How to Grow the

Perfect Hydroponic

Tomatoes An introduction to growing tomatoes indoors

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Table of Contents (clickable)

1. Intro to Hydroponic Tomatoes

2. Types of Tomato Plants

3. Best Setup for Hydroponic Tomatoes

4. Essential Hydroponic Tomato Nutrients

5. Getting the Best Yield from Your Hydro Tomatoes

6. Recommended Resources

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Intro to Hydroponic Tomatoes

The phrase has been tossed around a lot lately

by enthusiasts, but hydroponics really is the

future of gardening, because it offers a better

way to produce veggies and fruits on a large

enough scale to support a household, it’s

addicting and you can completely control

every aspect of your food – if you’re an

advocate of organic foods, then you’ll

definitely love hydroponic gardening.

Here are a few of the top benefits of

hydroponic gardening:

No pesticides

Plants grow super fast

It’s fun

Established plants are very cost effective

However, most people are at a completely loss as to where they should start their hydroponic projects;

especially when it comes time to tackle all of tricky sounding chemistry, nutrient mixing and choosing a

suitable grow light. Fortunately, learning how to grow your own food plants using a hydroponic system

is super easy – and what better plant to start with than an undemanding, crazy fast growing, variety of

tomato?

So, let go of all your hydro misconceptions and let’s get started talking tomatoes!

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Types of Tomato Plants

There are different types of tomato

plants, and all of them have different

characteristics that make them

wonderful and rewarding to grow.

However, all tomatoes can be broken

down into two categories:

1. Determinate tomato plants –

These are small, shrub-like

tomato plants, which are also

known as bush tomatoes. Of

the two, these are the better

type to grow indoors because they don’t get as large or nearly as sprawling – which makes them

a lot easier to prune and take care of.

2. Indeterminate tomato plants – These are the vine varieties, and they are normally better suited

for outdoor and greenhouse growing because they get so large, and thus require a lot of space.

However, some people are successful growing the vine types indoors; it will just take more

effort to keep them pruned and maintained.

There is also a third category, called dwarf determinates, which are just bush tomatoes that remain

small enough to grow in small baskets and pots – a good example of a dwarf determinate is the cherry

tomato. If you are going to try your hand with indoor hydroponic tomatoes, then I would recommend

sticking to either regular or dwarf determinate tomato varieties.

Here are a few easy varieties of tomato plants to get started with:

Bush Goliath

Oregon Spring Bush

Roma Tomatoes

Sweet Cluster

Juliet

Beefsteak

Of course, there plenty of different tomato varieties that you can experiment with! It all comes down to

finding a variety that you not only have a knack for growing indoors, but also one that you love eating

(or you can pawn off on friends and neighbors easily…) – since you’re going to have a large amount of

fruit to consume once your plants mature!

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Best Setup for Hydroponic Tomatoes

If you have previously grown tomatoes indoors, or in your backyard, then you will find that they are a

fantastic fruit to grow in your indoor hydroponic garden! In addition to being a relatively forgiving plant,

it isn't very difficult to supply your hydroponic tomatoes with the perfect conditions to speed up their

growth.

Here are the basic fundamentals to growing hydroponic tomatoes:

What do I need to begin growing hydroponic tomatoes?

Essentially hydroponic tomatoes are grown indoors within a greenhouse environment in which the

growing variables may be carefully controlled. In the event that you do not have a greenhouse, it is

possible to still develop a hydroponic as long as you have a quality grow light.

If you're new, then I would suggest beginning with a small hydroponics basic starter kit that utilizes drip

irrigation - these may be bought for less than $100 and will include all of the basic supplies to get your

hydro system up and running. Drip irrigation is actually a process where your plant will be given its

nutrient solution in drip form by way of a pipe. A good starter hydroponic kit is the Black Bucket Deep

Water Hydroponic System, which is essentially just a 5 gallon bucket with a bubbler system.

Additionally, you will require a nutrient kit to blend your own nutrient solution that you're going to

nourish your plant with. If you don’t want to come up with your own homemade hydroponic fertilizer,

then you can purchase the nutes readymade – General Hydroponics Flora Series is a trusted brand by

many hydro enthusiasts.

How do I get my tomato plants growing?

You begin your tomato seeds in little "Rockwool Cubes". Rockwool is actually a fiber produced from

mineral perfect for supporting roots and retaining water and air that can help nutrient uptake. As soon

as your plants are 14 days old they may be moved to your final growing pots. Be sure you permit

sufficient room between plants so that they don't overcrowd one another when more substantial -

about 2ft is perfect.

When the roots start to drop, the water level needs to be lowered at least 1/2-1in below the bottom of

the net basket – the root system cannot be completely submerged in water. Before they grow, the

water can touch the bottom of the basket.

Once you finally move your young tomato plants over to their permanent home, you will probably want

to switch over to a grow medium called clay aggregate. This is a wonderful grow medium that not only

allows the roots to get enough oxygen, which is very important in the prevention of root rot, but the

clay balls also hold enough moisture ensure your plants are receiving the right humidity.

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Overseeing your system:

You need to keep track of the PH degree of your nutrient solution consistently and keep it within the

appropriate range. A lot of starter kits include a PH measuring kit - ultimately tomatoes have a

preference for a PH range from 6 and 6.5.

Pollination:

Hydroponic tomatoes will not bear fruit without self pollination. When you keep the plants indoors you

cannot depend on natural methods to pollinate your flowers, so you will need to learn how to do it

manually – your plants have to produce flowers before they are ready for pollination. A straightforward

method simply entails pushing the petals together lightly to shift the pollen. One other popular

technique is to make use of an electric toothbrush positioned at the rear of the flower to disperse the

pollen.

Plant Assistance:

When your tomato plants develop higher than 2 feet chances are they will demand some support. The

simplest way to get this done indoors would be to suspend a string over your plant and secure it on the

stem. After this you wrap the plant across the string as it develops. Using this method you'll improve

your plants size and tomato crop simply by subjecting the leaves towards the light source.

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Essential Hydroponic Tomato Nutrients

The first thing your hydroponic system needs is fresh, dechlorinated water! You will also need to provide

the three macro nutrients; nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. Additionally, your hydroponic system

should also receive micro nutrients, like iron, magnesium, and calcium.

Here are few factors that will influence the growth, and ultimately the success, of your hydroponic

tomato plants:

Sixteen elements are required in an ideal nutrient solution. They include oxygen, nitrogen,

phosphorus, calcium, hydrogen, magnesium, etc. Carbon is obtained from carbon dioxide in the

air. Some of the other important nutrients include manganese, boron, iron, copper, chlorine,

zinc and molybdenum. Any enthusiast can find hydroponic tomato nutrient solutions in the

nearby garden stores.

Light is a very important growth influencing factor of hydroponic tomatoes. Artificial metal

halide lights simulate daylight. The plants need a 16-18 hour period of light and an 8-hour

respiration period of total darkness. This helps to maximize fruit production. The plants’

exposure to light is gradually increased by an inch or two every two days.

Another important factor that influences growth is the pH level of the nutrient solution. It

indicates the levels of acidity or alkalinity of the solution. The pH value should ideally be

between 5.3 and 6.8 for tomatoes. Small differences in pH can translate into huge inefficiencies

in nutrient uptake. Potassium hydroxide is used to raise pH and phosphoric acid to reduce pH.

Plant nutrition decides the nutritional quality of the tomatoes. Nutritional deficiencies should be

detected in the early stages of growth to avoid crop disasters of any kind. Some signs of

nutritional deficiency and the hydroponic tomato nutrients that can be used to correct them are

listed below:

Here are few questions to ask yourself if you need help troubleshooting problems with your hydroponic

tomatoes:

1. Is your hydroponic system in the correct PH range?

2. Is the root system completely submerged in water?

3. Are the roots receiving enough oxygen?

4. Is your grow area completely free from foreign contaminants, like bugs, fungus, algae, and

pesticides?

5. Is your hydroponic temperature range correct? (i.e. is your plant too hot or cold?)

6. Is your hydroponic system receiving enough light to support healthy plant growth?

7. Are you replenishing the nutrients in your hydroponic system as the plant uses them?

8. Is the container that holds your water medium sealed from the light?

9. For a thriving hydroponic system, it needs to be in its own climate, and completely sealed away

from any harmful contaminants, including the things you track into your house. Your hydroponic

plants need a fresh abundance of all the key nutrients, like light, oxygen, nitrogen, potassium,

phosphorus, and all of the trace elements.

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A little bit of knowledge greatly helps in supplying the right kind of hydroponic tomato nutrients that will

help to increase yield in your indoor garden!

As a side note, use Mylar to reflect light back into your plants – it’s more reflective than other materials,

and you’ll waste less power. White paint is the second best if you can’t find Mylar. Mirrors, foil, and

other seemingly reflective surfaces absorb light, which makes them less efficient for your hydroponic

system.

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How to Get the Best Yield from Your Indeterminate Hydroponic Tomatoes

If you are growing an indeterminate variety of tomato, then you will have consistently keep your plant

pruned so that it doesn’t waste precious nutrients trying to feed parts of the vine that don’t even

produce fruit – the only part of a mature vine tomato that produces fruit is the last 3-4 ft (topside). You

will need to regularly remove any stems below that point; make sure you use a sharp edged tool to

remove any leaves and stems. Don’t pull parts of your tomato plant off with just your hands.

Additionally, you will also have to look out for small stems and leaves that grow in between the

branches of your tomato plant – these normally sprout where the branches make a “V” shape, and are

known as ‘suckers’ by a lot of gardeners, which comes from their habit of ‘sucking’ the nutrients from

the rest of the healthy plant. These pesky little ‘suckers’ do not produce fruit, so there is no reason to

keep them on your tomato vine.

Although the lower portion of your tomato vine will resemble a bare, green rope – and it may look quite

ugly – you will receive a better yield of fruit from your plant because it can put all of its efforts and

nutrients to the part that counts; the very end of the vine.

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Recommended Resources:

Grow kit – Black Bucket Deep Water Culture (DWC) System: The best part about this 5 gallon

DWC kit is that it literally comes with everything that you need to get started – you won’t have

to run out to the hardware store late at night because you don’t have all of the parts to

assemble your hydroponic system. Your package will include one black 5 gallon bucket, a fitted

net pot, an air pump and all of the necessary air tubing and air stones.

Quality hydroponic nutrients – General Hydroponics Flora Series: The General

Hydroponics Flora Series is perfect if you’re new to indoor hydroponic growing because it takes

the guesswork out of mixing up your own liquid fertilizer. Aside from light, a quality source of

nutrients is the difference between thriving and dying plants, which is exactly what you get with

the Floragro, Florabloom and Floramicro.

Grow medium – Hydroton Clay Aggregate: One of the primary benefits to using Hydroton

Clay Aggregate Grow Media is the way it supports the root system of your hydroponic plants. It’s

not too snug of a fit that it doesn’t allow enough oxygen in, and the clay balls also pack tightly

enough that they provide amazing moisture retention compared to many other hydroponic

grow mediums.

Affordable grow light – Hydrofarm JSV2 2-Foot Jump Start T5 Grow Light System:

Assembly is super quick, and it doesn’t require any special tools – you can put the whole grow

light system together with just a screwdriver.