it has a conventional (ancient school) halide element. I have been using Venture Pulse Start Metal Halide, they actually are full spectrum, but completely not needed, because HPS alone is GOOD and CHEAP!!! I donated my 775W PSMH to the Federal Canal Park greenhouse, although if you are into big time growing, that lamp is ferocious! - both by the results! and by my PAR meter. to grow large bushes, i have the 575W PSMH Venture, which is fabulous! for PAR, spectrum, and growth. currently, i'm actually into LED. I make my own LED panel, 2x4' panel, using 660 (4 x 11) 630 (4x10) 600 (2x10) and 440 (3x14) working with LED is tricky, you can buy them from ebay, look for the 3w ones that are labeled XP-E. I measure each one, for forward voltage vs current, and toss the outliers. the XP-E however, is very consistent, and you only toss about 2 or 3 out of 25. after that, be prepared to do a lot of wire stripping (i use 24 guage stranded). it is VERY time consuming, but that is my hobby, however, I have done the "mistakes" for you benefit, so you can learn from my mistakes. my first prototype was just using 630 and 440, but the results were NOT as good as fluoro - growth was very fast, but foliage was not the super dark green that i was getting with overdriven fluoro T8, so I scraped the LED's off, and started again. right now, i have a new board completed, as described above, and I'm testing it out with tomato seeds, one set of seeds with the old board (630 +440) vs added 600 and 660. my new board is also slightly higher powered. I learned do NOT use cheapo power supplies - you can get good used Meanwell supplies, on ebay, if you keep your eyes out. I use 48v supply for the 440, because they require more voltage, and i use 24v supply for the 660 630 and 600. each color needs its own supply, the supply voltage is adjustable, and you're looking for 0.7 amps for each string of LED. not for the faint of heart. if it was not a hobby for me, i'd stick with fluoro, HPS, and PSMH - cheaper, and much much easier, also the results are proven. -overdrive.

For cheap up-front costs and an 18" space, there are a couple options. Compact fluorescents like you mentioned would be a good way to go. You can go to a big box store and pick up a couple of those clamp-on dish reflectors and the biggest daylight CFL's they carry (probably 23-32 watts). Then clamp them in place, or hang them by their cords. Alternatively, Home Depot (and possibly other places) carry this outdoor floodlight that some people (including myself) have used for both plants and aquariums. Lights of America floodlight It's a little more expensive, but you get a much brighter daylight bulb (65 watts at 6500K) and a fixture. The only thing you have to do is attach a cord (because it comes with two bare wires), and find a way to mount or hang it. They also carry replacement bulbs for $15.

I live about 40 miles out of Lubbock. I've grown Walla Walla successfully by planting from seed in late September/early October. I always planted a nursery row very thickly and then transplanted the survivors to their proper spacing in late February/ early March. Walla Walla always matured nicely with no problems in late July-mid August. Made very big onions. However, they didn't keep well and like other long day types I've grown they tended to mature somewhat irregularly-not all at once. The most successful overwintering onion for me was Desert Sunrise from Johnny's, but it doesn't seem to be available any longer. Now I order transplants from Dixondale for late February delivery. Candy, Superstar, and Red River consistently produce big onions and sometimes store very well. Short day onions transplanted in late February/early March tend to produce fairly small onions, but I always get some Southern Belle for an early harvested onion-usually mid-June. Give it a try.

Treat it like any other tropical, light regular feeding. Do keep bumping it up in pot size and make sure it has plenty of water in warm weather (but not staying wet). Likes bright light but full sun will burn the leaves. Takes about 5 years to reach blooming and fruiting size. By then you'll want them in at least 30 gallon bins or pots. Blooms are white and fragrant like Jasmine. ;) Mine go outside from spring to autumn on my back deck. They /can/ reach as much as 8 to 12 feet tall but I keep mine trimmed easily at around 5 to 6 foot tall which is typical to keep the beans easy to reach. They tend to flower around June i the hot rainy season, then produce fruit which ripens in late winter through spring. Each coffee 'cherry' holds 2 to 3 beans. Here's a shot of mine growing on my back deck, near right side. I should start some new seedlings for our hoped for greenhouse later. You can get about 1 to 1.5 lbs of beans per mature tree depending on which variety you have. Hmm, I seem to have hijacked the thread. Pardon.