Force Flowering Questions( Long Post Warning, but includes photos lol)

I will start by saying i do not grow MJ, at least not until my state gets decided on the medical and recreational MJ law that was submitted last year. Its On the books tho!

I do however do indoor gardening, and i am told by people in the know, that Tomatoes have almost Identical growing requirements to MJ. So please if you answer these questions Just pretend i am asking about MJ.

Right now I have a Grow tent that is 4ft wide x 2ft deep x 5ft.tall the inside is Mylar coated, In this i have the following lighting, a 4x54w T5 HO unit, 3x42w CFL Bulbs,2 x17w T8 "plant light" from Wal mart and a 2x24w CFL bulb. So 424 watts total and over 20k lumens. 5 of my bulbs are 6500k 1 is 4100k(one of the T5 bulbs) 3 are 2700k, The plant light is 4200K but looks light purple to my eye. I am growing in a custom blended dirt. Currently I am running 18 on 6 off.


I can not seem to find any information on if tomatoes are Auto-flowering or not so i am going to assume i will have to force flower them.

Do i simply drop the light time back to 12 on 12 off to force flowering or do i need to do something else as well?

Do i need to Adjust the temp in the tent?

Change fertilizer mix ? I am planing to add Bone Meal or Bone Meal tea during flowering.

Change watering amount?

Do i have to Change over my lighting spectrum to more 2700K?

Can i use 4100K Bulbs for flowering?

Can Plants be flowered under 6500K? Meaning Is it possible? I know its not typical or part of conventional knowledge.

Anything else at all that i need to know about force flowering ?

Any tips, tricks, advice etc on force flowering is very welcome, Yield isn't as important to worry about considering the Tomato plant will be indeterminate so it will continue to produce as long as there is light and food and water lol.

As far as the 4100K bulbs, I have looked at the light spectrum on the bulbs i have, they do have a decent peak at about 630nm so they produce a fair amount of red light and they look yellowish orange to my eye, I ask because i have 2 more 4100k T5 tubes on hand that i can put in my light unit to replace 6500k bulbs, and money is very tight so i would like to avoid having to buy new bulbs if possible.

This is what i grow in my grow tent normally, sometimes there are random changes like growing a Goji Berry Bush to plant Outside, but these are the norm :

Catnip(5 cats in the house lol)

A Fig Tree that i am Dwarfing I am also planning a Lemon and a Lime Tree dwarfed or "Bonasi" style if you prefer. Planted an Organic fig on a goof and the damn thing actually grew!

Tomatoes(i have had no problem with them vegging like mad but flowering has been an issue) The plant last year was over 8 ft long when i moved it outside in late May. But it did not flower until late July.

Basil,rosemary,thyme and other cooking Herbs(they grow great no issues here)

Carrots(purple ones) these things are touchy still working on getting them to produce(they are in a 5g bucket)

Radishes they grow weird indoors lol

Lettuce Blends no issues here

Wheat/oat/rye/barley grass(also for the cats lol) No issues here

Hot Peppers So far only started them indoors but no issues.

Bell Peppers So far only started them indoors
but no issues.



I am attaching the actual light spectrum output for the bulbs i have, using my Digital Camera and a Program called Gimp(free photo shop basically) i am able to do a histogram on my Photos and it gives me the Spectrum Analysis of the red green and blue light in the photo, i know this is not as accurate as a scientific analysis but its what i can do at home. First photo is my 2700K bulbs. Second Photo is my 4100k bulb.Third is my 6500k Bulb and Last is the Wal Mart "Grow light" 4200k bulb.

Cool spd's from that software.......Yeah definitely not accurate, but fun!

Tomatoes aren't affected by phototropism to a degree, and growing them indoors(without bees obviously) means you have to manually pollinate them for decent yields. Also like mj, they want large amounts of light to flower properly; this may be your biggest issue in the past. Fluoros just don't cut it on large plants IMO.....

You seem eager to have a balanced spectrum with all your different fluorescents, yet you can simplify the"madness"by just using a CMH bulb......and their cheap too . It's like bringing the outdoors= indoors to an extent. It will veg/flower/fruit anything under it.

Good luck and have fun

PSUAGRO. said:

Cool spd's from that software.......Yeah definitely not accurate, but fun!

Tomatoes aren't affected by phototropism to a degree, and growing them indoors(without bees obviously) means you have to manually pollinate them for decent yields. Also like mj, they want large amounts of light to flower properly; this may be your biggest issue in the past. Fluoros just don't cut it on large plants IMO.....

You seem eager to have a balanced spectrum with all your different fluorescent, yet you can simplify the"madness"by just using a CMH bulb......and their cheap too . It's like bringing the outdoors= indoors to an extent. It will veg/flower/fruit anything under it.

Good luck and have fun

Click to expand...

Well that was before I had my T5 Unit as well. Cant do CMH bulb, No fixture, too much heat, and way out of my budget range.

IndooorGardnerOhio said:

Well that was before I had my T5 Unit as well. Cant do CMH bulb, No fixture, too much heat, and way out of my budget range.

Click to expand...

Well actually 330w Philips all-start CMH bulb will run cooler than all your fluoros combined(less wattage) with a higher output( 110lm/w vers 75-85lm/w median), will cost less to run obviously, and a better overall spectrum IMO.

The combined kit is less than $150 on Amazon, won't need constant relamping like your t5s either.......but it's your money.

If your dead set on continuing using your t5 system,I would look at replacing half of your bulbs with zoomed florasuns.....very nice peaks in the 630-660 nm ranges to help with flowering/fruiting. Can find them locally at pet smart/petco aquarium area.

Good luck

PSUAGRO. said:

Well actually 330w Philips all-start CMH bulb will run cooler than all your fluoros combined(less wattage) with a higher output( 110lm/w vers 75-85lm/w median), will cost less to run obviously, and a better overall spectrum IMO.

The combined kit is less than $150 on Amazon, won't need constant relamping like your t5s either.......but it's your money.

If your dead set on continuing using your t5 system,I would look at replacing half of your bulbs with zoomed florasuns.....very nice peaks in the 630-660 nm ranges to help with flowering/fruiting. Can find them locally at pet smart/petco aquarium area.

Good luck

Click to expand...

I would honestly LOVE to be about to spend the money on a MH/HPS system. Not trying to be difficult, really im not. I am currently unemployed, trying to sort out my health conditions so that i can HOPEFULLY get back to work or get my disability filed; When i say i am on a tight budget, i mean i have to scrape together where i can, it takes me like a month to scraper together 20 bucks; Which is why i an\my trying to find out how to go about it with what i have on hand.

If it sounding i was being dismissive or stubborn i am sorry that way not my intent.

These are the bulbs i really want:


http://www.goeverydaygreen.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=34&idcategory=3

IndooorGardnerOhio said:

I would honestly LOVE to be about to spend the money on a MH/HPS system. Not trying to be difficult, really im not. I am currently unemployed, trying to sort out my health conditions so that i can HOPEFULLY get back to work or get my disability filed; When i say i am on a tight budget, i mean i have to scrape together where i can, it takes me like a month to scraper together 20 bucks; Which is why i an\my trying to find out how to go about it with what i have on hand.

If it sounding i was being dismissive or stubborn i am sorry that way not my intent.

These are the bulbs i really want:


http://www.goeverydaygreen.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=34&idcategory=3

Click to expand...

No offense taken grower,I hear your dilemma. Use what you already own then! No problem.

Forget the bulbs you linked, the florasuns are better specd without question.

For your budget I would look at home depot Cree led bulbs, the 9.5w a19 soft white versions are around $4 a pop with good efficiencies and longevity(20000 hrs) and if you "outgrow"them, just use in your apartment/ house(ten year warranty, will swap out with no question asked @ hd)...buy as many as you can afford.

PSUAGRO. said:

No offense taken grower,I hear your dilemma. Use what you already own then! No problem.

Forget the bulbs you linked, the florasuns are better specd without question.

For your budget I would look at home depot Cree led bulbs, the 9.5w a19 soft white versions are around $4 a pop with good efficiencies and longevity(20000 hrs) and if you "outgrow"them, just use in your apartment/ house(ten year warranty, will swap out with no question asked @ hd)...buy as many as you can afford.

Click to expand...

Ok so we have covered lights, but one last question about the lights. Will the 4100K bulbs work for flowering, I dont expect them to work "Great", just need to know if they will work at all, they do have a decent spike in the red? Aside from that, still need to know the following Psuagro or anyone one else that wants to chime in lol :

Do i simply drop the light time back to 12 on 12 off to force flowering or do i need to do something else as well?

Do i need to Adjust the temp in the tent?

Change fertilizer mix ? I am planing to add Bone Meal or Bone Meal tea during flowering.

Change watering amount?

Anything else at all that i need to know about force flowering ?

Any tips, tricks, advice etc on force flowering is very welcome, Yield isn't as important to worry about considering the Tomato plant will be indeterminate so it will continue to produce as long as there is light and food and water.

Thanks so much man for taking the time to answer even tho i am just a "veggie grower" lol. But if the laws in Ohio pass trust and believe i will be an MJ Grower quick as shit lol, I just have Kids and an Ex wife that would use ANY crime as an excuse to try to keep me from my kids, So i cant take the Risk right now.