Tiny tomatoes

Thanks for your reply
To expand, are you relying on the 90w to supply heat, or do you use some supplementary heat? Also, why not wait until later, when outside conditions are better?
Btw, ain't ever been called "cute" before

EDIT : You say "ideal for indoor growing". I'd assumed you were growing in the greenhouse?

 

The idea of using the avatar is cute, not the image. LOL.
The reason I am growing the tomatoes at all is to test a soil mix that I developed and intend to use in the greenhouse for tomatoes, olives and peppers, grown hydroponically. I selected the Florida Petite because I did not want to grow a full size plant indoors. The mix I have been using does not drain well after it has been in use for awhile. We have a very short growing season, with most folks putting tomatoes in the ground about the first of June. I will have plants in the greenhouse at the end of April, and I must start them soon, thus the soil test. And, it works perfectly, so I will go with it.

It is not practical to use the greenhouse from mid November until mid April, in terms of temperature and inadequate sunlight.

Being retired, and an avid gardener, I grow indoors in the winter. We have a large basement where the ambient temperature in the winter is in the sixties. So, it does not take much to raise the temperature to the seventies, a single light will do it in an enclosed space. I have a grow room and two indoor greenhouses, all with LED lighting to save expense. At night, the temperature drops to the sixties, again ideal.

The plants in question are in a carpeted heated room in the basement, where the temperature is above 70F at all times, my sanctum sanctorum, again, ideal for tomatoes. The heating system provides adequate CO2 and small fans circulate the air, no added expenses there....

And, BTW, I have also grown tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers during the winter in the tents, but right now I am growing 23 olive trees, lettuce, beets and chard, which keep me from getting bored, not to mention a seven year old grandchild that visits several times a week.

 

Great post, and a great set-up you have there

 

The Florida petite tomatoes are beginning to ripen, so as my granddaughter, Ava, wants to eat the first one, I am posting a photo before the fruit is history, as she is coming for dinner this evening. All in all, it has been an interesting project, however, due to the size of the plant and fruit I feel a LOT of plants would be required to make this variety worth planting in a garden. That said, it did grow very well in a container under artificial lighting, so as a cure for cabin fever it would be an excellent choice.


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They look healthy Hydrogardener. I suppose we will have to wait for a taste test from you as your granddaughter has claimed the first one.

 

I found that they taste much better if you let them fully ripen to bright red before you eat them. Five little tomatoes were used for seed savings, but as you might expect they did not yield a lot of seeds. The seeds will be allowed to ferment a few days before being cleaned, dried and placed into cold storage.

 

I also find with most cherry size tomatoes that they are better fully ripened, the sweetness improves further into the season too.