Sprig's Indoor Growing

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

So I have a simple 4x4 tent in my basement, along with separate seeding and sprout setups. I've overwintered stuff before, but have never really had the space to properly do something inside over winter, minus stuff on Windows sills. So, when the Mrs and I moved it gave me an opportunity to get a proper setup.

One of my desires was to grow tomatoes, so along with my herbs and spicy peppers I thought I'd give some tomatoes a shot. Not really having experience with indoor growing I started a few experiments (indeterminate vs determinate, 5-gal buckets vs cloth, and large vs small tomatoes) and away I went.

First lesson: start early.
I did not actually sprout my seeds until late September. This was probably due more to our third kid being born earlier that month than anything else, but my point is we haven't had a fruit ripen until December. So, next year I'll start that process in August, and probably will start my stuff from clippings

Second Lesson: only grow determinate tomatoes inside.
I've had to clip my desters back so much I'm pretty sure they don't like me anymore. That is to say I'm pretty sure I'be shocked them and will likely not get the amount of fruit I could have if I had grown something a bit smaller.

Third Lesson: cloth buckets all the way.
I cannot explain how happy these cloth buckets have made my plants, and how much easier it's made everything, specifically watering.


My good news today is I just harvested our first dester

I'll update as more lessons are learned

 

[ninnymary]

My goodness that's a big tomatoe! Wow your experiement is working. Imagine all that you can start growing now. Good for you.

Mary

 

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

Thanks @ninnymary. The basil has paid out quite a few times already, but the tomatoes are just starting to.

 

[ninnymary]

This means you will have tomatoes all winter long in MN. That is amazing!

Mary

 

[thistlebloom]

Oh boy, is Bay ever going to be jealous now! Minnesota beating Texas out of ripe winter tomatoes!

Those are great Sprig, very inspiring, and chalk one up for the northerners!

 

[Lavender2]

Great looking tomato! @SprigOfTheLivingDead Congrats! Thanks much for the update!

What are you using for a tent? Type of lighting? (did you post this already and I missed it?)
You might be the cause of DH losing his office some day, but shhh, I won't tell him it was you!..

 

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

I've dropped a few notes of my setup, but I haven't detailed it @Lavender2 .

I have a Secret Jardin 4x4 with a 1000w bulb in a forced-air cooled flow (that means I have flexible ductwork pushing air past the bulb to cool it -- I have an in-line fan in the tent connected to an air filter that creates a negative pressure to pull air into the tent in a passive airflow process). Aside from that I have two other seedling bays with some T5 bulbs.

I'm not a fan of an "office" unless it's really being used as such, and I have no use for a room like that

 

[bobm]

I have been self employed most of my life, so I need and have a home office and it is used strictly as an office. I garden outside .