I have the same shelf as zenman, but I don't use a heat mat. I buy the mylar blankets from the sports dept at Walmart. They are in a small box hanging on a rack and the cost is about $3. I drape this small blanket over the top shelf and attach it with clothes pins to cover down to the next shelf. I don't use any lights on the top shelf, and because heat rises, the heat from the lights on the second shelf heat the area above that shelf. The blanket holds the heat in and the tray with the dome cover holds the moisture in the tray. At the first sign of germination, I remove the dome and move the tray down under the lights and drop the lights down until they almost touch the plants. I grow in a building that is well insulated and will only add heat if the outside temp is below freezing. The lights create some heat, but I intentional grow tomatoes on a cooler shelf. Peppers, on the other hand, need to be on one of the open shelves that has a light under it as they will benefit from the extra heat that rises from that light. I also have my light fixtures plugged into surge protectors so that I can control all of the lights by just flipping a switch rather than plugging and unplugging cords. The sports blankets that I use look a little like aluminum foil, but are soft and almost transparent. When I first start the plants I use another blanket to wrap around the shelves because the silver color tends to reflect more light onto the plants (I think). Sometimes I remove it from the lower shelves and some years I just add a small fan to make sure there is some air movement on the plants. Later in the season, I remove it because I don't want the plants to be too hot, but I leave the top part covered and continue to use it as a germination chamber. I am attaching a picture, but the light wasn't on in the room when I took the picture so you have to look closely to see the top shelf which has no lights. I have watered from the bottom, from the top, and misted and I never have had damping off, so I can't say which is best. I would never mist if I wasn't running a fan though. Here is a link that might be useful: My shelf

Good Morning, I have some egyptian walking onion bulbs. I usally would sell these on e-bay but we had a fire in the kitchen and have been forced to move. Please e-mail your address and how many you want. Thanks, Rosanna

I agree with both Jordi and MBT, but also try seedrack.com. Walmart has a mixed variety seed pack for .97 for about 12 seeds, while seedrack gives you about 200 'mixed' seeds for $3.96. However, you can get specific species of seeds from the Cactus and Succulent Society for $2.00 for 5 or 10 seeds or .50 a packet for members. You can find the Seed Depot and its listing on the CSSA website. Saguaros are very easy to grow. Sagebrush

My first hydro crop was lettuce. It bolted in 56 days. I called General Hydroponics (the makers of my Waterfarm) and they said the reason it bolted so early was that I was using too much fertilizer, and I should only have been using 12 hrs of light on lettuce. I assume that would be fine for the seedlings as well. He sounded like he knew what he was talking about, but my new crop is very small, so I can't guarantee it. Here is a link that might be useful: This may be interesting to you.