Tried growing tomatoes in my kitchen with a cheap LED bulb - got 3 sad little fruits after 4 months

I had this idea last winter that I could grow a few tomato plants indoors using nothing but a standard LED bulb from my desk lamp. Read a couple of blogs that said it might work, so I grabbed some potting soil and seeds from the hardware store on Main Street. After 4 months of watering and keeping the light on 14 hours a day, I ended up with exactly 3 tiny cherry tomatoes that were more sour than anything from the grocery store. The plants themselves got all leggy and pale, like they were reaching for real sunlight. Guess there's a reason people spend hundreds on proper grow lights. Has anyone else tried growing veggies indoors with just regular lamps? What did you end up with?

3 comments

3 Comments

drew_jones3124d ago

Oh man, I gotta jump in here. You're actually kind of lucky you got three, but here's the thing - standard LED bulbs don't put out the right kind of light for tomatoes. They're mostly missing the red and blue wavelengths that plants actually need to grow fruit. Those cheap bulbs are fine for keeping a plant alive, but not for getting it to produce anything worthwhile. The leggy pale stems are a dead giveaway, that's the plant stretching because it's starving for proper light. You would need a bulb that's at least 2000 lumens and has a color temperature around 5000K to even come close to what a grow light does. Next time just stick to herbs like basil or mint under a desk lamp, they're way more forgiving and actually taste good.

max_hernandez2724d ago

Ha! At least you got three. I just got sad, droopy leaves.

susan_adams23d ago

You said "leggy pale stems" and I think that's actually a sign of too little light, not necessarily a bad bulb issue. @max_hernandez27 , you might need to lower your light closer to the leaves or leave it on a few more hours a day. Just a few inches closer can make a big difference before you go swapping out bulbs.