Becky, what a wonderful article with great step by step instructions! I used to grow African Violets and other Gesneriad houseplants and I had two 72" tall metal stands that I rigged lights to. The shelving part on my stands was open, lattice-like metal so I used old floor tiles on top of the metal to level and steady the plants and I put casters on one of them for easily rolling them out to the porch for fresh air once in awhile. I like those shelves from Home Depot, they are much sturdier than what I used; if I ever decide to have a grow light set up again I will definitely consider using that type!

Lin - Thank you.

I tried other shelving units (that I had) but they were much flimsier. The Edsal shelving units were far sturdier, heavier, and more solid. I didn't worry about them tipping over or collapsing. I did put pieces of wood under each leg as I had this set-up in a spare room and didn't want to ruin the carpet due to the metal legs. This set-up worked out perfectly for me and I now have plenty of plants growing in my yard because of these indoor grow-light shelving units! It was really nice to see green plants growing (and even blooming) in the middle of Winter. The green growth and bright lights sure lifted my spirits! These were set-up during a couple of Winters when we had some unusually low freezing temps here and I lost a number of my tropical outdoor plants.

The initial cost was off-set by the amount I saved from not buying nursery plants that year ... because I grew my own from seeds instead! (Seeds are typically far cheaper than plants purchased from a local nursery.)

with Lin and love the Morning Glories!

I am impressed. Really great idea!

Very impressed Becky! You always have such innovative ideas to share

David, Linda, and Vickie - Thank you so much! I have to be frugal due to my lean budget ... I am forced to get pretty resourceful. I had looked at some of the nice grow-light shelving units designed specifically for plants and the cost was really high. I was quite shocked to see some as high as $600. I nearly dropped my jaw. I had originally purchased the shelving units years prior and was using them in my garage, so I basically just re-purposed them for a few years. Therefore, my main expense was the shop lights and the bulbs. I moved all the junk piled on them into plastic storage bins which are now stacked on these shelving units. If I ever want to grow more plants in Winter, I can just move those shelves once again. (Though I don't have an empty spare room anymore to put them in. I am sure I could figure out SOME place to set them up if I needed to. )

I enjoyed Japanese Ipomoea nil morning glories and grew them for many years outside. Unfortunately, they are prone to rust in my yard, so I stopped growing them several years ago. That was the last year I grew them. I grew them indoors and got lots of blooms to enjoy! Afterwards, I started growing various other plant species for the butterflies and hummingbirds and most of those still reside outside in my yard to this day for the wildlife to enjoy.

I'm very there with you on the lean budget Becky. It just makes us get wiser!

I was surprised at the blooms on such young plants from those Morning Glories. That was cool!

If you have the room and disposable income... I paid a $100.00 for the Commercial shelving unit at Sams' Club. I bought two, 6 tube T-5 light fixtures at a (You know it was a Head Shop), for about $150.00 a piece. Shelves are adjustable as well with 2-3'' increments I believe.

David - I grow a lot of my plants as dwarfs or miniatures. Here are just some of those Japanese Morning Glories that I was growing under the grow-light shelving unit back in the Winter of 2011.



Drew - A very nice set-up! Glad to see that others came up with a similar idea!