Doesn't sound too bad at all, suppliamental sunlight seems to help a lot when growing under artificial light. We are growing under a 400 watt metal halide but also right inside of massive south-facing windows. You'll often notice plants growing in windows, especially in the winter, staying alive but in a sort of state of "stasis" showing very little if any growth. I think that even mild artificial grow lamps are enough to push them "over the edge" to continue growing indoors. Your shelf sounds nice (though pictures would be appreciated to get a better feel for your setup). Fluorescents work perfectly well but they have very little penetrating power and thus a rather miserable effective range. "about a foot away" is really too far, you want to get those puppies as close as physically possible to your foliage. Also, there is a way of getting more light energy from long florescent tubes where you want it. Get 2 inch wide foil tape with clear adhesive and very carefully stick it on the back side of your florescent tube which faces away from your plants and towards your reflector, directly on the bulb, be sure to avoid folds bubbles and wrinkles. Make sure the tape falls an inch or two short of the end caps as the bulb is hottest here and you definitely don't want the metal tape to create a short between the usually metal caps. If you got the tape on there nice and straight with a minimum of imperfections the tubes will be noticeably brighter on the side facing your plants. This works by reflecting the photons directly back out the front side of the bulb instead of them coming out of the backside, hitting whatever reflector you have and then making their way back down to the plants. The trick to a successful florescent grow is to keep the distance that the light has to travel as short as possible and this technique minimizes that distance by several inches. This is a reliable technique and has no apparent ill effects on the bulb, I have seen tubes so equipped run for years. Just a few tweaks and I think you will be blooming beautifully all winter. Good luck and happy gardening!
-Zach