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stuffradio

Excited for my Indoor starts

stuffradio
10 years ago

I got an industrial food shelf that I'm using for my seedlings. I just set it up today, and I'll be starting seeds very soon! I have a bunch of Pepper seeds I'm germinating.

It's 48 inches wide and I think it is 18" deep. It's about 6' high with 6 shelves. It's a stainless steal I think, and it's an industrial shelf for the food industry. It has lots of grates on each shelf that I will use to hang the lights on.

So I have a question. Since I'll be able to have a lot of vegetable seedlings growing on this, can I just bottom water everything? Every now and then just put water on the bottom of the tray to have everything drink water, or should I water individually?

Comments (12)

  • stuffradio
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I took a picture to give a better idea. I have to add the Wheels on it now. For some reason it's flipped, but you can also see my dog walking around at the bottom.

  • seysonn
    10 years ago

    Ok. Please rotate that picture, if you will.

    Sure you can bottom water, several of them together in a tray. But I don't think that the water can stay there all the time. I do bottom water my seedlings (, in tray, in the sink) and once done(takes abou 1 hour) drain out the remaining water and take them back to their place under the light , on the shelf. I do this about once a week.

    BTW: Your shelf s perfect. You can have up to 3 set ups, if needed.

  • stuffradio
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    It uploaded rotated for some reason. I put it on Facebook and it was fine, and it's fine on my phone. I agree it's a perfect shelf. I just got the wheels added now.

  • stuffradio
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    If you click on the picture, it shows it properly.

  • gjcore
    10 years ago

    Nice size shelving. One thing pops up in my mind as you are setting this up is that if you are going to use shop lights then you'll need to be careful with the watering. It would be best to be sure everything is drained well before putting the trays back in place. The more expensive grow lights are better for working in a wet area compared to shop lights which are designed for garages or commercial hallways.

    Bottom watering is going to best until your seedlings are a bit older. Having a fan going will thicken the stems and you'll be able to get away from bottom watering sooner.

  • runswithscissors
    10 years ago

    Yay!!! I have a very similar set up, but after my first year I ended up taking two shelves off. Especially after you add the lights. Here's why:

    I found my plants in the tray, plus the humidity dome, plus the light takes up alot of room and doesn't leave much growing room. So I have a tall shelf in the middle and then 2 shorter ones plus the top shelf. I took it a step further and laid down a sheet of board insulation cut to the shelf size, then I taped soil heating cables to the board, then covered that with foil-covered bubble wrap. That way each shelf has bottom heat and a shop light. I truly love my set up. Here's a picture: (disclaimer: I never said it was tidy :)

    {{gwi:26788}}

    I water mine individually...just my preference...I'm a control freak, I guess.

  • stuffradio
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Hey, your shelf is very similar! I am sure I'll find out quickly if I want to take some of the shelves out or not. It's truly an improvement over the last two years where I only had a space for two flats.

  • stuffradio
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    The more I look at it, you probably have the exact same shelf that I do!

  • seysonn
    10 years ago

    There you go, stuffradio. "runs with .." is your role model, using exact the same thing.

  • missingtheobvious
    10 years ago

    Widely available shelving. Our Lowe's has that size; the ones I bought several years ago came from a catalog.

    WM sells -- I think -- only smaller sizes. Target used to have all the sizes (I haven't been to Target for a few years).

  • ceth_k
    10 years ago

    Would careless watering lead to unintentional electrocution?

  • runswithscissors
    10 years ago

    I got my shelving unit at Costco. Yes, Ceth, I thought about the watering-thing, too. The first year I had it, I draped painters plastic (cut to size) over each light unit. But since my shelves are now covered, the water cannot fall down unto the light underneath. I water with a pitcher and if I overfill, the water runs out the bottom and just rolls off the sides. If a person used a hose, I would think they would have to be careful not to spray the light bulbs.

    All the electrical cords look over-done, but very little electricity is being used at one time. Again, a hose-in-hand might be a dangerous thing if the surge protectors were to get splashed.