Posted March 10, 2008 by Jay in Peppers

Makin’ Habaneros – Part VI: Makin’ the “Grow Op”

Makin’ Habaneros – Part VI: Makin’ the “Grow Op”.

Please forgive me for the instructions below, hopefully the drawings (thanks Google Sketchup!) will help clarify them. These are just suggestions, anything will do but I would suggest somehow allowing the light fixture to get as close as possible to the seedlings and being able to raise it as they grow.

Simple “Grow Op’

Making the Simple “Grow Op’ is quite simple and inexpensive, but not necessarily pretty.

All you will need is the following;

* 4, 8 foot 2×4’s
* 2, 8 foot 1×2’s
* 32, 1 ¼ inch screws
* 30, 2 inch screws

1. Cut 3 of the 8 foot 2×4’s in half, this will provide you with the four support legs, and two cross pieces.
2. Cut one of the remaining now 4 foot 2×4 into 4, 12” peices
3. Take two of the 4 foot pieces and join them together in a “U’ fashion by attaching a 1 foot piece across the bottom of the two 4 foot pieces. Using 4, 2 inch screws per side.
4. Next take another 1 foot piece and join it across the 2, already joined 4 foot pieces, this time in the middle, or slightly below the 4 foot length, using 4, 2 inch screws per side. This forms the brace.

You should have something like an “H’ with a brace across the bottom (formed in step 3).

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the other side.
6. Take the remainder 8 foot piece, and cut two pieces, just slightly longer than the fixture and affix them across the two middle braces, spanning the two ends that we created in steps 3 and 4.

Now, you have a basic plant stand, you have a cross-section to put your planting trays and a sturdy stand. Next, we want to allow for the adjustable lighting.

7. Take the 1×2 pieces and add them at intervals of about 6 inches above the cross members along the two uprights. This will be the “rest’ for the lighting fixture.
8. This is what you are going to rest your light fixture on. This will allow you to raise it up as required.

More Advanced “Grow Op”

There are other ways that you can make this, one would be using sturdier pine panel boards, which are also quite inexpensive. This is what I am currently using;