My winter indoor hydroponic/late crop grow log.

[DFBrews]

I am confused. Are you planning on doing indoor growing over the winter? This seems like you are just starting them indoors, then transplanting them outside.

doing both i am going to grow a late crop of tomatoes outdoors in grow pots which are the cuttings and hopefully the seedlings. I have the ability to build a little green house if needed, and than i am going to grow a heirloom tomato plant and a chili plant indoors hydroponically both indoor plants will be selected for high yields.

[Irving]

Thank you for clearing that up. I'm interested in how large of a pot you'll need to have to grow what you want.

[DFBrews]

Thank you for clearing that up. I'm interested in how large of a pot you'll need to have to grow what you want.

hydro or outdoors?

I am doing 7 gallon grow bags for out doors with a good soil and intensive fert schedule.

the hydro is a 5 gallon bucket per plant.

[Irving]

Interesting. I happen to have 7 five gallon buckets just sitting around taking up space. One tomato, one lettuce, and one pepper would be a pretty great way to supplement foods. Looking forward to seeing how things go.

[HoneyBadger]

The plug is made of recycled tree bark. It is a lot like a sponge very absorbing this will be done with no soil. If my cuttings survive I will use the clay balls to support the plant

Where did you get your plugs? What are the plastic pieces that you are supporting them with? I tried using a piece of metal screen to support mine right at the water level, but one of the corners came loose while I was on vacation and most of them washed into my water holding tank and then plugged up my little fish tank pump and I can't get it working again. The 3 seedlings that survived died when the pump stopped feeding them. Project is on standby until I get some time to rebuild it.

[ChunkyMonkey]

Clay medium, river rocks, or even screen tray will work at this point. We have our lil green house going for tropical herbs/spices that would've costed arms and legs from the store.

To sprout.. we use screen tray as pictured...

[DFBrews]

the kids outdoors in their grow bags


IMAG1047 by post_james86, on Flickr

the indoor lettuce


IMAG1050 by post_james86, on Flickr

[van7559]

got a in-law who grows using a hydro setup. Not these kinda veggies, but he is legal by todays standards. The amount of science he has into his setup is unreal. The massive abundance that his crops yeild in such a short time line is astonishing to say the least, and the quality of the product is second to none. It is crazy how with the right setup and the proper care what you can do. From grow lights, to homeade CO2 producers, to intake fans wired into t-stats etc. His setup is a true science lab! Last time I chatted with him we got to talking about how I would like him to teach me his setup so that I can grow veggies(the kind I feed to my kids) year round. Looks like this winter my shed will be converted to a legit greenhouse. My wife is excited to be able to give the littleones frsh veggies without the prices from the stores.

[hatidua]

How warm do tomatoes & lettuce require it to be? We don't exactly crank up the heat in the winter but have more than ample sunlight in an unused room.

[hollohas]

How warm do tomatoes & lettuce require it to be? We don't exactly crank up the heat in the winter but have more than ample sunlight in an unused room.

Tomatoes originated in Central America so they generally prefer it warmer. But from the below I think you'd be fine in a cooler house.

From the Burpee website.

In general, tomatoes will stop producing fruit when temperatures drop below 50°F or rise above 90°F.

And there are varieties of lettuce for warm and cooler temps. Iceberg for example prefers cooler temps.