Indoor Herb Garden

[Chestnut]

Megan has been requesting fresh herbs in the kitchen for a while. So i decided to make a rack that hangs by the window in our kitchen to put some potted herbs on. Light is important so i researched grow lights and found all the stoner options on pretty much every site out there. Those are a no go, A. I'm not a stoner and the lights don't look cool, B. I'd like something that blends in. So i researched what light plants need and remembered all those you tubers that got lights from American green light. What the heck I'll give them a shot.

The joinery was screws that were plugged. I made treys to hold the pots that had some empty space underneath to hid the lights so when you look at it the light just seems to appear. To run the wires i kerfed the back of the vertical supports and hot glued the wires in. The key was to be flexible in case the idea didn't hit the mark. The whole thing was made from cherry because i have scraps that need to get used.

The bottom trey is taller to hide the LED ballast. Here you can see the ballast and the lights. These things are BRIGHT!!!!! and awesome. They are perfectly color balanced so my camera picks up color like i'm under sunlight. I got the 4000k versions of the LEDs because the 5000K ones irritate my eyes and 3000K look yellow.

I ran some super overkill cord. The power cord is 16 ga SOOW to run a 24 watt led ballast..... I didn't have any lamp cord and this is what i had around. Did half laps for the first time to make mounting brackets to attach the rack to the wall. On the brackets i fastened figure 8s and used screws and anchors to hold it up there. In the picture above on the left side there is a little leg that braces against the window frame. This makes it so the screws only need to hold sheer forces.

Did a test run before i warpped it up to make sure that everything was going to work out ok. Lights were nice, they didn't overly illuminate the kitchen when it's dark but they put a LOT of lights on the plants.

Turned out Megan loves it. I wrapped the pots and seeds for herbs separate and had her open the pots first and the seeds 2nd. She was so confused until she read the seed packets. After i got it hung she ended up having a great idea to get chalkboard stickers and write the plants names under their position. She was worried that i wouldn't go for it. I thought it was a great idea and told her it was her rack and gift so she could do with it as she pleased. I ended up buying some already growing herbs and we have started trying to germinate seeds for the rest of the types that we don't use as often.

Here is a picture of it today. We have some germinated seeds we need to get into starter pots for a couple weeks and it should be full of mature herb plants by March.

I'm so impressed by the American Green Light lights that i'm going to work to convert my shop lights over to their system. They match sunlight so well and the color balance is more relaxing to the eye. they are also very low profile so i should be able to mount them places that regular fixtures just won't work. There is no reason that light fixtures need to be big any more. The whole project took me 3 hours or something. Finish is just shellac. I figured the finish is going to get abused by water so why not go with something somewhat durable but easy to repair.

 

[Jonathan McCully]

Love this idea! And guarantee that my wife would love to have something like this as well.  May have to steal this idea for a future gift.  Thanks for the journal.

[Chestnut]

Np hope you do use it just a warning the lights weren't cheap think it was like $65 for the setup an some minor electrical work. There are other options but i wanted discrete and hidden so this is the route i went. The idea could also be used for regular shelves around the house as well as a herb garden just against the wall. We just don't have a ton of open wall space in our kitchen. It's either cabinets or window.

[pkinneb]

Very cool! As always thanks for sharing.

[mtairymd]

That is a really good idea.  Nice job with the build.

[Mark J]

Any thought of a timer for the lights, or how are you controlling the daylight cycle?

[Chestnut]

7 minutes ago, Mark J said:

Any thought of a timer for the lights, or how are you controlling the daylight cycle?

Oh i must have forgot to mention. I use a basic mechanical timer to do 12H on 12H off. Most herbs are intended to be grown outside and all but 1 are full sun so i figured i'd go this way. When it gets to summer time I'll cut the LED light back and let the north west facing window do all the work.

The lights at my electricity cost will be around $3 a month 6 months a year the seeds were pretty much free. $3 for 1000 which should last me a LONG time. Even though herbs are cheap at the store this should end up paying for it's self after a few years.

[treeslayer]

 Very nice Drew, consider it paid for the first time you have a delicious meal with FRESH herbs, not something that’s been in a truck for a week! And a happy wife isn’t a bad thing, well done sir. 

[Coop]

Great looking nut and good idea using the figure 8’s. 

[Isaac]

8 hours ago, Chestnut said:

Oh i must have forgot to mention. I use a basic mechanical timer to do 12H on 12H off. Most herbs are intended to be grown outside and all but 1 are full sun so i figured i'd go this way. When it gets to summer time I'll cut the LED light back and let the north west facing window do all the work.

The lights at my electricity cost will be around $3 a month 6 months a year the seeds were pretty much free. $3 for 1000 which should last me a LONG time. Even though herbs are cheap at the store this should end up paying for it's self after a few years.

At least for me, fresh herbs aren’t even that cheap at the store, especially because you often have to buy more than you really want! Nice work. 

[Brendon_t]

Resident stoner with my own indoor herb garden.  Do you have the lights on a timer/switch, or always on?

If not planning to have them turn off, you should grow a solid root system on each mother plant under minimum 18/6. Root growth is mostly done during the darkness hours. If you're interested, I can show you pics of plants hydroponically grown at 24/0 until flipping to flower. The Roots are maybe 1/5th in thickness and length.

[Coop]

Can you show the pics on here? 

[wtnhighlander]

Nice work, Drew! Clever design solution.

[Brendon_t]

8 hours ago, K Cooper said:

Can you show the pics on here? 

Of roots? That's a silly question.

[Chestnut]

9 hours ago, Brendon_t said:

Resident stoner with my own indoor herb garden.  Do you have the lights on a timer/switch, or always on?

If not planning to have them turn off, you should grow a solid root system on each mother plant under minimum 18/6. Root growth is mostly done during the darkness hours. If you're interested, I can show you pics of plants hydroponically grown at 24/0 until flipping to flower. The Roots are maybe 1/5th in thickness and length.

I have a timer for 12 on 12 off. Didn't know that about root growth that's interesting. So far the full spectrum lights are working great. I have some thyme, cilantro, and basil seeds that have germinated and 24 hours after transplant have grown a lot. Oregano is taking it's sweet time though. Watching this stuff is sort of cool, makes me want to do my own time lapse of a plant growing.

9 hours ago, Isaac said:

At least for me, fresh herbs aren’t even that cheap at the store, especially because you often have to buy more than you really want! Nice work. 

That's what really drove us down this road. There were two of the herbs you buy in bunches that gave us problems, i think cilantro and parsley. We'd spend $1.50 on a bunch get it home it's sit in the fridge overnight and already have gone bad. That and basil is stupid expensive for some reason it was like $3 a package and we'd need 2 and who knows what they did to it to keep it fresh.

11 hours ago, K Cooper said:

Great looking nut and good idea using the figure 8’s. 

I don't want to claim the idea i swear i saw it somewhere.

[wdwerker]

12 on and 12 off is just fine for herbs as long as you aren't looking for kind buds....

[Pondhockey]

Love this thread.  Looking forward to my own "herb" garden!

[VizslaDad]

This is cool!

I think my wife would love something like this. I am going to see how much of a PITA it'd be to put the rack on hinges so it wouldn't block the window 100% of the time (which is something she probably wouldn't want). 

[Chestnut]

21 minutes ago, VizslaDad said:

This is cool!

I think my wife would love something like this. I am going to see how much of a PITA it'd be to put the rack on hinges so it wouldn't block the window 100% of the time (which is something she probably wouldn't want). 

For that i'd mount it more to the right and have the 2 hinge points. I'd probably just find hinges strong enough to support it that way. it's not a bad idea. For us blocking the window is a total non issue. We don'e use that one beings that there is a sliding door with in 12" and another window across from it and to the right of it.

I recently had to add a heat source. The seeds germinated well but seemed like they hit a wall. After talking to the Master Gardner i have on retainer (my mom ) we determined they need a bit more warmth.

I just put in one of those inefficient heat bulbs things. The ones with the coil of wire inside or something. 

[Isaac]

2 hours ago, Chestnut said:

For that i'd mount it more to the right and have the 2 hinge points. I'd probably just find hinges strong enough to support it that way. it's not a bad idea. For us blocking the window is a total non issue. We don'e use that one beings that there is a sliding door with in 12" and another window across from it and to the right of it.

I recently had to add a heat source. The seeds germinated well but seemed like they hit a wall. After talking to the Master Gardner i have on retainer (my mom ) we determined they need a bit more warmth.

I just put in one of those inefficient heat bulbs things. The ones with the coil of wire inside or something. 

Seems like the hinges used on a wooden door would be appropriately sized..

Another option would be to use that overhead sliding barn door hardware that has become so popular:

 

[Chestnut]

@Isaac My only concern with the door hardware is that it would swing so i'd still want a brace against the wall.

Also that provided image is one of the worst photoshop jobs i think i've ever seen.

[Isaac]

1 minute ago, Chestnut said:

@Isaac My only concern with the door hardware is that it would swing so i'd still want a brace against the wall.

Also that provided image is one of the worst photoshop jobs i think i've ever seen.

Haha yeah, It was literally the first image i found, just to be clear what I was referring to. I suppose a person could make it with a slider top and bottom, though that starts sounding really bulky/ugly. You better try it and let us know how it turns out. We're right behind you.