muleface
Well-Known Member
I decided a few years ago I wanted to grow some indoor tomatoes. I talked to some friends, did some research and decided to get it a try. This is the first time i ever tried to grow anything inside ever. I had no experience with lighting, feeding, or growing.
My first attempt was the most logical and easiest, i decided to do full NASA style aeroponics...no I'm serious here...it went as well as you would think. Tons of root rot, i spent a ton of money, a ton of time, i got about a dozen tomatoes, they were meh. This method required me buying high powered, high pressure pumps and i had to special order nozzles that would provide me with the right micron sized water droplets. There were timers and special made grow boxes. it was great....no...no it wasn't...sigh....
My second attempt with was with coco in dutch pots, i crammed 24 plants in a 4x8 tent. I had about 700 watts of LED total. I got some tomatoes, I also created a total disaster. All the plants started the race, about 9 completed the race. They were a tangled mess, i couldn't get to most of them as my tent was against 2 walls. The tomatoes were meh.
My third attempt was epic, i went with 36 dutch buckets, with coco. I gave myself a LOT more space. 18 plants each on 2 - 3x12 tables, I had about 3.5 KW of led lighting this time. I used a massive 110 gallon tank where i monitored PH and EC. I had a air pump, a circulation pump, everything on timers, I setup trellises, i carefully measured my nutrients (i used powered). Things went great, until they didn't. Blight wiped out just about everything. I had maybe 40 tomatoes grow. They were gross. My attempt this time used heirloom tomatoes. I would later find out that i could not of picked out a worse plant for a massive indoor grow. lesson learned...or was it....
My forth attempt used a different method. I used the same tables and dutch buckets, but I used 6x6 rock wool cubes, then surrounded them with soil. I thought it would help the flavor. This time I asked my seed supplier and they suggested a hybrid tomato that was resistant to a variety of aliments. My tomatoes really took off, i had a great harvest, with that said, i also had about 500 lbs of flavorless red orbs. They were so bland and flavorless i froze them and fed them to my chickens. On top of that, I let it run in to june, where my power rate almost doubles. My wife asked me why the hell we had a $700 power bill. I told her it is because i make poor choices....
I am now on attempt 5. This time I went with a crazy method, not like my first run using a super simple NASA aeroponic design. Get this, you can use soil! I got 10 - 15 gallon cloth growing bags. Filled them with 2 cf of a combo of top soil, mushroom compost, worm castings and peat. I give them ph controlled water and occasionally a treat of bat guano and worms casting tea, spiked with some fox farms microbe brew. Do i need 36 plants, no, so i am growing only 10 now. So i can use 2 light rigs instead of 6. 1/3 the power and when it gets warm enough, i can just move them outside.
My working theory is a feeding the soil vs feeding the plant will product better tasting tomatoes. Also, while hydroponics can product huge plants and and ample crop, the lack of diversity in the growing medium will not product a good flavored crop. My experience tells me that hydroponic tomatoes are awful. I would be better suited buying grocery store tomatoes in the middle of the winter (im in the midwest)
My first attempt was the most logical and easiest, i decided to do full NASA style aeroponics...no I'm serious here...it went as well as you would think. Tons of root rot, i spent a ton of money, a ton of time, i got about a dozen tomatoes, they were meh. This method required me buying high powered, high pressure pumps and i had to special order nozzles that would provide me with the right micron sized water droplets. There were timers and special made grow boxes. it was great....no...no it wasn't...sigh....
My second attempt with was with coco in dutch pots, i crammed 24 plants in a 4x8 tent. I had about 700 watts of LED total. I got some tomatoes, I also created a total disaster. All the plants started the race, about 9 completed the race. They were a tangled mess, i couldn't get to most of them as my tent was against 2 walls. The tomatoes were meh.
My third attempt was epic, i went with 36 dutch buckets, with coco. I gave myself a LOT more space. 18 plants each on 2 - 3x12 tables, I had about 3.5 KW of led lighting this time. I used a massive 110 gallon tank where i monitored PH and EC. I had a air pump, a circulation pump, everything on timers, I setup trellises, i carefully measured my nutrients (i used powered). Things went great, until they didn't. Blight wiped out just about everything. I had maybe 40 tomatoes grow. They were gross. My attempt this time used heirloom tomatoes. I would later find out that i could not of picked out a worse plant for a massive indoor grow. lesson learned...or was it....
My forth attempt used a different method. I used the same tables and dutch buckets, but I used 6x6 rock wool cubes, then surrounded them with soil. I thought it would help the flavor. This time I asked my seed supplier and they suggested a hybrid tomato that was resistant to a variety of aliments. My tomatoes really took off, i had a great harvest, with that said, i also had about 500 lbs of flavorless red orbs. They were so bland and flavorless i froze them and fed them to my chickens. On top of that, I let it run in to june, where my power rate almost doubles. My wife asked me why the hell we had a $700 power bill. I told her it is because i make poor choices....
I am now on attempt 5. This time I went with a crazy method, not like my first run using a super simple NASA aeroponic design. Get this, you can use soil! I got 10 - 15 gallon cloth growing bags. Filled them with 2 cf of a combo of top soil, mushroom compost, worm castings and peat. I give them ph controlled water and occasionally a treat of bat guano and worms casting tea, spiked with some fox farms microbe brew. Do i need 36 plants, no, so i am growing only 10 now. So i can use 2 light rigs instead of 6. 1/3 the power and when it gets warm enough, i can just move them outside.
My working theory is a feeding the soil vs feeding the plant will product better tasting tomatoes. Also, while hydroponics can product huge plants and and ample crop, the lack of diversity in the growing medium will not product a good flavored crop. My experience tells me that hydroponic tomatoes are awful. I would be better suited buying grocery store tomatoes in the middle of the winter (im in the midwest)
