I EARN $20 AN HOUR...RAISING VIOLETS

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LIGHTS!

After location and benches come the fluorescent lights ... which, again, you can either buy or scrounge. New, a fourfoot-long "double tube" fluorescent light fixture sells for about $11 and a "single tube" fixture for around $7. Or you can purchase less expensive fixtures without reflectors and add your own (it's important to direct the light downward onto the plants for maximum efficiency and growth).

A four-foot-long two-light fluorescent fixture is all the illumination you'll need for as many violets as you can crowd into an area measuring two feet wide and five feet long. Which means you'll need a total of four such fixtures to light an African violet bench measuring 4 X 10 feet.

Hang your lights from the ceiling with light chain or strong cord so that there is about one foot between the fixtures' "inner" tubes and approximately six inches from their "outer" tubes to the ends and edges of the table. (In other words, space the fluorescent lighting evenly across the bench.) The most important thing of all to remember about hanging your lights is that the distance from the starter plants to the fluorescent tubes should be approximately 10 inches. If your pots are four inches tall, then, the tubes should be suspended about 15 inches above the bench's surface (which allows one inch for the plants themselves).

These spacing guidelines are designed to provide a fairly uniform illumination of adequate intensity over the surface of your whole bench. When you've finished hanging the fixtures, plug them in, and, then check the uniformity of the light I across the table by holding your hand over a piece of white paper as you move it around over the bench's surface. If the shadow on the paper Is noticeably darker in some areas than others, you may want', to reposition the fixtures to even out the lighting.

The "white" fluorescent tubes that come with new fixtures do not emit exactly the portion of the light spectrum most needed by growing plants. For that reason, such tubes should be replaced with "plant growth" tubes ... such as Sylvania's Wide Spectrum(R) or Westinghouse's Agro(R). I have no idea whether one particular brand name is any better than another, although my experience with both the brands listed here has been good. You pays your Money and you takes your choice from the nearest wholesaler of electric lights.

In short: The lighting setup of your African violet miniform will probably turn out to be the most expensive part of the whole deal. If you purchase everything new, the fixtures and special fluorescent tubes can add up to about $68 or $70 (plus tax). Even though that isn't too bad when you compare the expense to the income you can realize from this little home business, there's nothing wrong with driving a hard bargain on the fixtures and tubes ... or scrounging as much of the gear as you can.

A TIMER IS OPTIONAL

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