DIY Grow-op

Sorry to disappoint but this is not a blog post about how to start a marijuana operation in your basement.  It is about growing our own vegetable garden in a simulated subtropical environment, while the reality of a subzero Canadian winter lingers outside your home. 

My husband and I decided to build a little grow-op in our basement.  We decided to see if we can plant one harvest before spring, followed by another, and then transport those small plants to the garden after the last frost. 

Our set up was pretty easy.  The table is an old door that we removed in our house, the table legs and the framing around the door were waste wood from RONA.

The plastic flats we picked up at Canadian Tire along with the soil.  We would've acquired the soil out of the field, but it is -10 Celsius here right now.

A simple DIY grow-op.  Total cost was under $100.  If our basement was actually heated, we would have not needed the heat bulb. 

Both the heat bulb, the grow light and a timer we picked up at RONA.  We placed the mirror that was already down stairs behind the heat bulb so the wood would not catch on fire.

We planted peas, lettuce, and onions. Lettuce grows amazingly fast, and we shall see if the onions beat the peas.

Though a nice experiment, this may not prove to be an easy if we were to do it while off-grid.  Heat-bulbs take a lot of energy, so we shall see if this is even feasible.