Hi I am trying to grow or maybe start tomato plants in my grow tent. I am running a 400W MH for about a month and I am not sure if i should switch the light HPS yet. They are about 6 inches tall but i can see that some of the leafs are turning brown (and not because of lack of water). What is the vegetative state for these? I have also put some squash and sun flowers in there and they seem to be doing just fine - actually way too good... Again, the plan is to start them here and then put them in the outside garden. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
It's surely not light spectrum that is causing the leaf problem. You want to stay in MH all the way till you take them outside, HPS is more of a fall spectrum. As for what is wrong its hard to say without a picture and more info as to what you are growing in, feeding, etc. ColoradoLegaliz
They actually seem to be getting better. i separated them by taking some other plants out of the tent and it seemed to do the trick. What kind of an adjustment period or procedure would you recommend when they are ready to be placed outside?
Its probably good to "harden" them off before planting them directly in the ground. Just a few days before you plant, sit the containers outside to get natural light/outside conditions for a little while, should help any potential transplant shock/damage
^i agree with this post, but id like to add that when putting them outside, it's best to provide shade, even if it's artificial. Shade is beneficial after a transplant, after moving outside, etc, and a bit of vitamin b or a brew containing microbes from manure (rabbit, bat, worm) and alfalfa will help the plant grow and produce flowers/fruit quickly. I've always grown my tomatoes in tents with many other kinds of plants, even potatoes before transplanting them to my garden. I've used hps exclusively, but cfls to get seedlings going.
Thanks for the information... i am not new to growing stuff outside but this i my first year staring them under MH in a tent. For many years in the past i have used cow manure (i bought 4 yards of it) but last year i actual went to Walmart(and trust me i don't like anything about that place) and got hummus mixed with manure in bags ... they are only 1.46 per 40lbs and the tomatoes along with everything else were just as good as years before. I am planning on using foxfarm three pack of liquid fertilizer that i have just bought off amazon last night. From what i see its the best thing out there so we will try it to see what happens. Any thoughts about using this fertilizer? Thanks again
I pretty much make my own. I do this by taking a 5 gal bucket, adding an air pump w/ airstone from an aquarium, 4 or so gallons of water, and then I mix Bat guano (purchased from the store), vermicompost (I grow my own worms and recycle my trash since its so easy and cheap and fullfilling, plus, IMHO, there is no better fertilizer than worm poop), and then for more living microbes, I add fresh rabbit manure right from the cage, mixed with urine and all. I then take some ground alfalfa (which has a growth hormone in it naturally) mix that in, and then lastly, a sugar to feed the brew such as molasses (unsulphered). I let it brew for about 2-3 days undisturbed. The foam on top let's me know that the microbes are active. I reuse all my soil, such as fox farms by recycling or adding microbes to it before planting with it. The 4 gallons is then diluted further with non chlorinated water (distilled or tap left to bubble with airstones for 8 or so hours) to make upwards of 20 gallons, which I carefully saturate my outside gardens with (as soon as it gets dark to allow maximum useage of microbes). I use the same brew for every plant I grow and it makes them grow to monstrous proportions while satisfying my gardening itch. Plus, making my own is organic, nearly free and allows me to recycle soil and plants endlessly. The leaves that die in the garden go to the worms and so on, creating a cycle. I've used fox farms for years and I prefer ocean Forrest as a soil mix for most plants, as opposed to miracle grow. I hope this post helps your garden as typing on an iPad isn't easy As a side by side comparison my neighbor planted a garden next to mine and he's been watering and adding commercial fertilizers while I've only added what I described above. Makes me chuckle every time we go outside and my plants, though planted from the same seeds two weeks after my neighbors plants and mine are bigger, healthier and more lusciously alive than his. He kinda throws a tantrum when he sees the difference, but I tell him a bit of effort goes a long ways and provide tips and pointers. Ive gotten my whole neighborhood into vermicomposting and those that give me their recyclable trash year around, get vermicompost or teas later in the year. Those like my neighbor who don't, are stuck with commercial stuff. Edit: in other words, even the over the counter fertilizers/manures can be improved by brewing them. I'm sure Jerry1111 could chime in with more help
This is great - it reminds me of my grandfather just using fresh cow poop and mixing it with water and then watering tomatoes with it - it worked great. I am definitely going to make this tea but where do you suppose that i can buy all of these ingredients? i don't have an access to some of the items listed right now. thank you
Amazon.com: Dr. Earth 720 Alfalfa Meal 2-1-2 Boxed, 3-Pound: Patio, Lawn & Garden ^alfalfa Amazon.com: FoxFarm FX14002 32 oz. FoxFarm Big Bloom Liquid Concentrate 0.01-0.3-0.7: Patio, Lawn & Garden ^liquid worm poop Amazon.com: Bat guano: Patio, Lawn & Garden ^bat guano Blue Ribbon Pet Airstone: Fish : Walmart.com ^airstone Purchase the Aqua Culture Single Outlet Aquarium Air Pump at an always low price from Walmart.com. Save money. Live better. ^pump Shop Encore Plastics 5-Gallon Food Grade Plastic Bucket at Lowes.com ^bucket Purchase Brer Rabbit Molasses for less at Walmart.com. Save money. Live better. ^molasses 12 pack, only need one Only thing missing is the rabbit poop, but I recommend you get fresh manure locally. You can probably find all of those cheaper with research but this should get ya started.
Cool man... thanks for all the links. I am actually looking forward to brewing this stuff... thanks again
i am ordering this stuff right now but how much of each to you actually mix with the water? Also after making 20 gallons of it how often to use it to water your plants? Thank you, jake
Np, glad i could help Yeah you could use other sugars, but I try to keep it natural as possible. I usually mix the equivalent of a handful of each of the ingredients to the mix. IMO, it doesn't matter if you're adding a handful to 5 gallons or 40 gallons, as long as you keep adding sugar, the microbes will continue to brew indefinitely, eventually reaching their maximum potential, though I don't recommend brewing more than a week; the most ive ever brewed was 5 days. The reason it doesn't matter how much you add in terms of manure is because living microbes will reproduce very quickly in the above mix. Say you add a handful to 5 gallons and it takes 3 days for your brew to get so foamy it's nearly spilling over the top. Now add the same amount to 40 gallons. It would logically take 8 times as long (8x5=40) for the microbes in the 40 gallon container to reach the same "brew consistency" as would the 5 gallons. As for alfalfa, it's very potent, so I'd recommend reading the direction on the box, but generally, I add a handful of that as well. But if you're doing a big brew, you will need more. There is a layer of foam that builds up and then layers build upon that layer as the microbes underneath die off. If you don't see foam after 8 hours you've done something wrong (possible chlorine contamination). The way you can tell you need to add more sugar is you'll see the foam disappearing, which signals a die off of microbe content. As long as you keep adding sugar, those microbes will reproduce. I feed/water my gardens with this brew 1-2 times per week, every three to four days. It's best to water at night, so as to allow the microbes to do their job for the maximum amount of time. If you add them in the morning on a hot day they will most likely die off by noon. But added at night, they get all night and the morning to become established. The results are phenomenal.
The molasses isnt only sugars to my knowledge, I believe its carbohydrates and other things like that, its to feed the microbes. I would suggest the compost teas along with some cal/mag. Dying tomato leaves generally are a cal/mag issue. You can foliar feed with epsom salts and feed the soil too.
Just like i said before this is my first time starting them in a tent but from what i can see now is that the leaves that i had issues with are the bottom once and maybe (just like growing them outdoors) they just go brown after a while. Not sure. What i did notice today is that my tomatoes are going into flower already. They are about 6 to 10 inches tall. I am not sure if that is a good thing or did something get screwed up. I am still just keeping them under a 400 Watt MH light. Thank you all for your input.
Just a little update... Tomatoes went into ground on June 1st and out of all of my friends my tomatoes were ready first. I have been eating for about 3 weeks plus where some of the people around me are still waiting for them to get red. I'm doing it again next year... Definitely worth the little effort and electric bill.... Lol Thank you for your input. Sent from my SCH-I605 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Jmsland, Just wondering in your tent are you running a hydroponic set up? I only ask because i plan on growing tomatoes and strawberries in my grow tent.