Last night I started a few plants for my experimental dorm room garden, as I am calling it. I don't really have a clue what will work, but this year I'm trying some veggies. Last year I did mainly flowers and they would grow but would rarely flower til I got home and put them outside. Last night I planted 2 lettuce and 1 spinach in little newspaper pots that someone here was talking about(sorry but I can't remember who). Tonight I plan to start 2 cherry tomatoes(these will be the kickers, since I will have to hand pollinate them when the time comes). I have no clue if this will work but we shall see.The seed packets were only $.05 a piece from Big Lots so what've I got to lose?

I'll let ya know.

jennisue,

That is so cool. I wish you the best with your indoor experiements. I think I read that you only have to give the plant a gentle shake when it flowers to achieve pollination.

Again, good luck!

Cool! And yes, tomatoes are self-pollinating, so a gentle shake should do the trick. Let us know how it works out.

My Dad and I both came up with a tomato experiment for this winter ourselves. We're going to take cuttings of our favorite varieties, root them in large pots and see if we can grow tomatoes indoors over winter. We just aren't sure if the cuttings will act like young plants and put on flowers, or will have decided that they are all grown up and are done for the year.

Tomatoes, and all vegetables, are responding to day length, so in the winter there won't be enough hours of light for them to be able to do very much. But you could get a fluorescent light, put it on a timer, and give it a good 12 hours of solid light. Then you can fake it into producing fruit.

Rock! That means less work for me. Thanks.

I've found a small grow light. It's just a regular bulb. I'm worried it won't be enough but at the time that's all I could find. Our room is lit by two large fluorescent lights, do you think that would be enough? Prolly not b/c they're too far away I bet. Hmmm...must go shopping...
Someones said something about getting the full spectrum? I'd rather not walk into HOme Depot and feel like a idiot by not knowing what to ask for(I take great pride in being able to go into Home Depot and find exactly what I want and being able to tell the guy, "No thanks, I've got it" when he asks if I need help. Sorry, had too many guys "take care" of me cuz they thought I didn't have a clue about home improvement stuff X-( )

I hadn't thought of cuttings. I chose cherries b/c I figured they'd be smaller. And goodness knows space is at a premium.

Good for you for wanting to know about things before you buy. It's good for your wallet as well! I've found a lot of people talk a big story and don't really know what they are talking about at some of those stores, especially when they are trying to be impressive and don't want to admit they don't know.

While full spectrum is what will emulate the sun, remember, it's working on your brain as well. If you should normally be getting only winter light levels for sleep, etc., and suddenly you are getting 12 months of summer, you may find yourself on any kind of crazy schedule.

Did I just say that to a college student?????

Anyway, you'll have enough to mess with your head as it is. The gro lights are rather annoying lights as well, and they usually have reflectors around them that direct them onto the plant and not out into the room. They aren't all that comfortable to be around.

You might try the experiment of one plant just under fluorescents and another under the gro light somewhere off in a corner. But take care with yourself *s*

Here's a link that explains a bit about it when you click on "More".

I thought about putting up a curtain around the plants so that the light would get them mostly and leave us alone. Actually my schedule isn't...crazy....not really...I guess. Ok but yes I do get hungry at 1am and go to wendy's so ok fine it is crazy . My roomie's bf is getting an apt this year so i may be roommate-less alot of the time. I've thought about using lights in the bathroom but then you've got 3 other people to worry about instead of just 1. I"m not entirely sure how the room will be set up. My roomie asked if she could have the window side. I told her as long as she didn't mind sharing with several plants that was fine(I think she decided on the door side :^O ) When I get everything set up I'll have to post some pics and see if yall have any better suggestions as to set ups.

I'd never thought aobut the length of the day messing with you as well as plants but it makes sense. Hmmm....I feel an experiment coming on(yeah definitely an experiment coming on).

Oh and am I totally blind and just missing the link????

I use fluorescent shop lights that hold two bulbs. I get one cool white and one warm white bulb. This will give you full spectrum. You can get them at Home Depot without spending much. Just be sure the light you get has a plug (some types aren't wired). I get two chains and four s hooks and hang them from a wire shelf unit so the plants go on the shelf underneath. You shorten the chain as the plants grow. You should be able to rig up something. I've grown lettuce and peppers under lights. Some college students grow other stuff under lights, but you better not!! :O :^O You need your brains for the classes.

No, no, you're fine. I just spaced!! Sorry!

http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/guide3.shtml

Better make sure they are bush (determinate) not vine (indeterminate) plants--my currant and large red cherry vines are at 5 and 6-7' respectively! There are a couple of teeny plants especially for containers--Tommy Toes and Microtom are the names of 2 I think. Don't know where you would find seed... ?:|

Yeah the brains are just slightly important . I looked at some lights at Home Depot and all of them I saw were 30 bucks! :O Maybe I just need to go digging some more. But if that's the case I may end up just trying to rig something up with the normal grow lights I have(although they get hot!). I've got to see if they'll let me use the greenhouse in the science building. This sem. I've got the guy who keeps it for a prof so maybe I can get him to let me use it. It's no good in the summer though, no air conditioning and so it gets crazy hot! I think I"m just going to have to see how it goes when I get there and can really experiment with set ups and all. But the idea of both colors is a good one. i didn't realize they were split like that. THose don't get as hot as the regular bulbs do they? The ones I have put out a lot of heat!

They barely get warm- you can touch them after they have been on all day. If you can actually find a sales person at a Home Depot, ask them where the cheapest shoplights are. You should be able to get them for less than $15. Try other hardware stores, also. As a side note, I once asked a clerk at Home Depot why they didn't have enough sales personal. He replied," They do, but they are either at lunch or hiding because they don't get paid enough." At least he was honest about it.
Check if your school has a course like I took at The University of Texas at Austin: Botany for Gardeners. Everyone got a tilled piece of river bottomland to make a garden. We had to do an experiment, so since my husband took the course with me, we made two mirror image gardens, except one had marigolds to see if it affected the insect population. It turned out that the marigolds didn't get insects, but everything else did. Still, we harvested a lot of veggies.