Grow Your Tomatoes
Start Growing: • Home • Grow From Seed • Store-Bought Plants • Container Growing • In the Garden • Tomato Pests • Tomato Diseases • Heirloom or Hybrid • Popular Varieties • Companion Planting • Fertilizers • Grow Lights • Saving Your Seeds • Contact	Grow lights All plants need light to photosynthesize. Tomatoes need a lot of it. If you are growing from seed, you'll need grow lights to keep your tomatoes under while the outside weather is still cold. A grow light system is fairly simple and cheap, and you can set one up in a couple hours or less. How many lights? You should expect to fit 20-30 potted-up tomato plants under one light. Decide how many tomatoes you want to grow, and whether you want to grow anything else besides tomatoes. Better to have a little extra light than not enough. Shop light fixtures Go to your local Walmart or hardware store and get a cheap 48" fluorescent shop light. These fixtures should use two 48" fluorescent tubes and come with hooks and chains to hang the fixture. Plant growing light Also at Walmart or a hardware store, look through their selection of fluorescent tubes. Find one that is labeled specifically for plants - I use the GE brand "Plant & Aquarium" tubes. These emit more reds and blues which plants need to photosynthesize. However, regular cool white tubes will work as well. I prefer the best lights possible so I use the Plant & Aquarium tubes in my grow light fixtures. Installing the fixture When it comes to installing, some creativity may come into play in figuring out what works best for you. For me, it was a handmade shelf on the wall, with the grow light suspended from picture wire from the ceiling attached to chains from the light fixture. However you do it, make sure you can adjust the distance of the light from the shelf, so you can keep the lights 2-3 inches away from the plants as they grow. How much light? When using grow lights, it is recommended that you give the tomato plants 12-16 hours of light per day. A timer can be installed to automatically turn the lights off and on every day. In the sun, tomatoes only need 6-10 hours of sun per day, and can actually produce fruit in as little as 4-5 hours per day (as I have proven with my garden). Grow light with tomatoes, basil, lemon basil, parsley, stevia, and cucumbers.
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Grow Your Tomatoes

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Grow lights

Fluorescent shop light for growing tomatoes

All plants need light to photosynthesize. Tomatoes need a lot of it.

If you are growing from seed, you'll need grow lights to keep your tomatoes under while the outside weather is still cold. A grow light system is fairly simple and cheap, and you can set one up in a couple hours or less.

How many lights?

You should expect to fit 20-30 potted-up tomato plants under one light. Decide how many tomatoes you want to grow, and whether you want to grow anything else besides tomatoes. Better to have a little extra light than not enough.

Shop light fixtures

Go to your local Walmart or hardware store and get a cheap 48" fluorescent shop light. These fixtures should use two 48" fluorescent tubes and come with hooks and chains to hang the fixture.

Plant growing light

Also at Walmart or a hardware store, look through their selection of fluorescent tubes. Find one that is labeled specifically for plants - I use the GE brand "Plant & Aquarium" tubes. These emit more reds and blues which plants need to photosynthesize. However, regular cool white tubes will work as well. I prefer the best lights possible so I use the Plant & Aquarium tubes in my grow light fixtures.

Installing the fixture

When it comes to installing, some creativity may come into play in figuring out what works best for you. For me, it was a handmade shelf on the wall, with the grow light suspended from picture wire from the ceiling attached to chains from the light fixture. However you do it, make sure you can adjust the distance of the light from the shelf, so you can keep the lights 2-3 inches away from the plants as they grow.

How much light?

When using grow lights, it is recommended that you give the tomato plants 12-16 hours of light per day. A timer can be installed to automatically turn the lights off and on every day.

In the sun, tomatoes only need 6-10 hours of sun per day, and can actually produce fruit in as little as 4-5 hours per day (as I have proven with my garden).

Grow light with tomatoes, basil, parsley, stevia, and cucumbers

Grow light with tomatoes, basil, lemon basil, parsley, stevia, and cucumbers.