Introduction: Grow Lights From Bamboo Poles and Small Fluorescent Lights

My daughter(11) and son (7) and I built two 48 inches by 48 inches raised beds. We filled the boxes with dirt, potting soil, old rotten veggies , coffee grounds(Good Source of Nitrogen and slugs don't like them - Thanks Local Starbucks ) and more dirt.

Starbucks.com has some more info on composting - http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/compost.asp

The focus of this Instructable is to show you how we built a simple light frame from bamboo and lights to help provide more light for those yummy veggies.

Step 1: What We Used

  • 5 ft Bamboo poles
  • 50000 Ft of Electrical tape (More or Less)
  • Lower power fluorescent ( this case three small ones)
  • 8 Million Ft of Twine (More or Less)
  • Power Strip
  • Folding Table
  • Good Source of Natural Light from a Southern Facing Window
  • Timer to turn on an off the lights.

The Gilligan look was all about 'HEY that's a really good price for so many sticks' ($4). Plus , It has a nice natural look. I'm a bit worried about using these in the actual garden as they are stained. I wonder if that will leech stuff into the dirt that the veggies may want share with us.

Next the twine ($1.50)was just the first roll of string we could find at a local store. Brown and all "twiney" also made this look the part.

Folding table with it's press wood and sticker laminate. Getting the 'Jungle Room' vive from down the street at bit in Memphis.

Step 2: Putting It Together

Basically, we lashed the pieces of bamboo together starting with two sets of X's bound by the twine almost in a V shape with enough overlap to allow the final stick to rest at the top.

Using the twine means that this 'rig' can be taken down and repositioned. Additionally, It's pretty flexible and you could actually slant the top stick to allow for various size plants.

My Generous use of twine and electrical tape is visible in the attached photos.

I power strip allows for a manual way to shutdown the power and to give a little bit of fault protection.

The wall timer .. well.. not there , yet. The one pictured is two prong and a single socket. Got a bit nervous with plugging too much into it.

So, basically , this thing works nights. Turn it off on the way to work and turn it on when I come home from work.