Interesting. Personally I use a 300 W Mars Hydro LED grow light for 2'x4'. Energy-wise it's 180 W true draw so 1'x1' would be about 21 W.

Before I got the LED light, I used a CFL for a few days. The colour spectrum isn't ideal and I have no idea if it would have worked long term.

My tomato plant is doing great. Look at how much it's grown in only 11 days, and I see some flower buds. When the plant gets taller, I may clamp and point a light on each side of it.

What kind of tomato is it?

This is my Tiny Tim cherry tomato, determinate after about a month from seed.

1'x1' and 10" tall. Super thick sturdy leaves.

Looking good! How much does it affect your electric bill? How long until you expect fruit?

Mine is a bonnies hybrid husky cherry from home depot. The first picture was the day after I brought it home. It's supposed to grow 3-4 ft, however, I'm going to try and keep it no taller than 3. It's just a hobby at this point and I'm learning as I go along.

180 watts = about $180 a year. Not sure at this point if it's cost effective.

I think a few weeks and the blossoms should be tomatoes.

Did your blossoms appear on top first? Mine are on top only under the light. I hope it's not light related and just a matter of time before the rest of the plant makes blossoms.

Ya. It's growing top down as far as blossoms go.

Hows your tomato plant? I just pollinated a few blossoms with an electric toothbrush. Seems to be doing well so far. You see any fruit yet?

Hey man,

I jiggle it every once in a while. It has 3 little marble sized green tomatoes :D and like 20-30 flowers.

i suggest TaoTronics 3 bands system product, u can read review here: taotronic 3 fluorescent grow lights reviews then u can decide buy it from amazon if u like it

I have my first green fruit. Have a few flower buds that died. Is that normal?

You should give the plant a tap to help pollinate. That's what I do. So far I have about 10 green tomatoes and 100 blossoms. The plant is still only about 1' tall.

That's a lot of blossoms. Let me know what you think of the taste. I only have a few blossoms and about 5 green tomatoes so far. I ordered some micro tom tomato seeds, red robin, and tiny tims today. Can't wait to give those a try. Where did you buy your seeds from?

The seeds are made by McKenzie seeds. I have about 15 green ones of various sizes so far.

So far the most successful things have been tomatoes, peppers and my fig.

How are your Tomatoes? I still only have 6 haha. It got too big for my space and I kind of neglected it. I did plant several varieties of the micro tomatoes like red robin and tiny tim. I'm curious, did you transplant yours? They always say once the seedling is few inches to replant it with soil up to to first set of leaves. I'm not sure whether that's needed with these since they are already in the container they will be staying in. Maybe I should just top off with soil up to the leaves???

"It's an east facing window that gets several hours of light, plus I've added this 6500k 23w 1600 lumens grow light a couple inches above it. It's the same bulb specs my aerogarden uses."

Judging from your photo, your fluorescent light has a higher proportion of green and cyan light in it than natural daylight does. With fluorescent bulbs, mixing light colors is equivalent to mixing phosphors. Green and cyan light are the least useful to plants, therefore there is no justification for putting green phosphor in a fluorescent bulb designed for plants. The only reason to put that much green phosphor in a bulb is to increase the perception of brightness to the human eye and thereby fool the customer. You have been scammed by the manufacturer.

I don't know how you can tell that by my picture with the mixture of sunlight and my regular ceiling bulb turned on?... However, what bulb do you recommend? This brand has good reviews. It's a GL Goodlite 23w 6500k 1600 lumens.

Not only does the plant under your bulb look greener than the plants on your window sill, but the sliver of light at the bottom of your reflector is greenish in comparison to the white window trim illuminated by daylight:

You would be better off with warm white because it has a higher red to green ratio and you should already be getting enough blue light from the window. My choice would be several of these 8.5 watt LED bulbs, provided that they are still on sale 2/$4.97 at Home Depot:

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3069827/fyi-philips-led-bulbs-2-497-at-home-depot

Of course, that would require more of those clip-on fixtures.

Those links didn't help much. Can you just tell me the name and model bulb you are referring to, or will any 8.5 watt led bulb suffice?

I never moved it. And I'm sort of bored of Tiny Tim. Tastes kinda meh. I'm growing Sun Sugar now.

That green light you are seeing in the picture is the reflection from the container. My container is green, but I'll still try another bulb and experiment with it if you can let me know which one exactly. Thanks.

Thanks Yuan and keep us posted on the sun sugar. Were there any others of the micro versions that you liked so far? I've got a red robin, tiny tim and micro tom tomato going. They are seedling stage now. Curious how they will do. I'm experimenting with differint bulbs and lighting with them too.

Philips Lightbulbs 60W Equivalent Soft White A19 LED Light Bulb (2-Pack)

Model: 9290011350

Ordering Code: 8.5A19/LED/827 ND 120V 2PK

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Philips-60W-Equivalent-Soft-White-A19-LED-Light-Bulb-2-Pack-455576/205815532

"That green light you are seeing in the picture is the reflection from the container."

I find it difficult to believe that I am seeing an optical illusion. Would you do me a favor and take another photo replicating the scene of your first photo, except replace the potted tomato plant with a crumpled up ball of white paper, and post it?