Hmmm... supplemental lighting outdoors. I have never contemplated such an endeavor. I hope you the best, and will watch the responses on this thread with curious interest.

Tomatoes might be the most popular veggie to grow but I think the cost and effort would be worth it in your area where good quality tomatoes should be readily available. I used to have sun/shade problems which got worse over time as the trees surround our house got taller (we lived there 30 years). I think you would be better off growing vegetables and herbs that can do well with limited sunlight.

But, try googling reflectors. I found one website that used reflectors to provide more sun.

Your harvest looks pretty good already. Understand that tomatoes at least, in a warm summer climate, do not particularly like full-day sun. I have a patch of cherry tomatoes on the west side of a house, and they do not grow better or more productively with 4-5 hours of sun than tomatoes getting more sun on the south side of the house. One thing you might consider is the weather in your area. Do you have mostly clear skies, such that the daytime is usually sunny? If so, you're doing a lot better than people whose gardens have an unobscured view of the sky who routinely contend with clouds.

Outdoor growing lamps are going to be a large and expensive proposition. Keep in mind that unless you move them every day, they're just going to block the sunlight. Reflectors are a possibility, but might end up a bit unwieldy. I've never seen any real measurement of their efficiency, and they might end up just being a feel-good strategy.

Looks like your tomatoes are on the side of a white painted house. That's going to increase the amount of light they get.

geotrin literally lives right up the street (or freeway) from me. While I have not a clue about outdoor supplemental lighting, we do live in an area where you can have tomatoes exposed to the sky from sun up to sun down with no adverse effects. Other plants in my garden do appreciate some afternoon shade, but tomatoes are fine.

I think I'd just try to do the best with what you have, although the outdoor lighting is an interesting idea.

Agree with all of the above. Not worth the many $$$ it would cost. A $5 each cherry tomato isn't worth it. :)

Dave

I should add some detail about the cost of making artificial sunlight. If you take ALL the light from one 100W equivalent bulb and put it in a square meter of surface, that's about 1600 lux of brightness on that surface. Full sun puts about 100,000 lux on that same surface. You're going to need a whole lotta bulbs and a whole lotta watts to come close to the intensity of real sunlight!

Of course, when we start seedlings under lights we put the light down very close to the seedlings, which are small, so one can at least approximate real sunlight. You won't be doing that with your big plants.

Why does a room fully lit by lamps look nice and bright? Because your irises in your eyes open up to make it LOOK bright. Your irises are closed way down in full sunlight. The sun is bright!

Thank you all for the info and support. I'll continue with what I've got and harvest what I can. Hopefully we'll be able to find an affordable house with a backyard that has more/better sun exposure.

As for the clear sky, there's not a cloud in sight. The problem is is that the patio gets approximately 3 - 3.5 hours of direct sunlight due to the condo blocking the sun as it rises and 7' concrete divider with pine trees blocking it as it sets. I'll look into the reflectors.

Thanks again.