How to Grow Tomatoes With Florescents

Tomatoes are hardy plants that grow well in traditional gardens but are equally well suited to life as container plants. To make growing tomatoes even more convenient, these plants can grow indoors as long as proper light requirements are met. Outdoors, tomatoes require at least six hours of direct sunlight. Proper sunlight is obviously difficult to come by in an indoor setting, but artificial sunlight is available with the use of fluorescent lights.

Things You'll Need

Fluorescent light system
Tomato seeds or starter plants
Containers

Potting mix
Fertilizer

Instructions

- 1
  Set up your lighting. Most fluorescent lights are attached to stands with electrical cords, although some may be mounted on walls or ceilings. Choose the light system that best suits your growing needs, and install it according to the directions in the package.
- 2
  Plant tomato seeds or starter plants. Use containers appropriate to the plant's mature size. Smaller varieties of tomatoes need containers of at least 2 gallons, while large varieties need containers at least 5 gallons in size. Fill the containers with rich potting mix and water thoroughly after planting to help the plants or seeds grow in the pots.
- 3
  Arrange the containers of tomatoes around the fluorescent lights. Do not allow the lights to touch the tomatoes or they can burn.
- 4
  Turn the lights on at the same time each day, leaving the lights on for 12 to 18 continuous hours.
- 5
  Water plants daily until water flows freely from the bottom of the containers to ensure all the soil is evenly moist.
- 6
  Fertilize plants weekly to encourage growth and produce a healthy, bountiful crop.
- 7
  Harvest ripe tomatoes to encourage plant growth and to create a larger crop.

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