Can you share your experience with indoor vegetable gardens?

Is it worth the effort? How much time and space does it take? Are the little self contained units worth the expense? What vegetables work best?

I'm thinking of dandelion, dark greens and possible a few tomatoes.

I'm still getting my feet wet but I'm currently attempting this with HID grow lights and Earthboxes with bell peppers, tomatoes, and broccoli. Watering is all that should be required. I tried first with regular fluorescent grow bulbs and standard shoplight fixtures... A lot of light is required. Small plants like herbs or cherry tomatoes may do OK with standard fluorescent, but my full-size tomatoes got real leggy and didn't fruit. I just received a Sunlight Supply catalog and they have high output flourescents which I may try when I need new HID bulbs. HID bulbs generate a good amount of heat which may be a concern if you are growing in a closet, etc. Fertilization is also required or the plants will suffer nutrient deficiencies and turn all sorts of funky colors and textures. :rolleyes: I also found the How-To Hydroponics e-book informative as well. Ultimately, the grocery store is cheaper.

wildandblue agrees with that! Why kill yourself growing a couple dollars worth of vegetables when you can easily do a little grocery store reconnaissance and then swoop down on those unsuspecting vegetables at the peak of harvest time when they are the cheapest. If you have a lot of free time to kill perhaps you could become homeland security secretary or some other obscure cabinet post

http://www.officialaerogarden.com/sk...ductpictop.jpg

The little Aero Garden is what got me started on this I think. Scleros your garden would seem to take up a whole closet, which I don't want to do. (With those lamps heating up your house you might attract the DEA! :-)

Wild, yes, but in moderation and during Winter I was hoping I might get a continuous supply of greens like dandelions (which cost $3 a bunch and only keep for a week). And, there is always a certain satisfaction at growing your own.

Thanks for your feedback, it helps to evaluate the idea. 'Prolly won't do it.

One 1000 watt light will cover about 5 square feet. Two will grow tomatoes and peppers and such. Best to put them on a moving light bar to cover more space. Two will be close to 50 bucks a month to run. It can be done if you get the system set up right and sell a little of the extra veggies. Do your home work first.
Auto pots are the best, In my opinion. Once you get the hang of it and get them adjusted just right.
Hydroponics l AutoPot Systems | Plant Driven l Saves Water l Hanging Baskets l Simple Hydroponic l Aquaponics l Aquaponic l

Its hardly worth it... check out the difference in a grocery store with tomatoes.. smell the vine tomatoes... then smell the ones grown indoors... no comparison... don't waste your time...

I've had very good luck with a pot of rosemary for the last two years. It's been easy to manage and very potent.

I've noticed that LEDs have emerged as an energy-saving growlight on Ebay. Two colors. One for fruiting, the other for greening.

But I'm not encouraged enough to invest in all the needed materials at this point in time. Thanks for sharing your experience.

LEDs SUCK! Scam. Not enough Lumens.

Metal Halide lighting produces white/blue/violet spectral energy for leafy, bushy vegetative growth. The growing combination is metal halide during the vegetative growth stage and HPS during the flowering and fruiting stages. Metal halide, especially full spectrum 6500 Kelvin metal halide, may be used during all growing stages.
High Pressure Sodium (HPS) lighting produces red/orange spectral energy that promotes flowering and fruiting and is best usde during that growing stage. Using HPS as a primary light source during the vegetative growth stages will result in stringy plants and a reduction in internodals. HPS is also highly recommended for use in greenhouses as supplemental lighting.
Both Metal Halide and HPS produce high intensity light which is one of the key factors in plant growth. Lumens is a measurement of the amount of light that a specific bulb produces.
Photoperiod is another key factor and refers to the number of hours the lights are on or off. 18 hours on and 6 hours off during the initial vegetative growth stages increases vegetative growth. The normal

It's important to have your plant lites just a couple of inches from the tops of the plants, hang them on chains and raise it up as the plants grow. Just a light shining on them, you can see the light but it's not enough for the plants. Also try to keep lites on like 12 hrs per day, like put them on a plant stand in a spare bedroom so the lights can be on without keeping you up.
Remember that old houseplant trick where you cut off the top of a carrot and root it in a saucer with stones around it and it regrows it's top? I bet that would work with dandelion greens too, or you could put like 10 or 12 cut roots into a flowerpot on your windowsill.