• A plant will only grow as good as it's genetics.  Start with good seed stock for the type of plant growth you want.  Some tomatoes are much sweeter and some tomatoes take a while.  Some are large beefsteak and some are cherry size.  You can grow all kinds of varieties of plants that have been selected for certain traits. We carry some excellent varieties of seeds or perhaps your family has kept seeds from tomatoes your great great grandmother grew.

• Use rainwater or reverse osmosis water if possible.  Your plants, just like you, need good clean fresh water to grow up big and strong.  If you do use tap water let it set for a while so that any chlorine dissipates.   Put an air stone in the water for a couple of hours.

• You need a media that will provide plenty of moisture and oxygen.  A good aeroponic system is my favorite.  Coco coir and Hydroton work great together.  Rockwool works very well also.

• You need as much oxygen as you can get to the roots while still giving them plenty of water.   My favorite system is General hydroponics aeroflo2 series because the water is always bubbling and spraying. 

• Be careful the water doesn't get too warm or it won't be able to hold enough oxygen for the roots.  They will drown very quickly in warm or stagnant water and new roots will have to be grown if the plant is to survive.

• Use a good formula hydroponic fertilizer and grow with a good aeroponic system or in soil less media.  My favorite is General Hydroponics Flora series nutrients.

• PH is very important.  Adjust slowly but make sure ph does not go out of the correct range.  You will kill your plant quickly if you let the ph swing one way or the other.  If your ph is slightly off over a long period of time, some nutrients will be unavailable to your plant and you will see stunted growth or other signs of deficiency.

• We have a co2 monitor running in the shop and during the day when one or two people are in the store the co2 stays around 1000 ppm.  The normal outdoor atmosphere at sea level is around 350 to 500 ppm.   If given enough light nutrients and fresh water your garden plants can grow much faster indoors with 1000ppm.  In fact if you use a co2 generator or emmiter you should set it to 1500 ppm and you will see much faster growth.  Of course this only works if you give your plants every thing else they need. 

• Think of these like vitamins and steroids and snake oil.  A small amount of the right products can definitely increase growth or make your plant healthier but use sparingly.  Too much is definitely a bad thing.

• Your plants need light for the miracle life force of photosynthesis to occur.  The sun is the best choice.   You can grow just as fast and faster with High Intensity Discharge Lamps(HPS and MH) but the Sun is free.  If you have a nice sunroom you can add add'l lighting and grow beautiful vegetables, tasty herbs and large healthy flowers at a very reasonable cost.  A 1000 watt light costs between $15 and $30 to run each month and for supplemental lighting or a smaller area you can choose a 400 or 600 watt light. 

• These can be considered food for beneficial insects.  The best way to defeat them is to use natural controls.  Oil based controls are good.  Keep a fan going lightly to make it more difficult for pests to keep a foothold(literally).  Spider mite predators work great on spider mites.  Ladybugs are good to keep around.  SMC is a good natural plant oil based pest control.

• Take care of your plants with gentle and consistent attention.