Indoor Tomato grow

[LoveSalads]

As the outdoor garden mostly is winding down it is time to start Tomatoes again. Taking what I liked outside and trying it inside to see how different the results will be. I am planning on at least 2 sets of back to back Bounty's with 100 watt lights above. This will provide at least an extra 18" of height. I guess  feng shui will be out the window for this seasons grow. I am starting to many as usual but why not.  20240914_224601 20240910_184526 

In another 45 days or so depending on how these do and, left over gardens I plan on starting a few more.
Veranda Reds and possibly Cherry Falls. Yes I like my tomatoes as much as my salads they just go together so well.

[lynnee]

Are you intending to move the Cherokee Purple to a Farm or Bounty of its own fairly soon, LoveSalads? My husband loves those, but after seeing how large the plant gets, I decided to continue trying to grow Green Zebras for him instead!

[LoveSalads]

Sept 30, 2024 1:51:12 GMT -5 lynnee said:

Are you intending to move the Cherokee Purple to a Farm or Bounty of its own fairly soon, LoveSalads ? My husband loves those, but after seeing how large the plant gets, I decided to continue trying to grow Green Zebras for him instead!

Back in the bucket like last year. Hopefully this week. I kinda cut my thumb while slicing potatoes so this has put me back maybe a week we shall see. I actually need to transplant many tomatoes I think all AG's will be rocking for a chunk of the winter. It was nice to have some time off from the indoor grows but fall is here  and I love my tomatoes with my salads, sandwiches, and burgers, etc. The outdoor garden is still giving so that is a blessing I am enjoying almost daily.

[LoveSalads]

Day 29 and many of my cherry toms have flowers. They grow so fast in an AG I love it.
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[LoveSalads]

Day 43 and my White Currant in the Farm have maxed the height. I guess I will start pushing the stems around and some trimming. I like trimming the lower parts that don't get light but stunting the upper growth seems to not be helpful.   20241021_131543 

The Cherokee Purple is back in the grow bucket and spreading its wings. 
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The First Toms I have are in the weakest looking White Currant Cherry Tomato plant.

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I am not going to show all 17 plants but there are flowers everywhere waiting to be pollinated. I use fans and do some manual also.


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Looking forward to seeing the difference in size and taste between the outdoor garden and in the grow rooms(house). 

[LoveSalads]

After many iterations this is the semi final grow design for my Cherry Tomatoes. 2 foot height restriction, I don't need no stinkin 2 foot restriction. Using clips to hang a pipe from the ceiling to mount many adjustable lights.

  hanging 

And the semi final view of whole setup.
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Hopefully I will have many happy plants and lots of Tomatoes. The lights are still controlled by the garden itself as the power to them is the cable going to the old light hood. These are pre2019 Bounty's and the cable going to the light hood is just like a wall outlet controlled by light setting on the Bounty itself. 

[Clovis Sangrail]

I love those mirrors behind the AGs. They make it look like a tomato cathedral.

The Cathedral of Saint Fiacre, patron saint of gardeners.

[pfunnyjoy]

Beautiful looking setup!

[LoveSalads]

Clovis Sangrail The mirrors are for function as the Tomato plants seem to grow better with the mirrors.
I also like the way they look. Not so great looking behind the Cherokee Purple but I have been using them for 7 seasons of indoor Tomato growing. It could just be all in my mind.   

[LoveSalads]

Lightshade Version 1.0 . I love the new grow lights being adjustable from 0ff-100% but no hood like Aerogardens. 
They are made for a grow tent not out in the wilds. So I had to come up with something quick after realizing I wanted to have sight ,for more than just a few days. They are very disturbing to the eyes unless you are above the light. So without further ado...........

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It will improve with time. These are made from the original box as the size was about right. I need to find someone who used to do siding before it became vinyl and get an aluminum roll/coil. Then I can bend my own white aluminum shades. That remains to be seen and further down the road. So far no smoke.....Muahahahahaaha

[scarfguy]

I use a roll of 3" blue painter's tape as necessary for light shades.  

You can place it anywhere strategically and it has the added advantage of being fly paper too!

[LoveSalads]

Beautiful scarfguy I did see that in other pictures you posted and thought how ingenious that was. With the added benefit of catching gnats and fly's is nice. I didn't realize how intense the light from those grow lights were at an angle. I don't have a support around the lights to  install tape on. It doesn't look great but, for now it will have to do.  I will find someone to do some graphic designs on them.  

Bonus ..... I found a Cherokee Purple Tomato growing which is 2 weeks (grow time) sooner than last years grow. O happy days only another 40-50 days before I get some slicers again. Hopefully less than 30 days before lots of Cherry Toms.

[scarfguy]

Oct 25, 2024 9:09:07 GMT -5 LoveSalads said:

Beautiful scarfguy I did see that in other pictures you posted and thought how ingenious that was. With the added benefit of catching gnats and fly's is nice. I didn't realize how intense the light from those grow lights were at an angle. I don't have a support around the lights to  install tape on. It doesn't look great but, for now it will have to do.  I will find someone to do some graphic designs on them.  

Bonus ..... I found a Cherokee Purple Tomato growing which is 2 weeks (grow time) sooner than last years grow. O happy days only another 40-50 days before I get some slicers again. Hopefully less than 30 days before lots of Cherry Toms.

You can just stick the tape to the edge of these lights without any issues.  Like this:

The LED panel doesn't get very hot. It's the transformer on the top that gets hot!

On this frame, I have 2 250W lights on the top and 3 100W lights that are movable.

I have a portable air conditioning unit in the corner of the room. (the room is only 8x8) and I have to run the air conditioner almost every day even sometimes when the sun comes in the windows in the winter.

I'm happy if I can keep the ambient air under 80F.

[Clovis Sangrail]

I love seeing all the Rube Goldberg contraptions you folks cobble together for your gardens. Inventive and imaginative.

Mine are all plain vanilla. Not even French vanilla.

[LoveSalads]

Oct 25, 2024 10:47:33 GMT -5 Clovis Sangrail said:

I love seeing all the Rube Goldberg contraptions you folks cobble together for your gardens. Inventive and imaginative.

Mine are all plain vanilla. Not even French vanilla.

I dunno your inventive and imaginative presentations make me drool consistently. I would say those pics are way beyond French vanilla which btw I really like.  

[LoveSalads]

Dang scarfguy I had to go horizontal and noodle on those shades and then the support for them and I could have just asked the experienced one. I got dainbramage over those. Muahahahahahahaha  Anyway thanks for that easy solution. I am not sure I can use it with some of my lights. Kinda thin area to stick that tape to. But gives me incentive to noodle around abit more. 
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These have a thicker/wider edge like yours so should work great.

edge 

And a good example of how blinding that light is. I was definitely worried about those Led's heating stuff up so my shades are air gaped. 

[scarfguy]

FYI, LoveSalads,  I was concerned about my eye health with all of the bright LEDs I'm living with.

My eye doctor told me not to worry.  The amount of damage you can do to your eyes with even full spectrum LEDs is far less than the damage you do just by going outside in the sun for an hour.

[LoveSalads]

Day 56 update. The flowers have turned into lots of Cherry Toms.

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All the Cherry Toms are growing like weeds
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The Cherokee Purple is about a 3 foot cube now with maybe a dozen starts biggest being golf ball size or so.

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I am hoping in  2 weeks to be eating some Cherry Toms on top of my salad, any variety that is growing will do. 
I have some spinach germinating the paper towel way. It is now cool enough indoors to grow it.

[LoveSalads]

Our first dusting of snow for the year and I am growing Lettuce and Tomatoes I love it. My first blossom end rot of the indoor season also. Maybe I should use cal-mag with the Cherry Toms also ? They are coming in 1 x 1 at this point soon will be the flood. Day 75 and all is well.
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[scarfguy]

I use cal-mag early with tomato seedlings.  It's essential, HOWEVER, even with cal-mag, I always have blossom end rot on the first few tomatoes. After that, it doesn't seem to recur. I don't understand it.