In the upstairs hallway, on shelves in a south-facing window, our onion sprouts are growing, the first green of spring.
Of course, a south-facing window this far north does not offer enough light for seedlings to grow properly, so we keep the hall light on too. Last year, we noticed the compact-fluorescent in the fixture not far from the shelves in the window did a pretty good job of starting what grew into robust tomato plants, by bolstering the light from the window. Since we don’t have a greenhouse or a grow table, this year we bought a bigger CFL to put in the fixture, and are hoping for even better results.
The problem right now is remembering to leave the light on.
I generally spend a lot of time running after family members, a smallish boy in particular, turning off lights after them. The hall light, the bathroom light, the bedroom lights — one person will run upstairs for one minute and run back down leaving four lights on.
So it’s a little funny to be yelling, “Who turned the hall light off?” The kids think I’ve gone nuts.
But the seedlings need around 14 hours of light a day, and they’re sure not going to get that from the window.
We start most of our garden from seed, although we like to trade plants with other gardening friends to get different varieties, and we always pick up a few plants from a greenhouse. So far we’ve just started onions, but before long we’ll add tomatoes and peppers, cole plants and herbs, flowers and greens.
Over the years, we’ve started seedlings in just about every room in the house, with window light supplemented by a portable, moveable fluorescent fixture we picked up at a hardware store, labeled “closet light.” By the time the plants are too big for the windows, we’re ready to move them outside into hot frames or cold frames — the kinds of season extenders you can make yourself with scrap lumber and old windows.
But the discovery that our CFLs give the plants a boost was a nice one, and the discovery that you can buy a 150-watt equivalent was nice too. “The bulb is as big as my head,” our daughter said.
“Yeah and look how well the onions are doing,” I answered. “Aaugh! Don’t turn it off!”
“Oh yeah,” the daughter said. “I forgot.”
The windows are providing a little extra light every day now, as the days get longer. It’s still only about two extra minutes a day, but it adds up. When the kids went back to school after a week off, mornings looked different.
“How come it’s so late, Mom?” the boy asked, the first morning after school break, when it wasn’t even pitch black at breakfast. “Did I oversleep?”
The daughter prefers more drama in the morning. “Look at this,” I said, pulling her shade up show her some fresh snow on the hemlock outside her window. “Aaaughh,” she screamed. “The light! The light!”
I find that the early light makes them move a little faster in the morning, that breakfasts are a little jollier. And it’s still light when I get home from work. I take off my coat, pat the little dog, and check on the seedlings. “Who turned the hall light off?” I shout, and “Aaaugh!” they all answer. “We forgot.”
Maybe we should tape over that switch.
Margaret Hartley is the Gazette’s Sunday and features editor. Greenpoint appears in the Gazette’s print edition Sundays on the Environment page.
Have a question or a topic you’d like addressed on Greenpoint? Email greenpoint@dailygazette.net.
