northern Virginia, I have about a 1/4 acre lot (just a tad over) with a very modest home. I've got decent sun on part of the property and until now, I've done everything in my power to avoid being out in the yard.

So, why the change?

Frustrated with the lack of organic produce at my local farmers market, tired of paying premium rates for organic produce in the super market that's being shipped from halfway around the world, and a chance encounter with a magazine called Urban Farm led me to pull on my big-girl panties and give this a try.

Being more excited about shopping for products than executing the actual garden, my first step was to decide on seeds.

Everything I've read about organic gardening stresses the importance of companion planting, diversity, and crop variation. I am also a big opponent of Monsanto (read more here), so I opted for heirloom seeds wherever possible.

At this point, I now have seeds for the following:

Arugula, Basil, Green Tint Squash, Sweet Pepper, Cherokee Purple Tomato, Striped Beets, Broccoli, Purple Snap Beans, Bunching Onions, English Peas, Musk Melon, Jalapeno Pepper, Magenta Lettuce, Wild Cherry Tomato, Peppermint, Rainbow Swiss Chard, Sage, Yellow Squash, Pear Tomato, Bush Bean, Lemon Balm, Icicle Radish, Onion, Shallot, Cayenne Chile, Cucumber

Also, I've picked up a handful of flower seeds that are supposed to help with organic pest control.

 

The first half of my seeds. The second half are in transit from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange in Virginia.

I want to start germinating my seeds now since it's only about 7 weeks to the last frost, but we will be traveling to Japan for a week during this period and I'm worried about the seeds drying out (and dying). I'll have to consider what to do about this.

Germinating seeds will happen in these peat pot trays with coir (coconut fiber) filling:

This blog will follow my adventures as I attempt to homestead; a place to share my successes and failures.

My yard has horrible soil, but it's pretty bare so before pictures are coming up next.

Additional plans include worm composting, full composting, organic growing, landscaping, building, raising chickens, installing rain barrels for water collection, and getting down and dirty with Mother Earth.

For every bug, there will be screaming. For every green shoot and edible that pokes through the earth, there will be tears of joy.

I am a most unlikely gardener. This is my adventure.