most plants are fairly resilient and i wouldn't be surprised if you could get peppers and tomatoes to maturity, although your yield will be very low and probably wont be worth it other then for the experience.

have you thought about growing herbs (basil, oregano, coriander... my fav's)? that way in the summer if you can grow tomatoes and peppers outside (or get a HID setup) you will be ready for some awesome pasta sauces, pico de gallo etc. most herbs will grow (some slowly) under 18-24 hrs of fluoro light. also some are very easy to propagate from cuttings, if you want to experiment with that.

if you are growing a variety of species under the lights i would recommend an 6-8 hour dark period as some plants do need a dark period to carry on various processes that regulate growth and flowering, this topic is widely debated though.

I agree about the herbs. I have grown mine from seed all in my basement under my t12/t8 lights. I have chives, garlic chives, parsley, basil, oregano, mint, cilantro. I also have peas, lettuce, broccoli and green onions growing in my basement.
They were not doing as well before I started using the mylar. Now they are just wonderful!
This is the first year I have been doing this and have had many failures since September. I just keep plugging along and hope that I can eventually grow a variety of vegetables in my basement/greenhouse.
Leaving the lights on 24 hours a day I have found to be a huge mistake =( oh well more compost =).

jeremysobczak,

I'm currently attempting to grow some tomatoes to maturity under lights for the first time. I selected a variety called "Tiny Tim" which is a dwarf determinate that does better in cooler conditions and lower light levels than full sun. It also only grows to 12-18 inches tall. If you wanted to try to grow tomatoes or peppers or other typical outdoor plants you could look for smaller varieties that have been tailored to indoor growth.

Mike

Thanks for all the replies! I've got some seedlings going right now. Some rhubard chard and some broccoli has already taken, and I've got 10 more things in self-watering containers made from pop bottles.

I think I might have a go at lettuce, green onion, cress, arugula, and radishes. And herbs. Any other ideas?

Joytosew, what kind of peas are you growing? Do they need supports?

believe it or not i've gotten cucumbers (non-dwarf) variety to grow to fruition under two 32-watt T8 cool white/warm white. the trick is to get a utility light that has a grate under neath it. The cucumbers will naturally grow in between the grate and the fluoro's and eventually completely block all the light coming out of the unit. since the grate provides a nice anchoring for them the cukes just drop down from the grate.