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Question about starting early

JJBagoose

JJBagoose

Hi,

Haven't been posting lately, mostly lurking.

I did better this year then last, I got hammered by slugs and rain but I am ending up with some good plants.

Now I am wondering how I can improve next year. I know my major issue was that I started too late and had some temperature issues with my setup.

Currently, the best place I have to start my plants is the basement. Unfortunately, with New England winters my non-heated basement does not stay very warm. I am hoping to start in January this year but I will need to have some climate control in place.

What do people do in the colder areas? Any insight would be appreciated.

thanks,
jj
 
I made a couple of small greenhouses, 3"H x 3"W by 2.5"D. Used PVC pipe and plastic. Some florescent lighting and a heat lamp with a small fan kept things nice and toasty. Some of the peppers were over two feet tall by the time the last chance of frost was past.

They cost less than $10 to build. I have some photos around here some where--I'll see if I can find one.
 
That was easier to find than I thought.:)

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I used styrofoam insulation to help keep the heat in.

That should keep things warm enough for you in the basement. The temps would drop to 60F in the night and the inside temp never dropped below 75F. I considered it successful.

Good luck to ya JJB.
 
Thanks for the info Patrick.

This seems like a good idea. I guess my only concern would be fire. Is this a valid concern or do you think I am worrying too much?

Did you leave this setup on 24-7?

I have a metal rack that I have been using. Maybe I can get styrofoam like you suggested and then plastic wrap. I can then wrap up the shelves that I am using.
 
Fire is a very real and valid concern- not because of Patrick's setup (nothing wrong with it at all), but because indoor gardening introduces flammable materials and electrical equipment. That translates to fuel and a source of ignition.

Easy fix- run EVERYTHING through a GFCI

Second- you can never have too many fire extinguishers around! I've got the damn things strung throughout the house, my vehicles, EVERYWHERE. It's not a bad idea to know how to use one either- go to Home Despot or wherever, pick up a couple Kidde A/B/C fire extinguishers (they're about $17 apiece), mount one in your house and take the other one out in the woods somewhere. Start a fire and try putting it out. I'm lucky I guess- I get practical fire extinguisher training every 6 months at work, so I'm pretty good with the thing, but at home I go and buy a 1 pound extinguisher at least every summer and haul my old lady out and make her try and put out fires with it.
Another trick I learned from an old homesteader up here- hook your garden hose up to an interior faucet and leave it at the ready with enough hose on it to reach everywhere. I know a few folks who were able to save their house with an already set up garden hose while the fire was still in the incipient stage. A little bit of water damage from a garden hose is a hell of a lot easier to clean up after than a burned down house!
 
i'm liking that setup Patrick. Something I'm definitely going to look into. Please post some more pics.

That looks like honestly the best way to do things. you can get pretty fancy as well, but I always like to keep it simple.

I don't think you'd leave that on 24/7. As far as I know, plants require some darkness as well as light. Although I've heard for plants in their first few weeks some people will leave a Metal Halide light on for 16-18 hours. There's a lot of different options out there. Check out some of the "grow tech" section of this site. I've received a lot of great information browsing through there.
 
I did keep it one 24/7 until it warmed up and the days got longer

I used 1/2 inch pvc pipe and a plastic painters tarp. The styrofoam insulation comes in a pack of six and I got it at the local Menards. The pvc and plastic came from Home Depot. Three 18 inch florescent grow lights and one small heat lamp. These were all hung from the top of the pvc frame. I also used a seven inch fan to keep the air moving.

I'll try and track down some more pics.
 
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