Growing Hydroponic Tomatoes

Hydroponic Tomatoes
Difficulty	Light	EC Range	pH Range:	Time to Harvest
Intermediate	16 hours	2.8-3.5	5.8-6.5	2-3 months
Nutrient and Health Info - Key vitamins include C and K folate and vitamin K. Great source of lycopene when cooked. High in potassium.

Tips & Tricks - Plant 2-3 seeds and keep only 1 seedling once grown. Feed with Green Machine nutrients until flower buds form, then mix with 50% Flower Power nutrients. Upon flowering, add 15mL of Cal-Mag to 10 gal water once weekly for great results.

Tomato is a popular addition to just about any type of cuisine imaginable, but it can be difficult to procure fresh, local options year-round. That’s because tomatoes don’t thrive in cold weather, so their growing season is limited. If you’d like to ensure you never run out of this delicious fruit regardless of the time of year, the good news is that it’s possible when you opt for an indoor, hydroponic garden (Preferably one from IGWorks®).

Germination:

Most tomato varieties are simple and straightforward to grow from seed. Simply consider using our Seedling Starter Kit, or using the paper towel method discussed here for best results. You can also consider sowing your tomato seeds directly in the iHarvest, although it may be slightly slower and less successful.

Light:

Tomatoes need plenty of light to grow well. When growing tomatoes or other fruiting plants indoors, they will perform best when receiving 16 hours of artificial light, from a superior light source. The iHarvest’s full-spectrum lights are terrific at mimicking natural sunlight. They also produce a light that is pleasing to the eyes. And because LED lights are high efficiency, they will not have a significant impact on your electric bills.

EC Range:

When growing tomatoes, you will want to keep your EC range between 2.0 -5.0 for optimal growth. Tomatoes grow great with other plants that grow well in these PPM ranges, such as cucumbers, eggplants and peppers. Your tomato plants will remain healthy at EC ranges below 2.0, but will not produce fruit as quickly or prolifically. Check out our article on Growing a Variety of Fruits and Vegetables with Hydroponics to learn more on growing plants outside of their optimum EC ranges.

pH Range:

Your iHarvest® comes with a pH tester. Adjusting your pH allows your plants to absorb the nutrients they need, as efficiently as possible. Keep your pH between 5.5-6.8 for optimal growth.

Nutrients:

Tomatoes are a flowering/fruiting plant. When they are young, before they begin flowering, your tomato plants will thrive with a general nutrient mix for vegetation, like those that have an N-P-K ratio of approximately 10-5-14 like IGWorks provides. When your tomatoes begin to flower and fruit, they will do better with a nutrient solution that has more Phosphorus (P). When your tomatoes begin to flower, you may want to add a flowering nutrient mix, which is likely to have an NPK ratio of approximately 5-15-14. IGWorks also provides these nutrients on our website. By adding the flowering mix to your reservoir, you will get more tomato fruit, and it will ripen faster.

Pruning and Harvesting:

Tomatoes can take up a lot of space, and that’s not always easy when growing indoors. So, focus on growing dwarf varieties of tomato plants, like Tidy Treats tomatoes. They will be easier to grow and maintain in your indoor garden. As your tomato plants begin to outgrow the space you have for them, you can prune them by following our guide here.

Pollinating:

Tomatoes are self-fertile and need very little help to fruit. Simply giving the flowers (or even the branches) a little shake or tap when you are walking by will do the trick. Others will sometimes place a fan in front of their tomato flowers. This will also pollinate most of your tomato flowers.

Harvesting:

Harvest your tomatoes when they become a beautiful, red color and enjoy.

Time to Harvest:

Tomatoes take ~3 months from the time that you start from seed, to when you are able to begin harvesting. It can take slightly less time if you are experienced and follow the optimal practices perfectly. It can take longer (up to ~5 months) and you will receive less yield if you follow the practices less precisely. But, everybody can grow tomatoes at home!

Conclusion:

Tomatoes are a lot of fun to grow, and they are a forgiving plant. You don’t have to be perfect to grow and enjoy your own tomatoes indoors. The more closely you follow the directions, the more tomatoes you will have. But even without following the direction perfectly, you will be able to grow tomatoes successfully. And remember, IGWorks® and our online Facebook community are always here to help!

Check Out Our Tomato Recipes!

Let's Grow Together!