You have two choices, 400 watt HID or 400 watt fluorescent. If I were you, I would look into a High Output fluorescent. They put off way less heat than a HID and if your growing in a closet, that's a big concern. Another good thing about the HO fluorescents is they get more lumens per watt than regular fluorescents. They will grow a plant to maturity with no problem. Just to clarify, HID or High Intensity Discharge light comes in two different spectrums. Metal Halide(blue) and High pressure sodium(red). These are great lights, but IMO, put off to much heat for a closet. Here's a link to my recommendation on the best light for your situation.I have the 12 bulb lamp with rotating blue and red lights to create a full spectrum. This light produces some of the best plants I have ever seen. No BS. Check out my website www.theurbangardenshop.com, to see for yourself. Hope this helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: T-5 Badboy

Be aware that if you have a lot of plants in a closed in space it will get very humid inside. I cover my seed starting setup with reflective mylar survival blankets and I find condensation on the inside surfaces. You don't want to start getting mold problems.

A 120 watt LED should do the job quite easily. A bit more expensive than the HPS or MH, less than the HO Fluro. Puts out next to no heat.

Mike

One tomato plants canopy will shade any other plant from getting the light it needs in a 4'x3' area. Where are your brains?

Huh?

I have six plants in a 3x4 area and my 400 watt HPS is working great.

Mike

Maybe seedlings but a mature plant is totally different. What I got of the OP was growing to maturity. Maybe I misread the OP?

Taz,

The plants are in 7-gallon containers and three of them have tomatoes growing on them!

Mike

If you paint the walls, ceiling, floor, and door with a white high reflectivity paint, then you can use HID or CFL without a reflector built into the fixture. In the case of HID, the ballast should be outside the closet to minimize heat.

Mike Let me know how that's working for you come May.

The plants I grow will easily cover a 3'/4' area and get 6-8' tall. I guess they just do much better in the ground.

chhe Painting or lining the walls with mylar will help get more light to shorter plants. Keep the tomato plant/s tied into a corner and you might get a good yield from the other plants. I really think heat is going to become a problem in that small a space. You might have to install one of those bathroom ventilation fans in the ceiling.

Taz,

Last year, I learned about the Florida Weave method of tying plants up. Much better than staking and cages, at least IMO. In my GH, I have 18 plants in about 30 sq. ft. I may try something similar in a small section of the gar-den this summer. Two rows planted only about 15" apart.

Mike

I've been using a similar method for several years. I have a post at each end and zig-zag yarn from side to side of the plants from post to post. A piece of pvc at the top to keep posts from pulling together. Works great!

Another thing I learned, but this is from growing in the GH - once a leaf starts turning the least bit yellow - off it comes. I was wary at first; some people swear by it, others swear against it. But those leaves are not contributing to photosyntheses so they may as well add something to my compost pile!

Mike

lol That's something else I've been doing the last 3 years. Those leaves are also more susceptible to disease and pests.

Taz,

The world is suppose to end on 12/21/12. I live in Cincinnati and we won't le-arn of it until the following summer!

Mike

Mike How many other times was that supposed to happen? I don't know if I will last that long! One day at a time. I welcome the coming of the lord! I think we've hijacked this thread.

Sorry chhe

Taz,

The Mayans and Nostradamus sort of list this date as the end. And then there is something that says Pope Benedict is the second to last pope.

Just in case, I won't do my Christmas shop-ping until the 23rd!

Mike

I think chhe is long gone, just like this thread?