Hydroponic Tomatoes

[jackiesmith]

Can anyone tell me what heirloom tomato varieties seemed to do best in hydoponic growing? And did anyone do any comparison growing: using the same varieties in hydoponic and field conditions?

[Gardencrazy]

I live in zone 9b in southeast FL. After several attempts at growing in the ground and with raised beds I went to an outdoor hydroponic system. I've been using it for 2 years now and love it. It is the same system that the hydroponic strawberry growers use. Try Vertigro or Hydrostacker and you will get a really good idea. I grow strawberries, lettuce, tomatoes, herbs, peppers, cucumbers, squash and so on in these containers. I am able to grow tomatoes and lettuce even in the summer down here. I put up a shade cover this year to see if it will increase my production over the summer. In addition, my current barrels only need to be filled every 5 days so I can go away for a few days and not worry about watering. I also take the leftover solution and drain it into pots that have flowers or more root type vegtables to water them. I grow all different types of tomatoes and just like growing in the ground some taste better than others!

[Gardencrazy]

I forgot to add that the stacked containers contain coconut coir. This year I mixed the coir with worm castings to see if it makes a difference. The lettuce, spinach, squash, cucumbers and beans that were planted from seed were up by 5-7 days. Now, if I can keep away the powdery mildew and stink bugs it will be a great summer.

[Amigatec]

I am going to grow some Hydroponic Tomatoes this winter and I need to know how long does the plant grow before trying to set flowers?

I have a GH Waterfarm, GH Floranova nutes, and some Roma seeds started.

[Parcgreene]

I've been doing hydroponic tomatoes in an ebb and flow bucket system.

Seems better for larger plants like tomatoes.

You can watch my progress at:
The Greene Tomato

[bpbdrummer]

I built a small NFT (nutrient film technology) / DWC (Deep Water Culture) hybrid system, it's a constant flow of nutrient solution about 2" deep. I'm planning a large system and a greenhouse for commercial sales. I'll probably switch over to the coir and rockwool slab drip method because the root system will most likely clog the pipes of the NFT system.

heres a few pics of my current test system. The tomatoes started out rough at first, I had started them in soil so they hydro system shocked em pretty good, plus I had to get the nutrient solution correct because i was burning the new plants. I have it worked out now and they're doing really well.



The large PVC tubes are for an updated system now that i have the basics worked out.

[Muslickz]

Ok, So I went outside yesterday to see what was left in the garden from winter...

I was surprised to find an old tray from last summer that I had given up on, full of everglades tomatoes.



So I thought why not toss a few into the Ebb&Flow system I built last year. So I pulled out some old green onions I had going in there and tossed them into a pot. I then picked a few Everglade seedlings and put them into the Hydroton.





I left the Swiss Chard and One Onion where they were and I also found an overwintered Scorpion Pepper and so it went in the bins as well...





Overall they seem to be taking well, these photo's are 3 days Post transplant and I have noticed no Ill effects from the move. Like I always do I simply rinsed the dirt from the root ball and put them straight into the Hydrotone.



I will update in this thread every month or so to show progress..

In case anyone is interested I am keeping the PH around 6 and the PPM at 500-700 and I'm using Aqua Vega/Flores nutes at a 50/50 a-b mix for general growth and hopefully some early flowering.

-Mus

[Elagrow]

Thats not a bad setup Muslickz... I would love to see how your built that system.

[Rockporter]

This is an interesting thread to read up on. I wanted to let you all know that Earthboxes are not Hydroponics at all. The medium used is soiless without any composts, sand, etc. Peat based mixes allow for wicking of the water from the reservoir below and as the plant drinks, the water wicks into the mix. Because it is peat based you must add a dolomite lime to the mix and add a fertilizer strip just before planting. I grow in the earthbox and have found my tomatoes to taste fantastic and not like hydroponically grown store bought tomatoes.

I have however been able to purchase some Campari tomatoes in the grocery store that tasted fantastic and I don't think they were refrigerated.

[Muslickz]

Thanks! I will be building a Aquaponics system just for tomatoes later this summer. I had planned on documenting the whole thing with video/pics I will be sure to post it up here for everyone.

I just finished another small Hydro system that combines a NFT (Nutrient Film Technique) and a Drip System in one.



This one recycles nutrient solution through the PVC pipe which will have small net pots in it (21 of them) then at the same time runs solution through drip emitters feeding 11 net pots and everything runs from one main reservoir.

I plan on using this for strawberries in the PVC and either Herbs or some other small edible in the reservoir slots.

I will be using hydroton as my planting medium and MaxiGro (10-5-14)
as my main source of nutrients. I have never used it before so this will be a test run.

If anyone has any advise on a heat tolerant strawberry variety I am all ears!

Here's some garden photo's from this morning.

My maters.. in the ebb and flow table



My 5yr old is starting his first garden this year as well, kinda empty but we just got a load of seeds in. He's going to be doing Marigolds and Sunflowers.



And here is an eggplant (Biggest I've ever seen 4.5 ft tall) from last summer still holding it's own..



That's about it for today!

I am going to start a new thread called Muslickz Garden so I can update on a semi daily basis with photos and such.

-Mus

[Cole_Robbie]

Originally Posted by Rockporter

This is an interesting thread to read up on. I wanted to let you all know that Earthboxes are not Hydroponics at all....I grow in the earthbox and have found my tomatoes to taste fantastic and not like hydroponically grown store bought tomatoes.

It is unfortunate that 'hydro tomato' has become a synonym for "bad-tasting." Although there is a lot of correlation between the two, I don't think it's hydro that necessarily causes the bad taste. It's more like the prevailing method of hydro, which is commercial varieties that are usually grown in perlite or rockwool in a run-to-waste drip system.

I would theorize that it's a lack of beneficial bacteria in the medium that account in large part for the poor flavor. A bucket of perlite and compost as a medium compared to a bucket of just perlite will produce much better flavor. There are a multitude of hydro systems and an even larger multitude of nutrient additives available.

I haven't given up yet on being able to grow a good-tasting hydro tomato. I think it's got to be possible somehow.

[Elagrow]

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

It is unfortunate that 'hydro tomato' has become a synonym for "bad-tasting." Although there is a lot of correlation between the two, I don't think it's hydro that necessarily causes the bad taste. It's more like the prevailing method of hydro, which is commercial varieties that are usually grown in perlite or rockwool in a run-to-waste drip system.

I would theorize that it's a lack of beneficial bacteria in the medium that account in large part for the poor flavor. A bucket of perlite and compost as a medium compared to a bucket of just perlite will produce much better flavor. There are a multitude of hydro systems and an even larger multitude of nutrient additives available.

I haven't given up yet on being able to grow a good-tasting hydro tomato. I think it's got to be possible somehow.

I have always heard that it was all about the PPM of the solution, a higher PPM will increase flavor while a lower PPM that is much more water will fill the tomatoes with a flavorless meet which I like to call Saline tomatoes

But, My tomatoes are growing fast and I cant wait to take my first bite, although being my first grow I Hope they will taste good, but am prepared to bite into a flavorless one.

[Crandrew]

that NFT setup you built last, is exactly what i would run my salad greens on. NFT is very efficient and compact.


I also noticed you are keeping the PPM down in the 500 range. What will you increase them to once they start a good veg, flower and fruit?

[Muslickz]

I usually start things at about 500-600ppm, as the season continues I will gradually move it up to the 700-900ppm range. Now that's for leafy veg. Like Elagrow stated the higher the ppm the more flavor (Theoretically). So I will be bringing up muy ppm's in my tomatoes to about 1400 during fruiting.. There's a fine line between optimal ppm and chem burn.

Luckily enough with my systems if the ppm's have risen too high, it's easy to dilute the system with additional water and bring them back down. Salt buildup can be difficult to deal with but with my ebb and flow trays it seems to rain enough to keep the medium (Hydroton) rinsed and prevent salt buildup.

Here's a chart I usually go by, loosely mind you...



Here's a link to the original image..

------Veg PPM's------

Hope it helps!

-Mus