Growing tomatoes in New Jersey, indoors, in December

You read that right, we’re growing tomatoes in New Jersey, indoors, in December

… In the basement… Way back in August the handful of experimental ox heart tomato plants we started in spring were producing some fruit, not that it really matters, but, since tomatoes grow pretty well in New Jersey in the summer time, we sort of like to experiment with different varieties and growing methods. As it turns out, a friend gave us a pint from his cherry tomato yield. Mixed in, were some heirloom yellow pear tomatoes. With a typical grin he said: “Keep those aside for seed. They’re delicious”.  Sadly the ox heart experiment ran as expected and we didn’t get more than a small handful of undersized fruit… Another story for another day…  As with all our leaf baby experiments we’ll save the seeds and try again. ANYWAY, the thought occurred at the time, It’d be neat if we could get tomatoes to grow indoors, and with that thought in mind, grabbed a small flat, and started about a dozen new heirloom yellow pear tomato  plants.

What are yellow pear tomatoes anyway

According to the internet Pear tomatoes are an heirloom variety first showing up in 18th century Europe recipes for flavoring soup.

Their requirements are the same as most cherry tomato varieties

• Light: Full sun
• Fruit size: 1 to 2 inches
• Matures: 78 days
• Spacing: 36 inches apart
• Size: 6 to 12 feet tall
• Type: Indeterminate

Wait, is it even possible to grow tomatoes in New Jersey, indoors, in December?

Well that’s what we’re aiming to find out. See, here’s the basic premise. Tomatoes are hard enough to grow outdoors in July and August, on account of the squirrel, chipmunks and birds, not to mention the horn worms and other pests. We’re thinking, if we can get the environment right, our little tomato leaf babies will flourish and even if we get a small handful of fruit we can call this experiment a success.

As a phase two to our experiment, we can harden them off in April and then transplant them outside in May and get them REALLY producing all summer long.

How are you making out any tomatoes yet?

That picture at the top of the article is proof, our leaf babies are starting to make fruit. We’ve got a tiny tomato on one of the vines and we’re very excited.  Our conditions are not what you’d call perfect but these leaf babies are pretty resilient.

The temps in the basement aren’t what you’d call summertime. It’s not chilly, but tomatoes like hot weather and our 65f /18.3c basement is far from hot.

Then there’s the part about “full sun”. Now, your basement may be different but ours is dark… On a sunny day, at noon, you can see without turning on a light, but, it’s definitely not what you’d consider “full sun”. To help out with our indoor garden, we picked up a couple of 4 foot  long LED work lights and set them up on a pair of benches so that they’d be closer to the plants. They’re not full spectrum, and they’ve got integrated LED’s so there’s no changing them. Two thoughts here. First, we’re trying to see if just anyone can pull this idea off with a minimalist DIY setup. Second, we’re betting that the proximity of the light is close enough to make up for the losses in the higher (UV) and lower (Infrared) ends of the spectrum.  So far, the experiment has been going very well and we’re producing our first fruit.

Overall,  we figured non optimal temps and lower than usual light would slow their growth rate and, well, that’s turned out true.  Since they’re typical time is 78 days, and we’re over 120, that’s about right. We’re also figuring that while they’re inside, our heirloom yellow pear tomato plants are going to be smaller than they would growing up outdoors. As a result we can space them closer to save room.

Catch up with us on twitter to find out the latest on our experiment