Getting Going

Most experts will tell you that you can start seeds indoors near a sunny window. Well, I've been doing that for three seasons now and all I get are leggy plants that are practically jumping out of their flats to reach light. Intervention was necessary this year. So, I had my dear hubby upgrade my potting table. We poured a thick layer of resin -- something that was overdue on our to-do list for years -- over the counter. We call it the "poor man's butcher block," which is strips of plywood turned on their ends and glued together, but it's not only cheap, it is a great way to reuse waste.

high-gloss surface wipes clean easily

Grow lights are expensive, so instead, we're trying regular ol' fluorescent shop lights. I alternated cool lamps with daylight lamps in each of four 4-foot shop lights. We hung them from the ceiling on chains that come halfway down to meet the dinky chains that come in the box. This allows me to adjust the height at my level without standing on a chair.

easy-to-use and -remove hanging system

In the beginning, the lamps need to be about two inches from the plants.

broccoli

Already, we can see that the lamps have given the seedlings a better chance to grow strong and tall without being leggy! 

 

 microgreens can be grown year-round indoors