Rachel -

if you want a shelving unit - depends how many violets you have - the cheapest will be to go to Sam's Club or Costco, get a steel wire shelving unit,($75 - heavy geezers) assemble it so you have 3 usable shelves - you will have 2 shelves you do not need - and get 3 shoplights 48" from Home Depot ($7 a piece) and 6 tubes - cool white/ warm white combination or grow lights if you want the plants to show better. Get them attached under the shelves - I use plastic ties.

If you do not have that many violets - get one shoplight - 48" or 24" - and hang it from the ceiling above your growing surface, 12" from the plants.

Good luck

Irina

Are you a DIYer or would you rather buy the unit? The AVSA web site has a links section and your going to be looking for indoor gardening supplies.

How many plants do you have now? Purchase or make the largest stand you can afford because you will be covered from floor to ceiling with violets, leaves and babies!!!

Steve

No way I am going to pay $600 to IGS if I can make similar stand for $100. But I am not building it from scratch or PVC pipe - which also possible, but the expenses are now comparable. If it is for leaves, babies and minis - I will make 4 shelves with 16-17 inches between them, if it is for standards or gesneriads or streptocarpus - 3 shelves. As Barbara mentioned - you can get some additional posts and build one more stand out of leftovers from first two shelving units.

I have way too many plants. One time it was up to 900 pots and I could not manage it. But - I guess it is the tune of all of us - I mean most of us accumulate more plants than we can handle. I have 4 big shelves - and my dream is to have just as much plants as they can take without being crammed together, take good care of all of them and enjoy looking at them and showing them...

Steve - you caught the bug - it is coming...