Indoors as in a greenhouse or solarium? Otherwise indoors tomato production will never be "great producing" regardless of the variety without supplemental lighting which can be expensive and other environmental controls. Even greenhouse growing can be an environmental challenge.

That said, look at Pixie, Patio, Toy Boy, Small Fry or Tiny Tim as your best bets.

if I am growing a determinate tomato variety indoors will it keep growing indefinitely after I harvest fruit on it and keep producing fruit?

No. Only indeterminate varieties will keep growing and producing. Determinate produce and then slowly die off.

Dave

Indoors as in I'm growing them in containers under a 120w plant light....

Are those variations you mentioned Cherry, or Large? Red or Black/Purple?

None of them will produce under a 120w incandescent plant (flood) light.

Why not?

For #1 they don't put out enough of the right frequency of light. It's mostly far red and puts out too much heat which makes it very wasteful as far as it's efficiency in growing plants. Plant lights are a gimmick.

Visit the proper forum for this discussion.

Here is a link that might be useful: Growing under Lights

Dang If only we could ..we would all be doing it,, oh and yeah, can they also grow seed to harvest in say a week or two ,while we are dreaming..can they also have $100 bills in side the fruits or maybe even diamonds ?

After looking at the trolling nature of your posts Taz...heres a picture of the tomatoes and peppers under my 120w grow light! Gasp!

Btw the Peppers in the front are about 3 feet now with a ton of blossoms on them and a couple small peppers that can be picked in a few weeks....the tomatoes I took out of the trough and put the strongest ones in a 15gal container and trimmed them way down (they were like 8 feet by then)...

Well I will say the sun rippling in through the blinds is more effect for growth than your 120 watt light.i tried what you are ,and it just doesnt work .you plants are "leggy" and will have little fruit ,mine got to ceiling and half waydown back again but not much at harvesting but i ,like you had to try it,and when season comes you want to move them outside is not that easy .But I had to try just like you did

We'll here's the catch....the tomatoes are indeterminate Crimson Cusgion maters (rookie mistake)....that's why they are long and spindly....they produced a ton of blossoms about 2 and half months in but the fruit was cherry tomato size...though I wa not doing any pollination by hand at that point...so im not sure...

If the light I have is worthless then why are my peppers blossoms plentiful and fruit starting to come in?

Also is there any bulb I can use in the existing fixture that will provide the correct spectrum?

heres a picture of the tomatoes and peppers under my 120w grow light! Gasp!

Very spindly indeed and the only reason you're getting fruit is because of the sunlight they are getting which you failed to mention.

After looking at the trolling nature of your posts Taz..

Also is there any bulb I can use in the existing fixture that will provide the correct spectrum?

Seriously after that statement, you ask me for advise??

You need at least 2 105w compact fluorescents on 12 hours a day to get any worth while produce from those plants unless you are getting a couple hours of direct sun through that window IM(trolling)O.

Those plants were only getting about 3-4 hours a day of rather indirect sunlight the through that window...and its winter sunlight in NC at that.....they haven't needed caging up until a month ago (I planted in Oct)....

Can you recommend a bulb that I should be able to find locally at home depot or a local hydrogarden shop that will fit the existing socket I have that has a more natural yellow light to it rather than a fluorescent and will give my plants the spectrum they need? (I personally cant stand the look of fluorescent light considering these are in my living room)

Also is it possible that I there's a bulb that fits these criteria and has more pep to it so I would only would need one of them (saving me the cash of having to buy another socket)...

Thanks in advance (sorry for the crap I gave you...your response on the other thread was not very polite IMHO considering this is my first year growing...)

If you are new to growing tomatoes and if you want to experiment with trying to grow them inside then go for it.
It is the best way to learn and I wish you all the luck in the world.

But if you don't want to waste time, if you aren't content with leggy, lanky plants and minimal if any production and you want to avoid the common problems and take advantage of the learning and experiences of experienced growers then you need to listen, and learn. And the Growing Under Lights forum is great for info.

Tomato plants require a minimum of 6-8 hours of direct, full spectrum, sunlight to grow properly, to be healthy, and to produce well. That is the nature of the beast. That means they are NOT a houseplant, not an indoor plant.

Obviously they can be grown in a greenhouse and many of us do it. But if you have ever seen a greenhouse then you realize that it is a very different thing than a window and an artificial light.

Those of us who do grow tomatoes in a greenhouse have learned that Co2 levels, humidity, and proper air circulation problems aside, supplemental lighting is often needed or the plants get long and leggy and fail to produce. The very expensive halide light fixtures, at least 2 of them, are the closest to the ideal conditions we can get.

If you cannot afford halide light fixtures then you have to go with fluorescent as fluorescent fixtures provide much more of the full spectrum of light than incandescent can. Incandescent doesn't even come close. This is common knowledge with experienced growers and often discussed here. And you need several of them in order to get even close to the amount of light required - the candle power or intensity needed.

4 foot long shop lights using multiple daylight fluorescent bulbs are commonly used. A 4', four bulb fixture (or 2 2bulb fixtures) suspended approx. 2 inches above the top of the plant will work ok for one large plant. Still isn't ideal but it will work.

Plants that are already leggy and light-starved (as the ones in the picture are) need to be pruned well back before incorporating the better lighting. Lights are left on 16 hours a day. In your living room or bedroom that will pose a problem.

So if one chooses to grow tomatoes indoors you have to choose between doing it as well as possible given the environment you have to work with or doing it just for the fun and minimal results.

Then you can begin to consider the Co2, humidity, and the need for moving air problems. :)

Dave

Can you send me the links to examples of the type of bulbs I would be looking for (particularly the CFL and MH) that will fit in the existing socket I have (its a socket that fits a flood light)

Thanks

Something like this?

http://www.homedepot.com/Electrical-Light-Bulbs-HID/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbw0z/R-100119868/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

Sorry but metal halides require their own specific fixture because of the heat their ballast generates. They aren't your standard screw-in bulbs.

CFLs are readily available at most any store and while the will work better than any incandescent, they do not produce either the same spectrum or the same candle power intensity of the tube fluorescent fixtures and tubes also require a specific fixture. You would need approx. 4 CFLs and fixtures for them to equal 1 4' T-12 fluorescent fixture in output and T-8 bulbs are the preferred.

The discussion here (linked below) on building light stands has pictures of both types in it. Note how many CFLs it takes to equal one 4' fixture.

On the Growing Under Lights forum you'll find many photos of various set-ups.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: how to make light stand

What kelvin rating should I be looking for?

As close to 6000K as you can get. Standard T12 cool white (daylight label) fluorescent tubes are usually around 4200K. T5s have a higher rating close to 5500K.

Dave

So T5 is the bulb type itself not the fixture correct?

How many T5 would I need for a space about 7 ft long x 3ft wide?

Also how far off the plants do these have to be to grow tomatoes and peppers?

Give it up Dave because even you have the kelvin wrong on the tubes. Most of the T5 fixtures come with 4100k bulbs. Daylight T12s are 6500k.
Turbo if you want to learn the proper way to set up your grow area you need to visit the forum I linked to and read several of the threads before posting because you will probably find all the answers there.

Sorry Taz but I checked. Sitting in the GH right now. I have about 24 T12 bulbs running right now and all are stamped 4200K and half that many T5 and they are all rated at 5200K I checked the sleeves. It all depends on the type and brand of bulb you buy. Lowes had 6000K T5 bulbs but I didn't want to put that much into them when I already have so many T12 daylight bulbs.

So T5 is the bulb type itself not the fixture correct?
How many T5 would I need for a space about 7 ft long x 3ft wide?Also how far off the plants do these have to be to grow tomatoes and peppers?

I think I answered all those questions already above.

As Taz said this is all Growing Under Lights forum related info and is readily available there and from many sources on the web.

Something like this?

The HD bulb you linked to is a halide bulb but only for a halide fixture. It is not a standard base (says so on the package "Mogul Base") so will not screw into a standard socket and would likely cook any fixture you put it in even if it worked.

Dave

Standard T12 cool white (daylight label) fluorescent tubes are usually around 4200K. T5s have a higher rating close to 5500K.

Most T5 fixtures come with bulbs and both brands I've bought are 4100k. Sorry it's a bit blurry but it can be read.

I hope you get some good recommendations. The only Det I ever grew in my sunny window was New Big Dwarf. It didn't set as much fruit as I'd have liked despite me shaking the plant daily. I have grown Red Robin Dwarf, Kotlas, Momotaro and Sun Gold indoors with excellent results. Of course some pruning is required. Here's a pic of New Big Dwarf:

Well I went to Lowes and saw some 6500k flourescent tubes Im assuming these would be what I want....

Regardless of which I go with how do a determine how many of a particular bulb I need? Is it a certain number of lumens I should shoot for?

I am also eyeballing one of these two bulb/bulb setups...

http://stores.intuitwebsites.com/FifthSeasonGardening/-strse-30/Vitalume-Compact-Fluorescent/Detail.bok

With this wing...

http://stores.intuitwebsites.com/FifthSeasonGardening/-strse-35/Reflector--dsh--Bright-Wing/Detail.bok

OR to go with a Metal Halide wing setup...

Though question still remains how do I determine how many of any particular bulb I need?

Next time try growing Red Robin, Yellow Canary, and possibly Sophie's Choice, all just inches away from overdriven T8 fluorescents.

None of these should get taller than about 18-20 inches. Figure at least 8 tubes or a dedicated 250W fixture.

Though question still remains how do I determine how many of any particular bulb I need?

The light fixture you buy determines the number of bulbs you need. If you go with a halide fixture then you need how ever many bulbs the fixture you buy holds. Most that I am familiar with hold 1 bulb.

If you go with a 4 foot shop light fixture as pictured in the link I posted above, then most of them hold 2 bulbs but they also make fixtures that hold 4 bulbs.

If you use the Vitalume Compact Fluorescent bulb you posted the URL for (which is a VERY expensive bulb) then yes you'd need to buy the fixture you linked too for a total of close to $100. For one plant, depending on its size, you'd need a minimum of 1 bulb and fixture suspended as mentioned already just a few inches (2-4") above the plant for approx. 16 hours a day.

Just a $$ comparison: you can buy a 4' shop light at Home Depot for about $10 and 2 4" tubes (Deluxe cool white (CWX) with 4100K each) for it for $6-$7 and get 8000K out of the set up for much less money. That is what most of us use.

If you want to get into overdriving it as korney mentioned - discussed in detail on the Lights forum - you get even more for much less money.

Dave

2 4100k doesn't make 8000k. It's still a average of 4100k. The kelvin rating is an average of the phosphors used. This forum is not the place for this discussion because of obvious reasons.

Well Guys...after researching things and visiting my local Hydro shop I went ahead and moved up in the world!

Purchased this Sunblaze 8 bulb with 4-3500 bulbs and 4-6500 bulbs (I think that's their ratings)...40k lumens total

http://www.amazon.com/Sun-Blaze-T5-48-6500deg/dp/B000AXTNCS

I am gonna use this for my main growers and my little 120 watt Phillips plant light for starting seedlings and putting it real close to them so they get enough intensity...

Any other suggestions?

BTW the bulbs are HO bulbs...as opposed to regular bulbs....

Turbo, I'm glad you didn't get discouraged. What you are trying to do is complicated, somewhat expensive, but can be done.

Take a look here for a pretty good introduction sheet for lightning.

http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/guide3.shtml

They are a store and I have never shopped there but the info they put together is a pretty good starter summary. When you are ready to get technical, there are other places you can search out.

With the type of light you got, a 4' x 6' plant area is about as big as you can go. You can squeeze ~ 4 plants into that space without using specialized growing techniques.

Keep the lights as close to the plants as heat buildup allows. Good to get a small digital thermometer with an alarm function and put it at the foliage peak.

Next you need to look at the grow habit of nightshades, how many hours you can run the lights per day for optimum growth of each lifecycle stage. Most need at least 6 hours of dark per day.

Finally, do some research on Growing Degree Days (GDD). This influences allot of the nightshades grow cycles and will determine the time it takes plants to produce ripe fruit. If you can use some of the heat produced by your lights to warm the soil and plants themselves rather than just venting it up in natural convection, you can improve the time it will take for fruit production.

On to the tomatoes; look at some of these types:

Black Sea Man
Bush Beefsteak
Sophie's Choice
Principe Borghese (paste)
Sprite (grape)

Good Luck! Have loads of fun and keep us posted on how this adventure works out.

You can grow determinates and get repeated fruit set. About determinates--You'll get a concentrated set, then a lag time, then they'll rebloom and reset. I have a Yellow canary tomato plant in my greenhouse right now from last year, it's a determinate dwarf and it's got tomatoes on it again. It's about the 4th flush of tomatoes since fall. Determinates only die out if they get sick or you let them get frosted. I haven't see any tomato that won't perennialize if you take good care of them. I know this goes contrary to everything I was told too, but this has been my experience with them.

Hey guys...got another light question...with this Sunblaze setup I have will this be enough light to take my tomatoes and peppers through the entire life cycle from sprout to fruiting?

Purchased this Sunblaze 8 bulb with 4-3500 bulbs and 4-6500 bulbs (I think that's their ratings)...40k lumens total

http://www.amazon.com/Sun-Blaze-T5-48-6500deg/dp/B000AXTNCS

Yes depending on the # of plants. It should work for 2 maybe 3 mature plants.
The 120w grow light will be too hot for seedlings at close range. That's why we don't use incandescent bulbs for growing. They put out more heat than usable light.