Indoor tomato growing

[Timbales]

Well, this might actually work. Both plants are setting fruit. Both are blooming big time. As long as I don't have any disease issues crop up, it looks like I am going to have vine ripened tomatoes from my indoor plants this winter. The new LED technology is amazing. 200 dollars in LED lights that should last at least 5 years and I have 2 fully developed tomato plants producing indoors. A few years ago' it would have taken a much bigger investment. I am one very happy camper.

[Timbales]

Plants are about 3 feet tall now. They each have about half a dozen tomatoes.

[SharonRossy]

Keep us posted and post some pics! I wanted to do that but was too worried about disease, insects, whatever... Not brave enough yet.

[Timbales]

My tomato plants are doing well, however, I am having a little problem with blossom end rot. First few tomatoes were affected. The newer ones seem to be ok. I added calcium to the soil before planting so I suspect it is the size of the pots,3 gal., that is letting the soil moisture vary two much. I should have planted them in bigger pots. I will post new pics as soon as I have some rip tomatoes.

[mcool61]

I planted a fall garden & the area I tilled has several really nice looking tomato plants which might be termed a developing landrace. I've had several volunteers in that area the last 2 years. They look so nice I'm gong to dig one up & put it in a south window. I just want a tomato plant to look at in the middle of winter.

[OmahaJB]

Originally Posted by pecker88

just setup the first 4 of 8 self watering buckets. Totem, New Big Dwarf, purple jalapeno and habanero. I have a later set of toms/peppers that will go in next. The buckets are connected with 1/4 black tubing. I then have a 5 gal. reservoir bucket that dumps into a 3 gal "float" bucket (this gear is to the right of the pic). All you have to do is set the float at the desired level and water flows into the buckets as-needed. The only thing I have to check is the water in the 5 gal reservoir bucket; pretty slick.

I wanted the short and longer wavelength spectrum so I got two 400w HID setups. The left has a MH bulb, the right has HPS.

Both units are identical Apollo Horticulture with the cheap wing reflector. In my opinion, very cheap at $100 each; includes bulb, ballast, reflector, rope hangers.

I have an oscillating fan blowing basement air into the room; temp is steady at 77 deg. When I kick the ballast up to 100% power the temp goes to 80. I'm actually happy about the heat these lights give off; should be easy to heat my grow area come Dec/Jan.

Definitely the way to go using an HID lighting system. Flowering/fruiting needs many more lumens than my lighting set up from a couple years ago. I finally found something in my price range that will do the trick if its as advertised. $116.05 for a switchable (HPS and MH), dimmable 600 watt system from Hydro Crunch purchased on Amazon, with free shipping. Mine is scheduled to be here Saturday. My main concern is everything is in one box shipping from California. Not sure the two bulbs will make it unscathed being in a box with a ballast.

I've noticed at least three different brands being sold on Amazon that look virtually the same, Apollo, i(something or other), and Hydro Crunch. Not expecting much for $116.05 but if it works out it'll be a steal for a 600 watt system. Have already started germinating tomatoes and peppers.

[OmahaJB]

Originally Posted by Timbales

The 12 watt spotlights are Taotronics. They can be found on Amazon for about 25 dollars each. They are amazing. However, they only cover about a 12 inch circle. The 300 watt light is by a company called rhos. Also on Amazon. Both products are amazing. Most of this technology was developed for marijuana growing. It works great to grow tomatoes also.

Timbales, I can't speak to the specific LED lights you have, but there's at least one video on Youtube that shows a medical marijuana grower (really) doing a side by side comparison using LED and HID systems (believe its HPS). Both lighting systems were doing very well. But of course I'm sure they had the best LEDs they could find, so it was probably pretty expensive.

You'll know if your LEDs are good enough if they flower and fruit well, as I'm sure you are aware. That was the frustration I had with my previous set up. They vegged great, but I would have liked more than a max of two tomatoes or peppers also. Now I'll have good lumens per square foot, or square meter depending on how you want to look at it, and color spectrum using the 600 watt HPS/MH I've just purchased that I mentioned in the post above.

[pecker88]

Originally Posted by OmahaJB

Definitely the way to go using an HID lighting system. Flowering/fruiting needs many more lumens than my lighting set up from a couple years ago. I finally found something in my price range that will do the trick if its as advertised. $116.05 for a switchable (HPS and MH), dimmable 600 watt system from Hydro Crunch purchased on Amazon, with free shipping. Mine is scheduled to be here Saturday. My main concern is everything is in one box shipping from California. Not sure the two bulbs will make it unscathed being in a box with a ballast.

I've noticed at least three different brands being sold on Amazon that look virtually the same, Apollo, i(something or other), and Hydro Crunch. Not expecting much for $116.05 but if it works out it'll be a steal for a 600 watt system. Have already started germinating tomatoes and peppers.

My $100 400w apallo units work great, and they came in 1 box from CA, no problem. They bulb is packaged really well, and I noticed that the glass is much thicker then the standard bulb your thinking of .

Anyway, dont' expect much from the ballast; I just noticed yesterday morning that one of mine humms for about 5 minutes when it's turning on in the morning. Probably the Chinese fan already going out. LOL.

[OmahaJB]

Originally Posted by pecker88

My $100 400w apallo units work great, and they came in 1 box from CA, no problem. They bulb is packaged really well, and I noticed that the glass is much thicker then the standard bulb your thinking of .

Anyway, dont' expect much from the ballast; I just noticed yesterday morning that one of mine humms for about 5 minutes when it's turning on in the morning. Probably the Chinese fan already going out. LOL.

My concerns are humming (not much sound barrier between apartments in my building), safety (whether it's built well enough - don't need a fire), whether the ballast will interfere with my wifi, and lastly how long the ballast will last. Price was so good I couldn't pass up giving it a try, Considering the restocking fee (15%, plus shipping both ways, including for a replacement), I wont be sending it back.

[pecker88]

Originally Posted by OmahaJB

My concerns are humming (not much sound barrier between apartments in my building), safety (whether it's built well enough - don't need a fire), whether the ballast will interfere with my wifi, and lastly how long the ballast will last. Price was so good I couldn't pass up giving it a try, Considering the restocking fee (15%, plus shipping both ways, including for a replacement), I wont be sending it back.

Agree. My main concern was fire so I got one of these for the smoke alarm right outside the grow room door in basement [CODE]http://www.getroost.com/[/CODE] hopefully it ships soon.

[Spartanburg123]

Just purchased a GalaxyHydro 300W, and am using it on a plant I just brought in for the winter (it's Girl Girl's Weird Thing). Too big for a grow tent, me thinks. I'll keep you guys updated on its progress!

[OmahaJB]

Hope it works out for you Spartanburg.

Finally received my Hydro Crunch 600-watt HPS/MH dimmable grow light system yesterday. Put it together and tested it and everything works fine. Was glad to see the bulbs made it through shipping without being broken.

Planning on using it to grow and possibly make some crosses. New Big Dwarf and Rosella Purple will be used as the dwarf side of the crosses, and then I have to decide which of these to finish growing out and using as the other sides of the crosses between German Pink, Italian Heirloom, Aunt Ruby's, Kellogg's Breakfast, and possibly Riesentraube if it germinates. I have seedlings now of all of them except the last one. Will be interesting to see what I end up with if the timing and potential crosses work.

Purchased my grow light just in time.

Edit to add: Still can't get over the price of $116.05 with free shipping for my grow light system in new condition.

[goodguys3]

Light can't do everything. Proper nutrient, pH level, watering etc also need. If any body uses grow tent, this time grow light may vary cause of tent's light reflective body. I got an article here about home grown tomato https://www.goodguysgardening.com/bl...-grown-tomato/

[greenthumbomaha]

Originally Posted by Spartanburg123

Just purchased a GalaxyHydro 300W, and am using it on a plant I just brought in for the winter (it's Girl Girl's Weird Thing). Too big for a grow tent, me thinks. I'll keep you guys updated on its progress!

I might give this a try too. I purchased the 600W GalaxyHydro on Amazon Warehouse for Cyber Monday. I believe it is just a double pack of 300W. Since its a "warehouse" item testing is needed when it arrives. Of course I have no idea how to use it. Is there a tutorial that is not related to the green weed?

I better buy blinds before my neighbors start questioning the new acquisition.
While on the indoor growing subject, the strawberries I started are forming buds.Have not used lights yet as it was sunny until the winter weather gloom set in last week. Highly recommend this as a winter project.

- Lisa

[Spartanburg123]

Originally Posted by greenthumbomaha

I might give this a try too. I purchased the 600W GalaxyHydro on Amazon Warehouse for Cyber Monday. I believe it is just a double pack of 300W. Since its a "warehouse" item testing is needed when it arrives. Of course I have no idea how to use it. Is there a tutorial that is not related to the green weed?

I better buy blinds before my neighbors start questioning the new acquisition.
While on the indoor growing subject, the strawberries I started are forming buds.Have not used lights yet as it was sunny until the winter weather gloom set in last week. Highly recommend this as a winter project.

- Lisa

Lisa- I just harvested my first tomato today- about 90 days. The plant has about 12 tomatoes set, with a few ripening, like this one. The only difference I've noticed vs. outside is a slower growth rate, but other than that, not really! I'll post some more ripened pictures soon...

Thanks

Darin