That's a good set-up, Macky77. I wish I had a dedicated space. DH had to build the shelf in the bedroom so I wouldn't have to have the light hanging in the living room(we're in a rental). To keep cats off of your type of shelving, I would attach chicken wire or fencing on the sides and hang a separate piece on the front with maybe S-hooks so it could easily be removed for working with the plants. I'd also make sure the shelving was secured to the wall. It's nice your DD wants to grow things! If your toms get too leggy, you could always take cuttings to keep them going until spring. Ann71, the cats are indeed individual. One ignores the plants, two like to be near the light for heat and one will rattle the chain to wake me up in the morning(at the risk of being squirted with water). He's the same one that knocked everything over on the range...he's just a rascal that knows how to push our buttons. Once the weather is nice enough for them to go outside, they don't really bother with the plants. I keep a container of wheat grass growing for them all winter to chew on too, instead of chewing on my few houseplants.

you could use large CFL bulbs, LED, Metal Halide, or High Pressure Sodium bulbs. or go with a 4' shop light with fluorescent tubes. you'll need a small space heater and a little setup for insulation. pics of nice setups from the tropical fruits forum: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tropicalfruits/msg122346123745.html http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tropicalfruits/msg1223592210538.html http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tropicalfruits/msg010040363737.html and my CFL's with pvc pipe stand.

This would be enough light. Excess heat and adequate fresh air would be bigger problems in an enclosure that size. Can you set up a small grow room with a plant table in the center, the light overhead, a fan for air circulation, and a humidifier? Jasmine tends to be fussy and can dry up and die if conditions are too radically different from outdoors. You also need to allow for some heat at night, when the lights are off. Or you could run the lights at night and have them off during the day, when the room might be warm enough without extra heat. How big are the plants? If they're babies, fluorescents might be enough.

Squirel cage fans block the light, an important consideration if some plants need 12 hours of darkness to bloom. The axial fans Paul is talking about do not block the light; you would have to rig up something else to do that. The axial fans that are quiet, tend to have low cfm. Because small axial fan blades have so little surface area, they need to rotate fast in order to move a lot of air. (Paul) " Electrical and computer fans at low rpm are virtually silent,..." (Lermer) "Electrical" fans? I had thought all fans were electrical, although I suppose there might be little elves with hand-powered fans. "Computer" fans? I don't know what kind of fan Paul has, (perhaps the original WWII-era Eniac); but in all the computers I have seen, the axial fans in them are too small to be useful for plant room ventilation. (Dcarch) "The computer type of cooling fan is specifically designed for ventilating and cooling." (Lermer) Silly me, I had thought all fans were for the purpose of ventilation and cooling. Please, tell me where I could get some fans that are not. Ripley's Believe it or Not might be interested. (dcarch) "Squirrel cage (centrifugal) blowers are specifically used to overcome backpressure situations as in pushing air thru ductworks. It is never used for general cooling purposes." (Lermer) Squirrel cage fans have that capability, but they don't have to be used in ducting; in fact they are rated for different lengths of ducting starting with none at all. Normally I wouldn't use them without ducting (because of the higher cost) but they do block the light. If you read what I said, my first preference was for an open door with a 16" pedestal mount fan from Home Depot. Telling someone to make holes in their door and install axial fans in them, without warning them about light leaks (in and out) is irresponsible. (dcarch) "Before you use a 16" fan to blow on your seedlings, say goodbye to them first." (Lermer) I said, pedestal mount; which means, the height is adjustable. Jon didn't say anything about seedlings. Those can be placed away from strong air currents. The bigger plants would appreciate the air movement (as any but rookie growers know). (Object 16) "PHOTOSYNTHESIS IS OPTIMUM at 70-85 degrees." (Lermer) That's an incredibly ignorant statement. Where did you hear that? Generally, he optimum temperature is 76F. For every two degrees above that, you lose about 10% of the plant growth. This isn't apparent to the naked eye, except at extremely high levels. Above 76F you will see more green leaves because the leaf surface area increases (leaves become thinner) to transpire/cool more; and the leaves at such high temperatures tend to be more full of water. Once you weigh the dried mass, you will significant reductions in yield at 85F. Although light-on periods should have at least 70F. http://www.umass.edu/umext/floriculture/fact_sheets/greenh use_management/gh_cool_growing.htm "For many crops, media temperatures for germination should be between 72F and 76F. After a crop is established, most plants will tolerate non-optimal temperatures more easily. Seed germination is not the place to skimp on heat." (Lermer) Adult plants can usually tolerate slightly lower or higher temperatures, depending on species (where they evolved). A few degrees above optimum is a lot more harmful than a few degrees below optimum. (Object 16) "Plant growth is mainly a function of total number of photons - a rough measure of light intensity is lumens, so have a look at both lamps, and decide whether one or the other has sufficient lumens." (Lermer) "Lumens" is a "rough" measure, true; very rough, because it is biased toward the center of the spectrum. HPS reads very high in lumens because it is mostly yellow spectrum. However lacking a better common measurement, "lumens" is a factor to consider; but you should also consider spectrum. Generally you want a full spectrum, between 400-700nm, blue (about 420nm) and red (about 675nm) are the most important. For that, CRI (color rendering index) is a rough measure.