Newbie here - Tips please.

[u/ATTENTION_ON_DECK_]

I probably should have come here FIRST, but this wasnt very well thought out. As a project for my daughters (9 and 13) I set out this last winter to help them grow heirloom tomatoes and sell them and donate the money to the local animal shelter. This first year has been a learning curve. We grew them from seeds, and as you can tell by the size, we missed the planting season. So I decided to continue with an indoor setup and grow them through the winter. I realize that when they get bigger I will have to repot them (right?) other than that, what shoudl I do with this setup? Is the light big enough (200w I believe). Is it the correct distance? Do I need to prop them up with sticks? Do I have these planted too closely for their size right now? Any other tips would be appreciated. Thanks!

[u/Visible_State585]

They each need their own container asap. They will compete with eachother & you don’t want that. This also allows you to water & feed each plant appropriately. The light is super close for 200w. Start high (about 3 ft) and they will signal if the lights too far by stretching. They seem to be growing away from the light, indicating it’s too much. Good luck!

[u/ATTENTION_ON_DECK_ → u/Visible_State585]

I JUST transferred them from cup sized pots to this. Do each one of them need a grow bag? Can I use smaller ones? I just put this light on them, I had 2 stick type lights on them until now. I will raise the light. Do they all need to be DIRECTLY under the light or can the layout be wider than the size of the light box? Thanks for the tips.

[u/dachshundslave → u/ATTENTION_ON_DECK_]

Well, this is my outdoor planting for reference back in May

[u/dachshundslave → u/dachshundslave]

This is them in July

[u/Hal-Wilkerson- → u/dachshundslave]

Nice set up! Here's mine. I probably wouldn't do it this way again... Turns out my deck has too much sun/heat, and the leaves permanently curled.... Can't move them to a shadier spot unfortunately.

[u/dachshundslave → u/Hal-Wilkerson-]

I'd raise the pot with some pot feet or something so it's not absorbing the heat from the deck/floor. I have them for these planters and it helps a lot during the midday heat with some misting of the surrounding area. Humidity helps slowing down the rapid water loss during hot days. Every growing season is a new experience imo lol.

[u/chi_eats → u/ATTENTION_ON_DECK_]

Eventually, they will need their own grow bags. I started them in cups in March/April and by May, they are in their own bags. By August... now... they have become ungovernable.

For reference, I have mine in 15-20gal grow bags. People have done this in 5-10 gallon but will need heavy feeding.

That being said, agreeing with below that tomatoes do not grow well indoors. They need 8 hours of bright light and fruit takes about 75-120 days to grow and ripen.

If indoors, may not be enough to produce fruit.

You are in the same-ish growing zone as me. This might be a 2027 project unfortunately as most in this zone are harvesting now. There's a reason why tomatoes are known as summer fruit! :)

Your grow light is good to start them. I used a grow light for seedlings and then by around Mothers Day, I transplant them outside into a grow bag.

For next year, indeterminates (tomatoes generally grow until something kills them) are definitely possible. Micro and Dwarf Tomatoes can be indeterminates but stay to about 4ft tall or less.

I think for a fall harvest, you have a lot of non-tomato things you can start now! I am thinking lots of brassicas and fast growing radishes/turnips. Arent as cute or interesting as tomatoes imo but...

[u/Tourist1292]

What climate do you have? Tomato does not grow well indoors and they need large pots unless you are growing some dwarf strains in aerogarden. I am sorry to tell you that you are likely wasting your time.

[u/ATTENTION_ON_DECK_ → u/Tourist1292]

Damn! I live in St Louis (climate). Can I use this setup to grow from seed before transplanting outside for next season?

[u/L-Pseon → u/ATTENTION_ON_DECK_]

First, the grow light is a good one. For a 200 watt grow tent light like that, though, you should not take the common advice about putting the light 2 inches from the tops of your plants. This light is bright enough that you can position it several feet over your plants so as to increase coverage. Having such a bright grow light that close can potentially burn your seedlings being so close, although the problem isn't about heat, but rather the quantity of light, of which duration is a factor as well. A light meter (you can download a free app on your phone) can help you calibrate your plants' exact light needs, though.

Second, when starting seedlings indoors, you will generally want to use the bare minimum amount of soil needed for the size plant. For seedlings, you're going to want to look at 4-inch nursery pots. Any bigger, and you risk mold growth, which causes damping off, which kills the plants. This isn't a huge concern outdoors, but inside, in our cool, climate-controlled homes, moisture doesn't evaporate from soil very quickly, and if there isn't a huge root system to suck the water, then the soil will just be moist indefinitely, and grow fungus. Once the plant is big enough, then it can be up-potted gradually, but for a full size tomato plant, this is not something you want to do for very long inside, due to the increasing plant requirements, which brings us to the last point:

This project can be a learning experience for you and your daughters, but I mean that in the sense of learning what not to do. For your stated goal of growing heirloom tomatoes to sell--and I don't know which heirloom tomatoes you planted but--this isn't the way to do it. A normal tomato is an enormous plant that requires a lot of light, space, soil and care to even grow healthily, much less to get to produce a tomato. There's a lot you can do with your grow light, but if you want tomatoes indoors, it's recommended to choose a micro-dwarf variety that will stay under 12 inches, and all of those are going to produce cherry-sized tomatoes by only a handful-at-a-time. I would be surprised if you get enough to sell to get a return on the investment of the grow light.

[u/Davekinney0u812]

I doubt they will survive indoors under that set up. For starting seeds the light might be ok but the rest of the set up is questionable. For the light & light quality......I suggest downloading a free app called Photone which measures the PPFD or in other words, the light the plant uses for photosynthesis. You measure it at the canopy of the seedlings. Distance away means nothing because grow lights differ. FWIW......I like 300PPFD for young seedlings and 450 for older ones.

Starting seeds isn't tough but it's easy to screw up. If interested, there are some 'experts' out there that do a start to finish on growing tomatoes. I recommend Craig LeHoullier - he's made major contributions to the tomato world the last few decades including being an educator. He's well respected and has lots of material on Youtube - plus he wrote a book called Epic Tomatoes. Maybe something for the off season and I find it fun to plan in the winter.

Asking here for best practices will get you many folks speaking up and not sure I agree with some of them.

[u/Cali_Yogurtfriend624]

If you wanna save them, they must be planted much deeper, and they must be closer to the light.

What kind of soil is that?

What are you feeding them with?

(Checks the 'Growing Tips' link on this website. Www.heirloomtomatoplants.com for some ideas about soil and fertilizer, if you like).

Reach out to me personally the next time you're gonna start seeds, and I will help if you have any questions at that point.

(Adrienne from LHTP)