I think the main problem you have is a lack of good strong light. The sun is very weak in the Northern Hemisphere at this time of year. If you can get good light and reasonable warmth then you should be fine.
Another member successfully grows vast amount of basil under a grow light in Norway. You may get some ideas from her thread-
@Pete.8 the photo you posted on that thread makes me want summer to get here now! I'd love a fresh tomato dish; the only veg we can source at this point is supermarket fare, and it's just not the same. There's some good info in that conversation. I'm going to try keeping the light on for longer periods and see if that helps. Thanks!
New England, USA
Metacomet soil with hints of Woodbridge and Pillsbury
Yes, I know what you mean. It's 6c here atm, thick cloud and it'll soon be dark again.... In summer I make about 12 servings of Gazpacho using home grown toms, peppers and cucumbers, and my sourdough bread. I had a iced bowl of it last night (with a big pile of garlicky croutons - yum!) - and apart from it being ice-cold the smell and taste was pure summer in a bowl. Supermarket tomatoes at this time of year are usually hard as teak and have no flavour, so I only use tomatoes when I can pop down the garden and pick them.
Ideally your light should be on between 16-18 hrs a day, so the plants think it's summer. No more than 18hrs/day though as plants must have around 6-8hrs of darkness. If it's a led light, then it can be just 2-3" from the plant tops. If it's a T5 then about 4-6" above the plants. If it's an incandescent bulb, you're wasting your time. They're not suitable for growing plants.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Posts
The sun is very weak in the Northern Hemisphere at this time of year.
If you can get good light and reasonable warmth then you should be fine.
Another member successfully grows vast amount of basil under a grow light in Norway. You may get some ideas from her thread-
https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1045743/how-far-away-should-a-indoor-growlamp-be-from-basil/p1
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
It's 6c here atm, thick cloud and it'll soon be dark again....
In summer I make about 12 servings of Gazpacho using home grown toms, peppers and cucumbers, and my sourdough bread.
I had a iced bowl of it last night (with a big pile of garlicky croutons - yum!) - and apart from it being ice-cold the smell and taste was pure summer in a bowl.
Supermarket tomatoes at this time of year are usually hard as teak and have no flavour, so I only use tomatoes when I can pop down the garden and pick them.
Ideally your light should be on between 16-18 hrs a day, so the plants think it's summer. No more than 18hrs/day though as plants must have around 6-8hrs of darkness.
If it's a led light, then it can be just 2-3" from the plant tops.
If it's a T5 then about 4-6" above the plants.
If it's an incandescent bulb, you're wasting your time. They're not suitable for growing plants.
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.