Growing tomatoes indoors
Is it possible to grow tomato plants successfully indoors? While growing tomatoes isn't one of the basic (easiest) plants to grow inside, it certainly isn't completely impossible. With the right conditions, it's absolutely possible to grow tomatoes all year long indoors. Today, I will walk you through the steps that work for me.
If you want to start growing tomato plants from seed indoors, before buying your seeds, you might want to consider purchasing dwarf tomato seeds (or plants). Dwarf tomatoes won't require as much indoor space and they will still produce plenty of fruit.
In my quest to grow this specific fruit indoors, I have found that tomato plants require a lot of indoor lighting (much like planting them outdoors). The plants need to be placed in an area where they'll receive at least ten hours of full light a day, whether it's natural sunlight or artificial light. Eighteen hours is optimal. If you don't have a greenhouse, or a greenroom, the best location to grow tomato plants inside would be a south-facing window, but if you don't have a south window, then you'll need to place the tomato plants under full spectrum LED colored lighting, but don't set your tomato plants too close to the lights as the lights can scorch their leaves.
Tomato plants like temperatures (where I live) between sixty and eighty-five degrees F. They don't do very well when the temperatures get below or above that. The sweet spot that my plants seem to thrive the best at is seventy degrees F. Tomato plants can not survive freezing temperatures.
If you're just starting your tomatoes from seed, once the seedlings sprout up, begin rotating the containers every day until the seedlings begin to bloom. Why should you do this? Rotating the plants will prevent your tomato plants from becoming too leggy. As your tomato plants grow, they'll travel upwards towards the light, which makes them also become flimsy and frail. Rotating their planters will encourage them to bush out instead, because all parts of the plants will be getting the light that they need.
Tomato plants need really good soil and large planters to grow their best.
First, start out by using large planters. I usually never plant my tomato seeds in small cups (for indoor gardening), instead I start them in the containers in which they'll stay in. This isn't something that you have to do, it's just a simpler way that I plant mine for indoor gardening, because it requires less work and better results for rooting the plants in. I always plant two seeds in each planter of soil. Then, once the plants grow taller, I add additional soil inside the planters.
The containers that you use should be large and about fourteen inches deep, with good drainage. Make sure that your planters also have drainage trays underneath them.
You'll also need good soil. Fertilize the soil if it doesn't already contain fertilizer in it. I like using Miracle-Gro indoor potting soil mix. However, you can make your own potting soil mix with peat moss, sand, small rock pebbles, perlite, sawdust, shredded pieces of tree bark, and compost.
When you have your planters ready, you'll want to plant two seeds each, ⅛ of an inch in the potting soil, cover the seeds with soil, and lightly press the soil down.
Fertilize the soil once a month.
Watering indoor tomato plants
Once you've planted your tomato seeds, lightly water the soil, making sure that you don't wash the seeds to the surface. Cover the planters with plastic, so that moisture doesn't escape, while germination takes place. It will take your tomato seeds anywhere from seven to fourteen days, generally to germinate. After the seedlings begin sprouting upward, take off the plastic.
Your tomato plants will normally need to be watered once every morning and quite possibly once again in the late afternoon.
When your tomato plants are blooming and begin producing fruit, make sure that you give them an extra drink of water every day. This will encourage the plant's fruit to grow plump, juicy, ripe tomatoes.
NEVER SPRITZ TOMATO PLANTS WITH WATER. Misting the leaves of your tomato plants could lead to the plant's demise, meaning death to your plants. Why is that? That's because excess moisture can cause fungal diseases, as well as root rot, and mold.
Note:
I cage my tomato plants once they have grown about four to six inches.
Like any other vegetable and fruit plant that's grown indoors, or outdoors, always sow new seeds every few months to keep your production of food growing.
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