Viewing post #556359 by doctorman

Horseshoe said:Howdy, doctorman...and welcome to ATP!

You'd probably get a good amount of cherry tomatoes growing them indoors as long as you have the proper lighting system. Most varieties will produce like gangbusters once they start coming on. Of course I'm sure you know they'll need to be caged/supported in some way. As for medium slicers, you might want to try a bush type, Better Bush comes to mind, and it'll give you your request of "appreciate it more if they don't get infected or sick" since they are more forgiving than certain other varieties. Then again you'll be growing them inside so perhaps you won't have to deal with soil borne and wind-borne diseases anyway, eh?

As for your grow lights, figure on 40watts per square foot of growing area, preferably with a metal halide for early foliage growth, then switch over to a HPS for proper flowering and fruiting.

Lastly, no need to worry about hand pollination with tomatoes, they're self-pollinizing. You will want a fan blowing on them though not just to transfer pollen within the flower but also to help the stalks/stems become stronger so they can support the weight of the fruit.

Hope this helps.
Shoe (snowed in and longing for the smell of tomato plants growing!)

Thank you very much Horseshoe..

I appreciate the comments from experienced tomato growers.

for lighting I stumbled up on the newest technology which I think should be the way to go for all indoor planting.. INDUCTION LIGHTS

these things last 8-10 years while expensive but worth it in long run. also they run as hot as a florescent light which is awesome since I do not want to much heat in my apartment.
Found 3 200W lights on ebay for 250$ so I am good with lighting..

I am very excited to try the sweet baby girl ISI cherry tomatoes

and the Better bush looks like a great choice as well since it is ISI and has short inter-nodes.

I am still deciding over the nutrients I need for Hydroponics
Probably this is what I am going to go with http://www.hydro-gardens.com/4... Chem-Gro Tomato formula 4-18-38

do you have few Better bush seeds I can get from you?