Setting Up Your Hydroponics System
Place the hydroponics system under a sunshade if the area receives hot sun to prevent sun scald. Test and adjust the water pH to verify it is suitable, as tomato plants grow best at this level. Raise the pH level and lower it to ensure optimal growth.
Set the growing pots in the hydroponics system at a space of 10 inches apart for tomato plants.
Nutrient Management and Plant Support
The video shows all steps to grow hydroponic tomatoes. Look for nutrient mixes tailored to tomatoes. Plant tomato seeds in rock wool then place seedlings into net cups. Add pebbles around plants.
Tomatoes typically grow 30% to 50% faster hydroponically than in soil. Error tolerance is lower in hydroponics. Your setup affects the need to prune.
Grow mini tomatoes with grow light using the Kratky method outside. Use strings, cages or fences to support plants. Favorable temperature range is important.
Supplement natural sunlight with grow lights and place near windows when possible. To keep systems cool outside, buy a water chiller.
Hydroponic yields average 40 pounds per square foot yearly, less with poor care. Tomatoes need 12-18 hours of daily light. Water frequency depends on the system. Proper pH, nutrients, lighting and temperature are key.
To make growing tomatoes convenient, buy a complete ebb-and-flow or other hydroponic system instead of building your own.
Benefits and Efficiency
You can either develop technology or grow food—not both. Hydroponics is up to 90% more efficient use of water than traditional soil-grown crop production. Production increases 3 to 10 times in the same amount of space.
As complicated as it may seem initially, growing your tomatoes hydroponically can be inexpensive and straightforward, provided you have the right inputs and process. You can grow versatile tomatoes hydroponically all year round.
Technically a fruit, the tomato is an extremely versatile savory food you can grow all year round. Hydroponic gardening is very simple to master. Despite the resilient nature of most tomato varieties, they require specific nutrients and conditions to thrive.
Small-fruit varieties of tomatoes, like miniature cherry, can be ready for picking in a month and a half, while larger beefsteak varieties need around 90 days.