How to keep indoor tomato plants from getting leggy?

Growing tomato plants indoors lets you savor their juicy, scrumptious fruit year-round, or simply get a jumpstart on the outdoor growing season by starting seedlings inside for transplanting when the weather warms up. No matter your ultimate goal, insufficient lighting results in leggy tomato plants.

• Place your tomato plants in a south-facing bay window, if possible. Tomato plants grown indoors need at least 12 hours of natural sunlight a day. A bay window provides light from the most directions and is ideal for indoor growing.
• Supplement natural sunlight with full-spectrum fluorescent lights if you do not have a south-facing window with at least 12 hours of sunlight. Providing more light per watt of electricity while emitting less heat, fluorescent lights are the most cost-effective and efficient lights for gardening indoors, according to the National Gardening Association. Provide 25 to 30 watts of light per square foot of full-grown tomato plants and 15 to 20 watts per square foot of seedlings. Place the lights 6 inches above plants or 2 to 3 inches above seedlings, and leave them on at least 16 hours a day.
• Reflect the maximum amount of light by placing your tomato plants in a white or light-colored room.