Hey everyone! I've scrubbed through a good hrs worth of reading on the forum and still have unanswered questions about growing peppers indoors. I live in Arizona, and the heat has driven me to the indoors. I love the look of pepper plants w/ fruit and would love to have a good 6 - 8 healthy plants year around. I haven't decided on either hydro or soil, but for sure plan on growing habaneros w/ the attempt to keep them short and bushy, as well as lots of other variations and hot varieties. My thought is that a hydro set up will require more work long term than soil. I don't like the idea of having to change out water every 2-3 weeks and preventing mold and other stuff. I'm hoping I can find a soil set up that I can keep watered 1-2 times a week with little pest issue and smell. Is that possible w/ soil now a days?

I will be setting up some type of grow table in my home (on to another topic - If you have build something nice looking for in home use to support plants and lights, can you please share pictures or send me to a good website? i've looked for weeks and can't find anything online. I'm even considering having a custom hutch of some type built) office where temp will be consistently anywhere betwee 70 in the winter and no higher than 82 during the day during the summer with a ceiling fan and oscillating fan when plants are young for stem growth. My immediate thought is to do a 48" hooded shop type light extended over the plants with the most powerful and best bulbs possible. I'm more than open to do either a 2 or 4 bulb set up. Budget is a concern but I'm able to comfortably spend a few hundred on something will last for a good while w/out being too loud or an eyesore since this will be in a nicely furnished area. If this is suggested and w/ the right nutrients this light will produce a decent healthy yield, what type of bulb do you suggest? If not a fluorescents, what is the best all around light set up that I should buy? The total grow area will be no more than 4x4 w/ plants growing no larger than 3-4ft at tops. I'm not looking for a HUGE crop, just healthy peppers that I can keep in fruit stage as long as possible.

With all this in place will I need ventilation or simply a fan from above and at plant level to keep the air moving? There is a NE window in the room, but ideally the setup will be in the opposite corner. When temps outside are good, I can open the window for fresh air but don't want to depend on this.

So... the slate is clean.

Thanks for your help in advance!