Kitchen Herb-Garden Shelving Unit

Build a two-tier corner shelving unit for growing small plants, complete with foil-lined grow-light canopies and plastic-lined shelves that drain automatically to make watering easy. Better yet, it doesn't require any terribly fancy tools or skills and all the materials for the whole project cost only $90.

Step 1: Gather Supplies

You'll need the stuff pictured, all of which can be bought at Home Depot.

- 2 five-inch hood work light fixtures. You won't use the metal hoods so buy the smallest ones to save money.

- 2 compact fluorescent grow light bulbs, standard socket size

- 1 mechanical lamp timer

- 1 roll of 3' wide clear plastic sheeting (you need two 24" x 24" squares.)

In addition, you'll need other stuff I didn't explicitly photograph. All of it can be purchased at Home Depot, also, with the possible exception of the tinfoil.

- 1 "handy panel" sized piece of 1/2" birch plywood (handy panel = 24" x 48", easy to move in a car.)
- a 14" x 14" square of some other 1/2" thick plywood, can be lousy quality
- two strips of 1/8" plywood for the canopies; each strip should be 5 11/16" wide and about 35" long.
- standard white multi-plug extension cord (to plug both lights into)
- white duct tape, or something similar, to cover up the cords for aesthetics
- two 1/4" x 1/4" x 2" sticks of scrap plywood or MDF or something (for mounting the lights to the canopies)
- two 8" x 10" white basic shelving brackets
- four 3" x 5" white basic shelving brackets
- one of the special wide rolls of Reynolds Heavy-Duty Aluminum Foil
- about a 50" length of 1/2" PVC electrical conduit or other lightweight, small plastic tube, for drainage
- A bunch of screws and two finishing nails.

You will need the following tools:

- Wood saw of some kind. I used a miter saw & circular saw, but you could use a hand saw, there's not much cutting to do.
- Hot glue gun
- Screwdriver
- Hammer
- Staple Gun
- Scissors

Comments

[TheWomanMonster]

We have IR helicopters here too, they're mostly searching the bush though. I always laugh at the thought of being 'busted' - when the officers come to my door I'll offer them fresh cut dill and rosemary. :p

[jongscx]

be careful... where i live, the IR helicopters will see the heat on your wall and think you're growing pot...

[uguy]

but he is growing in pots.

[jongscx]

not what I meant...

[bsharp]

Wow, I never even considered how they'd find people growing weed indoors. IR helicopters? Do grow lights really leave that much of a signature? I could believe UV, but that doesn't penetrate the walls at all. Heat? They're CFL, so they're actually very cool bulbs. I'd be surprised if there was an easy way to spot them from the outside. I mean, if they do spot the signature and decide I'm growing drugs, I guess that's fine, since I'm not. I just hope they're nice enough to knock, and not just bash my door down in the middle of the night. That would be a pain.

[zon3k]

they detect the hot air being sent outside the house, trust me i did 5 years cos of it

[SoakedinVancouver]

'Should have done it in BC, nobody does one, even less so 5, years for growing...

[jongscx]

Or not even the air... sometimes, it's just the lights themselves...

[zon3k]

as far as im aware thats urban myth to a certain degree, the lights would only give off sufficient heat if you are growing in somewhere like a box room with single glazed windows. Still, better safe than sorry so im legit now.. officer :P

[!Andrew_Modder!]

nice! but lol.... unit