Where are you? Answers often are dependent on location.

The store bought plants get an enormous amount of light compared to, say, my kitchen window. They get very precise fertilizing and very precise watering in very precise soil, or else someone gets fired in a very precise manner. They get what's needed to prepare the young plant for presentation to the buying public. It's a business. There is no answer to whether or not this produces the best fruiting plants without setting off a hot topic war.

Yes, you should have a light directly over them. An inexpensive fluorescent shop light works pretty well. However, leggy tomatoes can be planted deep or trenched.

Thanks. I will look into that if artificial lighting will work. I am definitely not going to feed my plants chemical fertilizers to make them presentable. I do want them to be healthy and I know the key is to make the soil healthy and to keep bugs off them. Tomatoes need a great deal of light too. If I can figure out how to put a light over the plants on the balcony, I will do that. Thanks again.