Grow a Winter Garden Inside Your Garage Year Round

[SteveoTM25]

I appreciate this video being posted, but strongly disagree " You cannot grow vegetables as well under t5 high output florescent lighting". I have one 300w T5ho light that I run in a 4x4x7 grow tent my kitchen, using soil and compost tea & water (saved after boiling my dinner vegetables). This morning my breaky consisted of scrabbled eggs, eggplant, peppers, onion, garlic, tomatoes and carrot; ALL PICKED FRESH FROM THE INDOOR GARDEN! (eggs excluded :P).

[SteveoTM25]

I have run my unit since Oct/01/2012. So far I have had harvested 2-3 inch diameter tomatoes, 2-3 inch carrots, bunching onions, garlic (from clove), cucumbers, strawberries, bush beans, snap peas and lots of lettuces. Presently, I am preparing for a harvest of my cherry tomato plants (4), pepper plant and eggplant.

In total, the light ($80-Craigslist), shelving "unit" ($20-London Drugs), tent($80-Craigslist), small fan (free) and timer ($5-Craigslist) cost me about $165. Cost to run/mth? $9.5

[SteveoTM25]

CORRECTION: $185.00**

It maybe not worth it to some, but the way I look at it now that I know its possible to grow, and have successfully grown just about any common vegetable indoors is: With today's concern of POTENTIAL future global food shortages, Genetically modified Foods and all that stuff, I can say for the most part that, "I know what is in my vegetables and how they were grown... Do you?"

[Vilibrato]

I ate freshly picked peas in january of last year of an indoor system. Now I have peppers, salad, tomatoes, onions and basil growing, all on a single 110 watt CFL. I'd advise anyone who wants to eat fresh, organic food during winter, to look into setting up a small system, and it doesn't need to be nowhere this elaborate for it work for you.

[weeves06]

Cheaper to buy your veges, how much power is that system using, and all the expensive gear

[MsTokies]

im kinda shocked the cops havent contacted this guy... mistake this house for a drug house

[barbara5956]

Pretty awesome...you always have beautiful skin...

[mamoila]

Nice but the plants look very leggy or lanky. Not as nice as an outdoor plant. Is this a true hydroponic setup? The ones I have seen are done in tubes with seed placed in a sponge and nutrient enriched water cycled through?

[WUW2no]

WOW! You are the crocodile hunter of plants!

[rkobilan]

John, I beg to differ on your statement regarding the need for HPS bulbs for flowering. I planted two cherry tomato plants inside a gorilla rack that has astro foil as the walls. The top and bottom shelves are used only. I have a 95 watt LED UFO and to date my plants are over six foot tall with beautiful red cherry fruits. I've another with bell and cayenne peppers 6" tall. The cayenne produced seven flowers that I've picked so the plant can grow further under a 135 watt LED UFO.

[J3TPILOT1991]

@rkobilan If you want the best you need HPS. Just look it up.

[trungson]

"Medicinal Herbs" wink wink :D Very funny, love your style. Do you have a transcript or just make it up on the fly?

[therawlifefamily]

lol at medicinal herbs.

[scott98390]

"medicinal herbs"... lol

[sqqqsme]

John: Love your free vids! So thankful for knowledgeable people such as yourself who are willing to take the time and trouble to share with those less experienced or who are unaware of all the options and solutions out there!!

[BlueBustard]

@KayakFisher01 This Blue Bustard has found many a thing to nit pick in his meagre life, but this pretty well takes the cake. You must have spawned a Valley Girl in a previous life….

[TheSamShovel]

John, those .99 cent models are trash. They do not work well at all and do not last. You might find one good one out of twenty and that will only last for a very few weeks.

[btpuppy]

Sorry, that is not hydroponics. True hydroponics is when roots grow in highly individualized and dosed Continuous-flow chemical fertilizer solutions, not in any kind of solid materials.

[kingsnoofer]

@btpuppy Actually later on he shows the substrate and it is not soil. It is coir and vermiculite. There is no soil and the plants would be watered as needed instead of keeping them constantly moist like in soil. So yeah I would call this hydroponics.

[btpuppy]

He must have moved the weed out before they did the video

[roseforvendetta]

for a moment i thought it was going on a space trip when he opened the lil room. at least hecan grow his greens in the winter. good job at growing the greens

[googlesbitch]

Electric bill will defeat the whole reason of growing your own. High pressure sodium light has a very high output but also a very high power consumption.

[kingsnoofer]

@googlesbitch This is assuming the reason behind the operation is to save money. Most people doing this are doing it so they know the origin and quality of the food. Grow it yourself and you can control what goes into it. It's not always about money.

[postagerequired]

LOL@high quality chit. wonderful video. I can't afford to do it this way. But it sure is fun seeing others do it and learn from it.

[CelticSouthland]

I am trying to grow indoors right now. Haven't done that in years.

Couldn't afford the electricity for that set up.

Had to leave all my grow lights behind when I moved.

[TheEndeavoringFamily]

Just what I wanted to see! We can't do much in military housing either.

[BalconyGrow]

I have my first flower cluster on my tomato plants that i planted in my Aerogarden in my living room in December. :0) Can't wait for those early tomatoes. Enjoyed the tour - Thanks for sharing John.

[CalissaLeigh]

Love the videos. I'm still new but I'm learning a lot. I've been tempted to build or buy a system like WindowFarms. I was wondering if you've ever come across something like it? Any tips or recommendations? I'd love to utilize some of the window spaces I have for growing.

[099087662]

great video John... thanks so much for sharing !!!

[rskurow]

Who is he kidding? He is growing pot, somewhere.

[nobadtrips]

@rskurow haha totally

[nephildevil]

doing the same here, not as fanatic however, had lots of trouble w cops and landlord because of it :( but finally made it from seeds to harvest for my peppers n tomatoes :)

[sly2kusa]

LOL! High Quality Chit! ;-) Great stuff John!

[ddavid993]

im pretty sure this guy is a medical grower

[22justus2]

@ddavid993 Hmmm I didn't see any evidence of that!

[MarshmallowVogt]

I think hydroponics is really fascinating and there are a ton of different options but I just want to know if you really think it's cost effective to grow veggies hydroponically

[thehappyvalley413]

nice upload. serious overkill. the HID lamps with air-cooled reflectors and an inline fan is sufficient. keeping the ballasts outside of the tent would be a good idea in order to keep the temperature down in there. also, the heat generated can be ducted into the house to reduce heating costs in the winter.

I use Hortilux blue daylight MH bulbs. they produce a broad spectrum of light that is ideal for plant growth.

lumens are for humans. ;)

[dnatypro]

Too bad he hasn't seen all the people on YouTube that grow"complex" plants like tomatoes to fruit with CFL only

[Carlyn3676]

grow bags- Great ideas for apartment gardens.

[UmyNEPHEW]

medicinal herbs

[nobadtrips]

@UmyNEPHEW ;)

[Thaneii]

I can't help but to wonder, if this person spent all this money to grow in his garage, why didn't he put that money into having a larger green house outside? Not one of those cheap plastic ones, but one that would be professionally made with electricity, heating and plumbing. Good for him on what he achieved, and thanks for sharing this with us.

[nephildevil]

@Thaneii dont know bout him, but i grow indoors because i simply don't have an outside garden or balcony to my apartment

[pncapone]

@Thaneii It's highly possible his HOA doesn't allow it or he doesn't have the space. My brother's place in CA didn't have the space at all, I think the house took up the entire lot. My Mom's HOA is super strict - no greenhouses allowed in her neighborhood.

[sethzky77]

Looks like the borg mothership up in there. When is he going to put the weed back in there?

[nobadtrips]

@sethzky77 ;)

[madeofyucca]

You look like Capt. Jack Harkness in the vid's thumbnail!

[arctictimberwolf]

Use a CFL. All plants LOVE compact florescent bulbs 100w. 12 on 12 off for germination and 14 on 14 off for fruiting and 22 on 2 off for vegging.

[IllumTheMessage]

@arctictimberwolf CFL doesn't push enough lumens.Need Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium with a ballast.

[arctictimberwolf]

@IllumTheMessage You just keep on tellin' yer self that o.k. buddy!

[IllumTheMessage]

@arctictimberwolf Every person on here who has actually grown more than seedlings under lights is saying the same thing. Fruit needs serious energy. Why you think people keep CFL bulbs about an inch from their seedlings? Because it is barely enough energy. Sure you can grow under CFL but if you want to actually get more than one hors d'oeuvre per plant your want to go MH or HPS.

[TheXXxSarahJanexXx]

@IllumTheMessage

not everyone has a a Lord Kelvin electrostatic water drop generator

oh yes sure like i'll just pop down the shop and pick up a Lord Kelvin electrostatic water drop generator like yours for just 2:99 and i wont have any electricity supply bill.

Whatever dude...

[arctictimberwolf]

@IllumTheMessage Bet yer gonna tell me my teeth arn't sharp now too, ha!

[DanielManahan]

How does he polinate his garage tomatoes?

[armanflint]

@DanielManahan Looks like he had a fan in there.

[lazarus822]

@DanielManahan Most tomatoes self-pollinate dude, you don't have to mess with them at all.



[rzarzarzarza84]

Love this one John! Thanks so much for sharing!

[martenfisher1]

That is a myth about the homeowner associations. There are many ornamental edibles that are landscape plants. Kales, japanese purple mustard, oranges, figs, pinapple guava, and viola are all edible and can be used in a deed restricted landscape. Just have to be organized and not in rows like a vegetable garden.

[Praxxus55712]

HPS use excessive power. The crazy amount of heat generated is wasted when vented out. Using high wattage CFL bulbs such as a 1k watt output CFL bulb would only use around 150 watts of power and supplies an insane amount of light with not much heat. Very efficient....and flowering/fruiting isn't compromised.

[atomrocketcar]

@Praxxus55712 yes it is, cfl does not have enough lumuns

i dunno about the heat, but i read if you power a 1kwatt for 1 month it cost $20

20 isnt insane

[Praxxus55712]

@atomrocketcar a 1,000 watt output CFL has more than enough lumens to grow anything indoors. Even a 450 watt output cfl has more than enough firepower to grow even pineapple plants indoors. :)

[r3bol]

As soon as weed is legal in the US, that guy is going to grow something awesome. See 21:55 LOL.

[Observerx10]

Au contraire brother John. When volcanic ash is burying your outdoor garden, the man with the large house and attached greenhouse with supplemental lighting will be miles ahead of you and might invite you to lunch.

[CheapEnergyIdeas]

@dtp5150 i wouldnt say Nobody..jus not many ;)

[CheapEnergyIdeas]

great hobby and very cool..but i would look into light pipes so my tomatos aren't costing me like $8.00 each in energy bills.peace.

[22justus2]

@ John...I can't understand what word you are saying about the Neem Oil. What is it that must be associated with the oil in order to be organic?

[lazarus822]

@22justus2 OMRI listed....it's not organic if it doesn't have this label.

[curandero2012]

Uhmmm medicinal herbs lmao but you're right it's medicinal lol

[ChrisGrowingOrganic]

When should i start my tomatoes from seed indoors to plant in the spring?

[arctictimberwolf]

@ChrisGrowingOrganic Feb-Mar.

[hagbard72]

I had a friend that did that. Then he got busted.

[fritoxtrme]

What else does he have "growing on?"

[TheXXxSarahJanexXx]

i guess his electricity bill is very high, its a really nice growroom. great vid thx :)

[Tommyr]

@TheXXxSarahJanexXx He must have lots of money, those lights use TONS of power. Not practical for most people. Certainly not me.

[arctictimberwolf]

@TheXXxSarahJanexXx Not if he was using a Lord Kelvin electrostatic water drop generator

[arctictimberwolf]

ummmmm..hydro pon ics

If I remember correctly hydroponics was pioneered by George Washington Carver

[JiggityJig90]

John, i just wanted to thank you.. you have inspired me to start my own home garden. I'm starting with 2 4'w by 24'L by 16'' deep raised beds in my front yard. and I am starting to plan the lay out of my backyard ;) i'm also growing some dill, stevia, parsley, cilantro and aloe inside already. Keep up the good work man, thanks again.

[busyzgirl]

oh oh oh oh oh oh --- i am really anxious to see the sprouting in your kitchen episode.... I have researched, but am afraid to start because of the warnings.:( waiting for that episode with baited breath.

[cool70200]

nice set-up for that fella

[Urgearhead]

very cool.... ask him how much for a ripe tomato? lol...

[norxcontacts]

You'd have to grow some medicinal herbs to afford all of that ;)

Thanks for the tour John!

[joefeser]

From what I have been reading lately, the HORTILUX - BLUE Daylight Metal Halide Lamps are amazing bulbs for vegetative growth. They are available for HPS and MH ballasts. People are reporting 1-2 inches of growth a day. I will be picking one up in a few weeks to start my plants. I will keep you posted.