Indoor Light Garden Construction Plan
Prepared by Maggie Wolf
Utah State University Extension
Salt Lake County
maggiew@ext.usu.edu
801-468-3171
PVC Frame Materials:
- ¾” schedule 40 PVC pipe:
- 4 ea 4 ft lengths
- 4 ea 20 in lengths
- 8 ea 4 in lengths
- 4 ea 10 in lengths
- (total of about 29 feet pipe)
Connectors:
- 12 T’s
- 4 L’s
To hang lights from:
- 4 (or 6) hooks or screw eyes
Tools for assembly:
- PVC cutters or hacksaw
- Electric drill and drill bits
- Wire cutters/strippers
- Needle-nose pliers
- Screwdriver
- Adjustable wrench
Other Materials:
- 2 ea 4 ft long shop light fixtures
- 4 ea shop light fluorescent bulbs (cool white, warm, or full-spectrum)
- Surge-protector power strip OR
- GFI-protected electrical outlet:
- Outlet box
- GFI-protected outlet
- Outlet box cover, with gasket
- 2 ea machine screws, 1 ½” to 2” long
- 2 ea locking nuts to match screw diameter
- 3-prong extension cord, of desired length
- Heavy duty electrical timer (3-prong)
Directions for assembly of PVC frame:
- Cut PVC segments to correct lengths.
- Drill pilot holes for hooks at the ends of the 4 ft segments, 1” in from the edges. Be sure that the holes line up so both will be at the bottom of the pipe. Insert the screw eyes or hooks into the pilot holes.
- Taking care to not jam the pieces too tightly together, attach connectors to PVC segments.
- Assemble the structure as illustrated on front page, but leave out one of the 4” segments (to be used in the electrical outlet assembly). Again, do not jam the pieces too tightly together.
If a power strip is being used rather than the GFI outlet, go ahead and assemble the entire frame.
Directions for wiring the GFI-protected outlet:
- Gather the outlet, outlet box, outlet face plate, extension cord, the 4” PVC segment, machine screws and nuts.
- Drill holes through the back of the outlet box and 4” PVC pipe to attach the box to the pipe. Fit machine screws through the holes and attach nuts.
- Cut the female end off the extension cord and strip outer wire cover about 2 inches. Strip inner wire covers to about ½”.
- Feed the stripped extension cord end up through the bottom hole of the outlet box. Attach the stripped wires to the outlet wire connections, matching wire cover color to the matching color terminals.
- Attach the wired outlet into the outlet box.
- Attach the outlet face plate to the outlet and outlet box.
- Insert the 4” PVC segment (with electrical outlet now attached) into the frame structure.
Assembly:
- Install fluorescent tubes into shop light fixtures.
- Attach chains to the light fixtures and hang from the screw eyes or hooks.
- Plug the light fixture electrical cords into the GFI-protected outlet or power strip. Plug the outlet cord into heavy-duty timer. Plug the timer into the nearest electrical outlet then turn the timer ‘ON’. If your lights do not light up, unplug the main cord and push the GFI ‘reset’ button or switch on the power cord. Try plugging the main cord in again. If the lights still won’t light, you will need to re-check your wiring. Set the timer to light 14 to 16 hours per day when seeds are sprouting.
- Place the sheetmetal pan at the base of the frame.
Other options:
- Use three shoplight fixtures instead of two for more uniform light coverage.
- Make a wood tray to fit on the bottom of the rather than a fabricated metal tray. Use 1/4” plywood with a fir strip or molding tacked on the outer edge as a lip. Line the wood tray with plastic.
- Grow twice as many plants in a double-decker ! Use 1” diameter PVC instead of ¾” for extra sturdiness.