Annie,

I'm not an expert, but have done a considerable amount of research on the subject. I doubt you will get enough natural light to produce good results for tomatoes or peppers. I'm assuming you are talking about this time of year. Both tomatoes and peppers like it hot.

For growing the "green" vegetation stage you should use a Metal Halide bulb for 18 hours a day. Then when it's time to blossom and develop fruit you should switch to High Pressure Sodium for 10-12 hours. If you have enough room you can get two set-ups. I ended up with a 600 watt HID ballast (Future-Brite is the brand I'm not trying to sell you on anything though) that you can switch between Metal Halide and High Pressure Sodium which saves a little $$$.

Good Luck!

Thank you. I had a feeling that would be the reply. I was looking at starting it in the next month or so. I just didn't want to invest a lot of $$ right now on a light, so I figured I'd give it a go naturally.

If you don't mind me asking, what kind of system do you have? I was thinking of doing an ebb and flow, but recently I stumbled upon some information about DWC systems, which look pretty neat (and hard for a new hydro gardener like me to screw up haha).

Thanks again for your help!

Annie

I hope I helped... I have an AeroFlo 36 which is just over 4' x 4' with 36 plant holders. So the light I have for that is a 600 Watt (Future-Brite Ballist) which allows me to use both Metal Halide or High Pressure Sodium.

Check out the lighting forum, I read one there that had a fairly inexpensive fixture 150 Watt lights... You can use a higher wattage light to create some heat for those plants.

I've just transplanted lettuce in my AeroFlo I'll keep you posted.

Wow you have quite a set up. I don't have anything yet...it's just a thought right now. The lighting is really throwing me. I have a lot of things I need to figure out. For example, if you have only one system you need to choose plants which have similar nutrient requirements right? Also, I don't know what to do as far as my water is concerned. We have what is described as "moderately hard" water at 301 ppm per the 2007 water quality report for our county. I don't really want to fork out the $$ for an RO filter, as I'm just starting this hobby. Should I just start with distilled water instead?

Sorry for all the questions...I really appreciate your help!

I just checked another forum where I posted the same question. Someone recommended that I invest in a 400 HPS light with a Phillips Mastercolor CMH bulb. He said that it covers the full spectrum and that I won't need to change the lights for the growing season. Does this sound right? Do you have any experience with this light?

Thanks again!

You will read scads of misinformation and hype about lighting on web fora.

Lighting is extremely numerical and has lots of variables and does not yield to rules of thumb.

You are going to have to do some real search by yourself.

I have successfully grown tomatoes and peppers in a south facing window in early fall. right now the days might be kind of short though.
If this is a hobby for you, start out right now growing greens and spinach. they should fare better with limited light. then, when spring comes around, you can start some plants in the window and move them outside as the weather permits.
I grow using a DWC/aeroponic hybrid. I don't own a light. . . no wait. I do. someone gave me a 1000W HPS a long time ago. The only time I turned it on was when I first got it. Now it just takes up space in the shed. I believe natural light is the way to go to help keep hydroponics affordable.

Thank you for your replies. I have been doing a lot of research and getting all different kinds of information. I thought I could consult experienced gardeners in the forum (you know, the whole "tried and true" thing). So I appreciate everyone sharing their experience and expertise!