Saturday, January 10, 2009

Lighting Setup Finished

I finally got out and bought my plant brackets. They cost way too much. I wanted little $5 brackets, but since they had to be at least 15" the only ones that fit the bill were very heavy duty brackets. The light is incredibly lightweight and really doesn't need all that metal.

When I put them up I brought out my handy dandy stud finder, only to find that the battery died. When I took it out the whole plastic/metal part that connects it to the rest broke off. So I tried doing it the old fashioned way, rapping my knuckles on the wall, to no avail. I have thick real plaster walls and the window and ceiling are very close together. So I just put the brackets in the plaster. As I said the light is very lightweight and the plaster is thick. I think they will hold just fine.

The light is plugged into a timer and that will be plugged into the wall. They hang from chain so they can be adjusted. The whole setup is ready to go when I need to start seed in exactly one week. In the bright midday sun the blue LED light seems pretty weak. I was worried about seeing my plants, but during the daylight I should have no problems. Now I'm just crossing my fingers that the LEDs can make stocky seedlings. I'll let you all know in a month or two.

March Update: go here to see how the LEDs did. See the last paragraph on the page.

7 comments:

  1. I've enjoyed your series about your evolving light setup. It will be interesting to see how the plants grow under the LED lights, compared to your previous light stand.

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  2. That should work just fine....I can't wait to see your results from it. I've been hearing lots of good things about using LED's for propagation. Just now, I read your previous post, as well. It looks like you've got everything planned very well.

    EG

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  3. I wish I had room for a setup like that. Good luck with the seedlings!

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  4. You are so lucky to have a space to be able to start your plants indoors.

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  5. Hi Daphne, looks like you are ready to go! I looked over your seed list and really like the date thingy. I should do that too, but realize like you that the dates are merely suggestions! I have never had that great success making the transer from inside to outside, maybe I should research the dates more thoroughly. Thanks for this experiment with the LEDs too.
    Frances

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  6. Northern Shade: Thanks, I'm really hoping they do well under it. Otherwise I'll be buying more seedlings this year.

    engineeredgarden: I've got my fingers crossed. It is fun trying a new system.

    gardenerprogress and PerennialGardener: I certainly am. I hope in my next house I'll still have space for my starts.

    Frances: Yup just suggestions. My first date is already not going to happen. I'm going to be away that weekend, so they will be pushed earlier or later. If I have time, I'll get them in on Friday if not they will have to wait. As to the transfer. Inside seedlings are really very fragile creatures. It helps to have a mild fan on them for the last week before they move out to toughen them up, then harden them off slowly as they get used to real sun. The greenhouse grown seedlings from the nursery are so much easier. They always got full sun and they did some of the hardening off for me.

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  7. I love your light set up, very nice. I have thought of doing that aluminum thing but haven't got around to doing it yet. Maybe yours will inspire me.

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