My friend says I can bring 5 potted fig trees to his grow operations. He has a legal license to grow
medical pot. To me it is a great offer to jump start a few favourite varieties early. I have seen his operation & it is a very clean set-up with no smell. This friend was hurt in a serious accident when
he crashed into a moving train. Anyway, are there any special tasks I should do to care for these plants grown under bright lights. My thought is to jump start by mid/late March for varieties like Blk Maderia, CDDN's, Barnisotte, Smith & Batalagia Green.

1. I use a 1000 watt MH light, just don't put them under full light too fast, especially if they have leaves already.  I have tropicals that use most of the light and I use them as shade while getting them used to the light, usually about a week or so to get them used to it.  Vegetables I just germinate them under the light and they grow very fast.  Keep the roots warm by keeping them off concrete (I don't know how it's set up) I have mine in the basement so I usually put them on old seedling flats upside down to get a couple inches off the ground and it seems to keep the roots warm enough.  Other than that, watch your water they won't suck up as much as summer time but will go faster than flourescent lights and don't let them get too close to the light, depending on the size it can bleach them, my light will bleach about 1.5 feet from the bulb depending on the plants, citrus can be about 8 inches away and be fine, bouganvella will burn when it's about 12-16 inches away.

Good answer Chivas.
I have little to add.
I use one 600 watt MH and 2 150 watt full (well close) spectrum lights along with a couple T-5's for root riot domes.
I would caution that under lights figs seem to need the soil kept drier then when outside in summer.
If figs are in clear cups do something to protect roots from strong light. I just wrap in aluminum foil.
Nice friend. What precautions will he take against fungus gnats?
mgg

I tried doing this last year underneath 2 T5 lights with a few of my trees. My set up is not nearly as nice as your friend's or the ones mentioned above, but the plants seemed to do ok inside. I agree with Michael that fungus gnats could be a concern for younger plants- I had a lot of problems with them last year. The other major thing I noticed was that even though I hardened off my plants over 3 weeks and gradually introduced them to the sun, they still had trouble when they were exposed to full sun. They seemed to take longer to get going than my other figs that did not get the jump start. 

Paully, same here, I've been taught by a team of 3 guys who grow stuff 24/7. So, since the past 6 months, I've rooted some rare fig cuttings without any gnats and all are under these strong grow lights. My wife said, the feds are going to think I'm growing more than just figs under the light because they make my garage super bright! So bright I have to wear sunglasses inside my garage.

With winter in our face....I won't start another batch of cuttings until April 1st. But I can just about gurantee the cuttings will root and the best part....no gnats!

T5 fluorescent are cooler than MH so that's what I'm using now.  You can buy emergency blankets (mylar) pretty cheaply to help reflect light.

I just went to 2-level rolling carts, I've got a second one that will get started with some more figs and also tomato starts.

 

My friend grow-op is indeed bright & clean. He doesn't smoke the stuff but eats them. He says it is better for his constant pain as he has over 30 broken bones. Anyway, I don't mind starting a few plants early & then bring them back to my green house in mid/late May. Also, I did not see any bugs like fungus gnats, it is a very clean & tidy set-up. His plants are well space & not cramped. But the lights are bright. Its the 1st time I see such bright lights. Sunglasses surely helps. You got a point Dennis. I do not want the Feds to think I am going to my friend's place to tote some joints or smuggle buds. I guess I have to consider this carefully.

I recall reading an article last year about how the Feds came knocking on the door of a retired couple that had an indoor growing setup with a lot of grow lights, some of the things grown in a hydroponic environment, etc.  They had somehow tracked them by their purchases. They were only growing vegetables and were retired CIA agents!  The investigators left empty-handed. :)

I started propagating in baggies and moved the cuttings around Christmas into cups under t5 lights with 6500k bulbs. I started with about 2 feet from the lights for the first few weeks and now have the lights 4-6 inches from the nearest leaves. I keep the temp around 25c with the lights on and 15c at night, water with a spray bottle 3 times a day with a 80% perlite mix. Slow growth for the first month, but now plants are taking off with 6" of grow and 6" leaves on some. No gnats I think because i use sterilized soil and empty any standing water every few days. The set up is enclosed in plastic in my basement with a nearby fan to vent moist air outside. The new starts are happiest around 80% humidity which is not good for indoor human air quality so isolating the space and providing ventilation is key. It is a fair bit of work and energy costs are no longer cheap, but the early start enables 1-2 foot plants in 3 months.

The feds and the USDA already came by my place.  I offered to sell them some trees.  They did not stay long but they did say they are watching everyone with a change in energy bills and what they are buying.  They were some nice fellows.  They said to beware of eBay and watch who you are buying from.

I am using 4 T5 lights, steady, dry environment in my basement around 21-22 C, maybe 75 F, most of my cuttings are in Frank's 32 oz SIPs, all of them have been under the lights 24/7 for 45 days, one cutting was in a cup, the latter is now in a 1 gal container and looks beautiful and quite green. The figs in the SIPs present a variety of Greener or pale (bleached?) leaves. I don't know if it is the lights or nutrients. I now have 3 in pots but am running low on space. I am planning on transitioning the pots into a greenhouse in mid-March, I do hope the greenhouse mitigates any sun shock and helps hardening. My electric bills are not showing much extra expense.

I only have 5 pots inside, just for fun. I'm trying now to let them by the window during the day, and at night against my aquarium. They get partial lighting from a 14W tube for aquarium plants growth.
I'll see if it does help.
For now, we here don't have so much bright sunny days, so hopefully that will help my remaining seedlings to grow. If so, it is a cheap setup for me as that light is on during the 12Hours/24 for my 200L aquarium.