Cheap Homemade Cold Frame
Mar 7, 2010 cheap, cold season crops, outdoor seed starting
When we bought our house we found a screen door in the garage. Not wanting to have or install the screen door we tried many times to get rid of it without success.
Finally I decided to use the parts to create a cold frame. I did consider using the whole door and hinges as a cold frame but decided I could make something that looked a little better by taking it apart.
The construction was very simple, by taking measurements of the windows I made the box out of cedar with similar dimensions. Wanting to try out my new circular saw I decided to make the cuts at 45 degrees for a more finished look. Last I simply screwed the sides into a length of 2” by 2” I placed at each corner
I have two squares of glass and a screen of the same size so I should be able to switch these in/out to make sure I am not frying the plants when it is time to harden them from the nice warm garage.
Later I plan on making a more secure (from the wind) hinged top but wanted to see what I could create with a small budget and I could not resist the 3 pack of seedling trays which took a decent chunk of my budget from this project which was sponsored by my Lowes Gift card winning from Rob’s World.
Cheap Light Bar for Seedlings
Mar 7, 2010 cheap, indoor seed starting
A couple months ago we replaced a couple of bathroom light fixtures and it didn’t take too long for me to find the old ones a new home. An old extension code couple electrical connectors and I have a completely non-code light bar. I used the smaller fixture and replaced my light bulbs hanging from sockets using zip ties.
When I have some more time I will plan on making a reflector to redirect more light on the plants but for now the little peppers/tomatoes look very happy.
LED grow box gets an upgrade
Feb 6, 2010 LEDs, cheap, indoor grow box, indoor seed starting, seeds
In our family we are not just cheap in the garden we also keep our house pretty cool to save on heating costs. Unfortunately since the LEDs in my grow box do not put out very much heat the inside is only about 68 F degrees even placing it on top of my refrigerator. For most seeds 77 F degrees is a great ball bark number to shoot for to get the best germination percentage as well as quicker germination times. This was the number I was shooting for, so I decided to add a string of mini incandescent bulbs to help bring up the temperature.
To do this I did exactly what I did for the LEDs just drill a hundred or so holes into the side of the box just slightly smaller than the bulb. Then had the fun job of pushing them all through.
I first tried having all the lights on but that brought the temperature up to 85 degrees, next I tried only half the lights on…70 F degrees. Then I got the idea of adding the blinker bulbs and tada 77 F degrees on the nose (ok technically 77.1 F).
So far everything is looking good have some onions, peppers, basil, and Swiss chard already sprouted and expecting more shortly.
Seeds from WinterSown
Feb 6, 2010 cheap, seed exchange, seed saving, seeds
I know many of your probably already know about WinterSown but for those of you that have not you must check them out. This is the first year I have requested seeds from them and I they completely blew away my expectations. By simply sending them an self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) and an optional donation they will send back some seeds of your choosing. I have gotten tired of my boring tomatoes I have been growing from the limited selections at local nursery and garden center so I chose the following: Husky Red Cherry, Persey Tomato, Red Brandywine, New Yorker, Mini Gold, Green Zebra, Tommy Toes, and they also sent me some Parsley which was not on my list though I was planning on growing this year.
They also included a pamphlet providing a long but not very labor intensive method of how to save your own tomato seeds which was yet another added bonus. I will be sure to save some seeds and send many of my extras back their way at the end of the season.
Cost of Hydroponic Nutrients
Jan 7, 2010 cheap, hydroponics, nutrients
The first time you walk into a hydroponic store there can be a little sticker shock. At first it doesn’t look too bad, $14 for this bottle…oh wait I have to buy these three as well and you leave the store paying $80 to grow some basil and lettuce. Being cheap I like to know how much I will be spending on a hobby before I start out so I did a little exercise.
I took a look at the major nutrient manufacturers and determined using their recommended feeding schedule what it would cost per gallon to complete a 4 week vegetation cycle and a 8 week vegetable and bloom cycle.
To be fair I only included products that provided the primary/secondary macronutrients and micronutrients. Though I am not discounting the effectiveness of various supplements that these companies provide and I wanted to stick with the basics and have a close to an apples to apples comparison as possible.
| Avg, Price | Size | Nutrients Used over 4 weeks (Veg Only) |
Cost per Gallon of mixed nutrients | Nutrients Used over 8 weeks (Veg/Bloom) |
Cost per Gallon of mixed nutrients | |
General Hydroponics |
$ 1.08 | $ 2.80 | ||||
| FloraGrow | $ 12.50 | qt | 8.08 tsp | $ 0.53 | 12.12 tsp | $ 0.79 |
| FloraBloom | $ 12.50 | qt | 2.02 tsp | $ 0.13 | 14.14 tsp | $ 0.92 |
| FloraMicro | $ 15.95 | qt | 5.05 tsp | $ 0.42 | 13.13 tsp | $ 1.09 |
Dutch Nutrient Formula |
$ 0.82 | $ 2.30 | ||||
Advance Grow A |
$ 7.50 | L | 11 tsp | $ 0.41 | 11 tsp | $ 0.41 |
| Advance Grow B |
$ 7.50 | L | 11 tsp | $ 0.41 | 11 tsp | $ 0.41 |
Advance Flower A |
$ 7.50 | L | 0 tsp | $ - | 20 tsp | $ 0.74 |
| Advance Flower B |
$ 7.50 | L | 0 tsp | $ - | 20 tsp | $ 0.74 |
Dyna-Gro |
$ 0.66 | $ 2.03 | ||||
Liquid Grow |
$ 15.00 | qt | 3.5 tsp | $ 0.27 | 3.5 tsp | $ 0.27 |
Liquid Bloom |
$ 18.95 | qt | 0 tsp | $ - | 7 tsp | $ 0.69 |
Mag-Pro |
$ 17.95 | qt | 0.875 tsp | $ 0.08 | 3.875 tsp | $ 0.36 |
Pro-TeKt  |
$ 13.90 | qt | 4.25 tsp | $ 0.31 | 9.75 tsp | $ 0.71 |
At first glance these numbers look pretty promising, until you remember the fact that this is the cost per gallon. So if you had a 40 gallon reservoir this can make your cost obvious jump up significantly. Fortunately in my case I only fill my tank up to 9 gallons so a 4 week cycle would cost me on average $7.68 for a 4 week vegetative cycle or $21.39 for a 8 week vegetative and bloom cycle.
Now given I am planning on growing some legal herbs in my hydroponic system (basil/oregano/cilantro) and maybe a little lettuce. This would result in some pretty expensive produce. For this reason and that fact I love chemistry and don’t get to play with it much these days I am planning on going for the less expensive homemade nutrient route, which I will provide more details once I get some more conclusive results of success or failure…
Cheap Hydroponic Bean sprouter
Jan 5, 2010 cheap, ebb and flow, hydroponics
Maybe not the most hygienic solution but definitely cheap, innovative, and low maintenance. I’ll stick to my ebb and flow design, but thought I would share for those feeling adventurous.
