This winter I'm thinking of getting a 400 watt High Pressure Sodium lighting system to overwinter some plants. Last winter I used fluorescents and although they worked, the plants got kind of scrawny and some didn't make it. I want to do a better job this winter and since my Rosemary plant is now 1 1/2 years old, it has gotten huge and I think it will need more light than can be gotten from those fluorescents. My place has very few windows to get natural sunlight and at this latitude (Chicago), days get very short so I need to supplement the sunlight somehow.
Does anyone have recommendations for a good place to get this lighting. I did a google search but it's kind of hard to choose where to go.
Also, I might build a small hydroponic system to use with this light as well. My only problem is that I don't know what's interesting to grow. After reading the Cannabis Bible Marijuana sounds interesting but I can't do that. :-) Any ideas on fun and interesting plants that will teach me a little more about botany and hydroponics? My goal is to learn how this all works in the winter and then next Spring I might build a big outside system on the roof.