Small Light Garden

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy: They are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.-- Marcel Proust (1871 - 1922)_________________________________________________________________

Did you know it is so easy to set up a small light garden in your home for house plants? All you need are two flourescent tubes and the reflector unit that holds them. Although special bulbs have been touted as the last word in light-garden technology, they are relatively costly.


Instead, many weekend gardeners have found that the light spectrum that most plants need can be produced inexpensively by using a cool light or daylight flourescent tube, together with a warm light tube, either 20 or 40 watts each.

Economical two-tube units and bulbs can be found at hardware stores, but be sure to measure your window space so you know what size to buy.Position the light unit so that the plants are no closer to the tube than about two inches, and no further away than about 10 inches. A typical "day" for plants growing under lights is 14 to 16 hours, and many weekenders use a timer to automate sunrise and sunset.

Why not give this a try this week, especially since it's winter and you'd like a project to fill your gardening 'down' time!