Indoor gardening question

[Brainonska511]

Does anyone do any indoor gardening, such as growing vegetables in a pot?

I started some seedlings of a tomato (Garden Gem) in a small 4" pot with a 60W incandescent plant bulb half a foot above it since there isn't enough sun in my windows (and I don't have access to windows with good exposure anyway). This seems acceptable for now, but I was wondering what to do with light long term. I don't have a tremendous amount of space and was wondering what types of setups I could make (or buy) for growing 1-2 tomato plants indoors without breaking the bank on equipment costs.

 

[paperfist]

I use the Aero Garden (older one) on and off for cherry tomatoes and lettuce. My cousin has the newer LED one and he says it produces a lot.

 

[Brainonska511]

I use the Aero Garden (older one) on and off for cherry tomatoes and lettuce. My cousin has the newer LED one and he says it produces a lot.

That looks like a hydroponic setup. From what I've briefly read, transplanting from soil to hydroponic may not work so well.

Perhaps I'll just use an additional lamp or two with better growing bulbs for when they get bigger?

 

[edro]

I grow tropical bonsai trees indoors.
Your 60W incandescent bulb is nowhere near the amount of light a tomato plant requires for optimal growth.
"Plant bulbs" are novelty items and don't perform any better for plants.
The coatings they use (to tailor the output spectrum) actually reduce light.

If you are serious about growing a tomato plant indoors and getting fruit, you are going to need a lot more light.

The best bang for buck is a fluorescent light fixture.
I would get a 4 or 6 lamp, 4ft T5HO fixture and lamps.
https://www.1000bulbs.com/category/4-lamp-t5-fluorescent-fixtures/
(you have to buy the lamps separate)
The bulbs don't get too hot, so the plant leaves can be very close and not burn up.
You want the leaves as close to the light as possible.

 

[echo4747]

I grow tropical bonsai trees indoors.
Your 60W incandescent bulb is nowhere near the amount of light a tomato plant requires for optimal growth.
"Plant bulbs" are novelty items and don't perform any better for plants.
The coatings they use (to tailor the output spectrum) actually reduce light.

If you are serious about growing a tomato plant indoors and getting fruit, you are going to need a lot more light.

The best bang for buck is a fluorescent light fixture.
I would get a 4 or 6 lamp, 4ft T5HO fixture and lamps.
https://www.1000bulbs.com/category/4-lamp-t5-fluorescent-fixtures/
(you have to buy the lamps separate)
The bulbs don't get too hot, so the plant leaves can be very close and not burn up.
You want the leaves as close to the light as possible.

what about led light for indoor gardening? is it any good? should bring the electric cost down substantially

 

[edro]

what about led light for indoor gardening? is it any good? should bring the electric cost down substantially

Yeah they are good, but they are very expensive right now, especially if they are marketed as grow lights.
For a single fixture, LED energy savings isn't too dramatic over fluorescent.
The basic efficacy unit in lighting is Lumens per Watt. (LPW)

Compare lumens per watt versus cost and you will see that fluorescent is still the best for a small potatoes homeowner.
Industrial indoor farmers are traditionally HID (HPS or Metal Halide), but are switching to LED for energy savings.

For reference
T5HO Fluorescent - ~90-100 LPW
Incandescent - ~5-15 LPW
Metal Halide HID - ~90-100 LPW
LED - ~60-140 LPW (greatly dependent on fixture and cost of fixture)

 

[slag]

Plants grown with artificial light taste fake. It's a scientifically proven fact.

Some of them turn to plastic.

 

[Brainonska511]

Plants grown with artificial light taste fake. It's a scientifically proven fact.

Some of them turn to plastic.

Thanks for that insightful reply...

I grow tropical bonsai trees indoors.
Your 60W incandescent bulb is nowhere near the amount of light a tomato plant requires for optimal growth.
"Plant bulbs" are novelty items and don't perform any better for plants.
The coatings they use (to tailor the output spectrum) actually reduce light.

If you are serious about growing a tomato plant indoors and getting fruit, you are going to need a lot more light.

The best bang for buck is a fluorescent light fixture.
I would get a 4 or 6 lamp, 4ft T5HO fixture and lamps.
https://www.1000bulbs.com/category/4-lamp-t5-fluorescent-fixtures/
(you have to buy the lamps separate)
The bulbs don't get too hot, so the plant leaves can be very close and not burn up.
You want the leaves as close to the light as possible.

I was just looking - I didn't realize T5 bulbs also come in a 2-foot size. I could see splurging for a small 2-4 bulb light and stand to hold it all.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006856EQ

 

[Brainonska511]

As far as lighting, could this be alright? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006856EQ

 

[bbhaag]

That looks more like it's for starting seedlings. Tomatoes get huge man....like up to 5 or 6 foot and require an intense amount of light to set and bare fruit.
A couple of two foot t-5s aint gonna cut it.

I'd say for one tomato plant grown indoors your gonna need at minimum a container equal in size or larger than a 5gal bucket and a 250 watt hps light with a reflector. Even with this setup I am skeptical about the quality of fruit you will produce.

 

[Brainonska511]

That looks more like it's for starting seedlings. Tomatoes get huge man....like up to 5 or 6 foot and require an intense amount of light to set and bare fruit.
A couple of two foot t-5s aint gonna cut it.

I'd say for one tomato plant grown indoors your gonna need at minimum a container equal in size or larger than a 5gal bucket and a 250 watt hps light with a reflector. Even with this setup I am skeptical about the quality of fruit you will produce.

Yeah... I'm not quite sure yet. I'm thinking starting off with the two-bulb light, just to see how big they'll get and if I can even get anything (I've seen some people, with this variety, can control their size by limiting the container size) - if they get too big, I'll just bring them home to my parents' place, where they can be put in the ground in a real vegetable garden. I'd probably throw some other random things under the light too, like basil or other leafy things that would definitely thrive in that kind of indoor environment.

The joys of living in the city, with no outdoor spaces.

 

[bbhaag]

The two bulb fixture you linked to is fairly cheap and limiting the container size will help. It sounds like you really want to try this so I say go ahead and buy the fixture and try it out.
Basil and other herbs like oregano and thyme might not be a bad idea either. Not the same as having fresh fruits and veggies but at least you would have some fresh herbs to season your dishes with.

 

[Brainonska511]

The two bulb fixture you linked to is fairly cheap and limiting the container size will help. It sounds like you really want to try this so I say go ahead and buy the fixture and try it out.
Basil and other herbs like oregano and thyme might not be a bad idea either. Not the same as having fresh fruits and veggies but at least you would have some fresh herbs to season your dishes with.

Yeah. I probably wont go with the one I linked. I realized I could get a wire shelf set to hang stuff and use the extra shelving for badly needed storage in my apartment. And worst case, I end up with leafy things (herbs, lettuce...) and give my tomato plants to my parents to stick outside.

 

[edro]

You should give up the idea of growing edible plants in your apartment.
It's just a mental phase.
You will spend $50-100 for a substandard solution and the plants will not grow well and taste like crap.

I'm not trying to be an ass; I'm just trying to save you some time and money.

 

[mindless1]

Tomatoes are just too large a plant to grow indoors, given the effort and low value of what they produce. Maybe herbs or a super hot pepper plant is more in line with your situation, where there's fewer pests, and where one pod can go a long way to heat up meals, but you'd still be looking at $10 a month in electricity alone and minimum $60 invested in lighting hardware. That's for ONE good sized plant, for the peppers at least, herbs are less demanding if you can settle for low produce.

Granted that's towards the end of a growing cycle. When it's little you don't need as much light or power yet, but you'd still be able to buy a lot of hot sauce or herbs with the money spent. IMO, pot is the only crop that's cost effective to grow indoors, unless you have a very well (sun-) lit solarium indoors.

Now if it's a HOBBY instead, well then it's your free time and whatever makes you happy is money well spent, but in that case I'd grow something a little less common that you can't get at a local grocery store.

There are worse plants to grow inside, corn, potatoes, beans or okra comes to mind, but tomatoes are up there with being too intensive for light, soil and space compared to what you get out of them.

 

[Miramonti]

Tomatoes are just too large a plant to grow indoors, given the effort and low value of what they produce. Maybe herbs or a super hot pepper plant is more in line with your situation, where there's fewer pests, and where one pod can go a long way to heat up meals, but you'd still be looking at $10 a month in electricity alone and minimum $60 invested in lighting hardware. That's for ONE good sized plant, for the peppers at least, herbs are less demanding if you can settle for low produce.

Granted that's towards the end of a growing cycle. When it's little you don't need as much light or power yet, but you'd still be able to buy a lot of hot sauce or herbs with the money spent. IMO, pot is the only crop that's cost effective to grow indoors, unless you have a very well (sun-) lit solarium indoors.

Now if it's a HOBBY instead, well then it's your free time and whatever makes you happy is money well spent, but in that case I'd grow something a little less common that you can't get at a local grocery store.

There are worse plants to grow inside, corn, potatoes, beans or okra comes to mind, but tomatoes are up there with being too intensive for light, soil and space compared to what you get out of them.

Low value??? Some of our nation's (and world's) most popular foods, which I call superfoods, prominently feature tomatoes! (pizza, spaghetti, ketchup, etc..)

 

[edro]

Low value??? Some of our nation's (and world's) most popular foods, which I call superfoods, prominently feature tomatoes! (pizza, spaghetti, ketchup, etc..)

He meant that you can buy them for $1/lb.
Spend $100+ for a growing solution to grow $5 worth of bad tomatoes.

 

[mindless1]

Yes not only are they cheap, but quantity consumed per meal is high too. Tomatoes are even cheaper than $1/lb in-season. Check out a farmers' market in a few months to get the good stuff.

They aren't very decorative indoors either, being a chaotic light green vine instead of an ornamental looking shrub in the case of super hot peppers, or a nice scent with herbs. Many herbs repel insects too, while tomatoes can get to be a mess of white flies/gnats/etc. if you don't continually treat for them. Outdoors you can ignore a few but indoors, yuck.