This is a very late post but better late than never….

Back in October, we realized we had so many fruit trees and veggie plants outside that needed warmth and more sunlight. Winter in Chicago, especially the winter that hit us this year, gets really bad. I researched all options and found the Gorilla Grow Tent. I looked at a few floor samples and thought is was a pricey but we could use it for years to come since we had a handful of fruit trees that could not thrive with the Chicago season changes.

This particular grow tent was a 10 x 10. It almost touched the ceiling with 2 inches to spare. We purchased light fixtures to mock natural sunlight. I was very nervous with what the electric bill would be because we needed to keep this strong fluorescent light on for 10 – 12 hours a day. Retrospectively, the electric bill increased by an extra $10 – $15 per month. I bought a few racks from Home Depot to utilize all the space we can.

I planted a ton of herb seedings and basil from seed. We had our wedding lime tree, lemons, and thai lime. I tried tomatoes, eggplants, and green peppers but they were very slow to grow. For next year, I’ll stick to herbs and my fruit trees. It seems that the veggies prefer outdoors even when I planted specifically container veggies.