She gleaned ideas for her set up by searching the internet for DIY grow lights. She found that she could use a cheap Christmas rope light for a heat mat and a fluorescent shop light with a cool bulb and a warm bulb for a grow light. She turns the light on when she wakes up and turns it off when she goes to bed.
Since I was super motivated after visiting my friend, I went to Home Depot and purchased a 4' hanging fluorescent shop light and a packet of "daylight" bulbs and a packet of "soft light" bulbs. I hope I got the right ones. In total I spent less than $40 and I have two spare bulbs in case I want to get a second light fixture.
I used some wood and screws we had laying around to build a framework that would fit on our breakfast nook table. The only other parts I used were two eye hooks and two "S" hooks to hang the light from the framework.
There's enough space for one tub of starts. If this works out well, I'll adjust the framework to fit two lights and two tubs. I'm excited to see how much faster these starts grow compared to the ones only getting light from the window and the ones in the cold frame outside.
