I EARN $20 AN HOUR...RAISING VIOLETS

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Your growing violets should be illuminated by the fluorescent lights for 14 hours out of every 24-hour period. And if your basement is cold, the lights should be switched on during the chilliest part of the cycle ... say from about 6: 00 P.M. to 8:00 a.m.

In the beginningespecially if you're starting on a shoestringyou can turn the lights on and off manually. Later, though, you may want to invest in a timer that can handle this job automatically. Almost any will do and I use an Intermatic Time-All, which cost me only 10 cets.

Most of the inexpensive timers on the market (including mine) have only one controlled plug-in receptacle often for two-prong electrical plugs) ... while, as you'll recall, our 4 X 10-foot bench is being illuminated by a total of four fluorescent fixtures (the cords of which now almost universally are wired with three prong plugs).

There are two solutions to this problem: [1] You can plug a multiple-outlet female, socket into the timer's controlled socket ... and then plug four three-totwoprong adapters into that, or [2] you can plug one three-to-two-prong adapter into the timer's outlet... and then plug a three-prong junction board into the adapter

(Junction boards sell for from $7 to $30, depending on whether or not they have their own built-in circuit breakerswhich you don't need-how fancy they look, etc. ) Whichever way you go, make sure your timer and adapters and/or board and other wiring are all properly grounded and placed so they won't get wet when you water your violets.

LOTS AND SOIL

That's about It for your violet nursery's over-all physical "plant". You're ready to get down to the pots and soil you'll need for the individual flower themselves.

African violets will grow and bloom in any size pot from two inches in diameter on up. And you will want some two-inchers to propagate (grow new plants) in. The most convenient sized container though, is a pot measuring from three to four inches across . . . and you should think of that as your "standard" African violet container.

You should also know that these violets are traditionally grown in pots that are [a] round and [b] white . . . but I've found that people will buy them in [a] square and [b] green containers too. The final choice to up to you ... but, which ever way you go, remember that inexpensive, plastic pots are the most economical ones to use in this business.

Buy your African violet pots wholesale and buy a year's supply at a time. Figure that each square foot of growing space will produce about nine potted plants (in four-inch containers) four times a year. This meansfor a 4 X 10-foot benchthat you'll need a total of 1,440 (120 dozen) four-inch pots to run you through a full 12-month cycle. You may also want to purchase the same number of two-inchers to start your plants in it you decide to propagate violets from leaf cuttings.

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