Growing Together: Open Forum

Happy New Year to all,

We are a small group of parent volunteers helping the science teacher run a Gardening & Environmental Initiative in a middle school in Essex County, NJ. The teacher is looking to start some seedlings with 7th graders this winter. She has space for a table top grow light. The budget is small and would like to spend ~$100-200. Would any of you have suggestions of compact grow lights that work for a classroom setting?

I'm including a photo of the school garden in the fall. This area was neglected for so many years. The small Gardening & Environmental Initiative group has worked so hard to (slowly) bring it back to its original beauty.

Thank you for your time,

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Rossana Martinez
Visiting Gardener & Volunteer 
Essex County, NJ
she/her/hers
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Hi!

We have a Sterilite bin with LED grow light strips (similar to these linked here) zip tied to the lid that we use to start lettuces & other leafy greens. The lid can be closed to keep it more humid or open, as needed. It cost about $30 to create and takes up little space. We transplant the sprouts out of the bin after 2-3 weeks. You could use a taller bin if you wanted something to keep sprouts in longer so they had more vertical grow space.

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Sara Koepnick
Morgan Hill CA
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Hi,

I use an inexpensive 4ft led shop light (available at Walmart for around $20). Look for the one with 5000 lumens. These provide enough light to grow healthy sturdy plants starts. This is a picture from last February of our indoor salad garden. Happy growing!  Vicki

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Vicki Uden
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We were lucky enough to have WalMart donate many seeds, starter mix, grow lights, seed starting kids and heat mats last year. You might check with them and see if they have anything they are willing to donate!

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[Hope] [Sickmeier] [Designation]
[Garden Educator]
[Southern Boone Learning Garden]
[Ashland] [MO]
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Original Message:
Sent: 01-10-2024 12:47:21 PM
From: Vicki Uden
Subject: Grow Lights for Middle School Classroom

Hi,

I use an inexpensive 4ft led shop light (available at Walmart for around $20). Look for the one with 5000 lumens. These provide enough light to grow healthy sturdy plants starts. This is a picture from last February of our indoor salad garden. Happy growing!  Vicki

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Vicki Uden
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