I had my hopes on producing a huge tomato outdoors this year but the weather has not been the best for tomatoes where I live. High temps, high humidity, and …
Question by Just guessing: How do YOU start your tomato plants?
Tell me your recipe for growing stocky tomato plants from seed.
Best answer:
Answer by Jesse
Start from seed under a 50/50 mix of T5 Floro bulbs of Warm White and Daylight. Once they have an established root system in a “Rapid Rooter” starter transfer over to a 1 gal. pot under a 400 HID bulb, specifically metal halide bulb, and watch them grow. Make sure to use a good soil, I prefer Fox Farms Ocean Forest, you will have the largest and healthiest tomato plants in a short amount of time, they will flourish with this setup. It costs a little to setup and will increase your elec. bill a little, but if you plan on growing some very nice quality/quantity of tomatoes, this works ideally. If you time it correctly for the growing season, they can be transferred outside into your garden, or kept inside… either will produce a nice fruit. Hope that helps, good luck.
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only when you grow them
Hi, I am just learning about hydroponic growing. Your videos are excellent and very helpful! Thanks for posting them.
I have one question, how do these plants get pollinated if they are indoors? Or when grown in the winter and there aren’t any pollinating insects around?
Thanks again.
fair chance your power bill would cost you more than what the tomato’s would cost you at the store.
this summer i want to see how many clones i can get growing from 1 tomato plant
Hydroponic…. It’ll still taste like cardboard. not like a real tomato.
That’s all. When the roots pop out of the bottom of the rockwool, your good to go in hydroponics or dirt. It’s pretty forgiving and failure is not an option, lol.
do you keep them in the Rockwool and just put Hydroton around them?
I notice that same residue ring from evaporating nutrients from the Flora series (liquid nutrients) that I currently use. I wonder if you get that no matter what nutrients you use because there is a higher evaporation rate at the surface where the bubbles are popping. Thanks for your help!
I bubble the nutrients in the water for a few hours before adding it in. They mix well but I notice a residue on the sides of the bucket around the water level from bubbles bursting. I may switch to liquid after these run out.
I recently had someone at a hydro store try to steer me away from dry nutrients because, as she said, “You never know if everything will mix well, but with liquid you know what you’re getting.” I have been using liquid nutes but want to switch to something like maxigrow and maxibloom because of cost (I buy them online because it’s cheaper than locally). When you bubble your tap water do you do it with or without nutes? Do you ever have problems with burns from nutes not mixing well? Thanks!
Just using tap water but I bubble it out for 24 hours. I’ve been adding Cal Mag Plus to the nutrients. Nutrients I use are Maxigrow till the first flowers and then Maxibloom. I was using Floramato but they discontinued it. Don’t spend the money on R/O unless it’s an emergency and you have no water ready.
I have started tomatoes and the buds are just forming. I am using a dwc 20 Gallon tote with the GH Flora series for nutes. I have read that you should use R/O water if you have hard water. I have been filling up 5 g jugs at the store. Someone told me that for tomatoes they need a good amount of calcium and the hard water won’t be bad for them as long as you keep the pH between 5.7 – 6ish.
Do you use tap water or R/O water/What nutes? If possible I don’t want to spend the money on the R/O water.
Been wanting to know how to clone correctly. Awesome stuff, thanks for sharing, man! Also, the CFL idea at the end of this vid is brilliant.
Been wanting to know how to clone correctly. Awesome stuff, thanks for sharing, man! Also, the CFL idea at the end of this vid is brilliant.
The pail had Easter cookies that I bought after Easter on clearance. They still tasted like cookies even though Easter had passed and I got me a genuine cloning bucket!
Thanks so much for showing how to clone. I tried to do it to make fall tomatoes. Everyone’s videos showed how easy it was, but mine didn’t want to work.
I’m going to try your method…. with that take root etc.
umm hmm… a blue kids pail.. umm what kind of designs were on that pail again? 😛 lolll You didn’t post the link for that! lol
Good idea keep me informed… Thanks
Excellent video and info!
Yup, keeping them under the 400watt but will add a second 400watt once I split them between 2 tubs. As for the roots it seems that there are way more with a clone than a new plant. The clone is also growing much faster than a new plant. I noticed today that the larger plant is getting flowers. Amazing. I should do time lapse just to see.
Hmmm, I may want to try Window Box. Tiny Tims came from a cross of Window Box and Red Currant.
Using the GH Maxigro right now. They are really taking off.
Oh yes, what sort of nutrients are you using for the tomatoes?
Gary
Super. I’m rooting for you to set the bar for big tomatoes in hydroponics. Wonder what the current record is, if any. This will be a fun series to follow. I’ve got some seed of another small growing tomato called Window Box. Let me know if you’d like a few. I’m sure you’ll have better luck with them than I am. It’s not the tomato’s fault though, lol.
Regards, Gary
U need make video ever 4 days
We need grow off see how wins
If you love gardening and especially tomatoes than you must try this.
http://kashifbt.blogspot.com/2009/11/amazing-pomato-plant-reap-tomatoes-on.html
The best way is to use a bottom heating pad. They use only about 4 to 8 watts of energy. These can be purchased as a kit. Seeds are placed in compressed peat or potting soil. These will sprout in about 7 days. As soon as they sprout they need a lot of light. Then use grow lux bulbs, should be 2 inches higher than the tops of the plants. Fertilizer such as Miracle grow needs to be added often.
If you have a south facing window that is the best.
I use 4″ pots filled with potting soil. Place near a window for light. I try to plant seeds about 6 weeks before the outdoor growing season starts. Using the larger pots helps since the weather may not be right for transplanting outside and this way the plants do not get “root bound”. I use a spray bottle to keep the soil moist.
I use the peat pots that you soak and they expand. Add seeds. Place on heating pad. Once they are up I have them under florescent lights.
Last year I had my trays near a sunny window. They kept growing toward the light and I had to keep turning them. I won’t put the trays here again. I think I may try my basement because it is warm near the furnace.
i scatter seeds in a tray…then when about an inch high, thin and transplant to small dixie cups or peat cups…any florescent light fixture will work. the trick for bushy plants is to keep the light just above the plants so they dont get leggy…raise the light as they grow or lower the plants…