For the T8's I use the Daylight Full Spectrum 6500K bulbs from Menards. :-) They work great. They should be good enough for herbs and lettuce. But you may need something bigger for tomatoes.

I have a 400W Metal Halide that I'm using for tomatoes right now. :-) 4 plants is about all it can handle. Ive got some peppers and herbs and lettuce around the outside.

Never tried onions... you may have to really mess with the day length and spectrum to get them to bulb correctly. And it would take quite awhile.

But having a "farm room" is pretty fun. good luck.

Hi there!
I experimented last winter/spring/summer with growing plants indoors and a few outdoors.

For my indoors, I haphazardly purchased seeds from the grocery store and planted several -- including pumpkin seeds! -- and germinated most indoors. I ended up getting rid of a few plants though. The spinach I grew was tiny, and I was a dork with the pumpkins too, and tried a few herbs.

The only real success I had was with the lettuces I grew. I had a few tasty salads, as I didn't keep up with the planting. I ended up transferring three tomato plants outside (all small tomatoes like yellow pear and cherry tomatoes) and had way too many. I like them but don't love them! So I'll stick to one tomato plant for next year. I also tried to grow pumpkins...And they were doing ok...But my husband BROKE my plants to mow the lawn -_-;

I also had purchased a pre-planted decorative tin with several herb plants, but then ended up getting those little white insects that don't move off the plant and are easy to squish and are oily (aphids?) so I got rid of those as well.

I like salads. I think I'll grow lots of lettuces indoors starting soon and just supplement with vegetables from the grocery store until I get more confident with either growing indoors or outdoors next year ;)

Your setup seems fine,I use a similar one to grow my tomatoes and peppers outdoors in a hoophouse.I use a heat-mat to get them to come up and then move them under the lights.Keep them very close within a few inches and raise the lights as they grow.I also put a thin plastic over the lights and plants for warmth,my plants are in the hoophouse and it gets quite cold at night.I have tomatoes coming out right now. :) Good luck!