I'm getting some D. Californica, D. Capensis, D. Spatulata, and some B. Liniflora seeds. You say to sow 30 seeds into one pot? Isn't that too many? You'd think you'd be able to get a few more plants with 30 seeds. What I was going to do was take my seed starter kit that I used to grow some stuff for my vegetable garden (it's a square planter with 36 little circular holes). Instead of using a pete pellet, I'm going to mix the perlite/pete and use that instead. Then put the seeds on top and use the plastic lid that came with it (humidity dome). I just wasn't sure how many seeds to sow per spot. You sure 30 seeds is correct?

Ok. Here's the rack in the kitchen: And a close look into the fishtank / terrarium: How much light actually hits a surface is a function of the distance from the bulb. The closer the bulb is to that whatever- The more light that whatever gets. Here's a pic: At 1 foot we've got 1 lumen, right? Let's call that 1 square foot of surface. Now move that bulb 2 feet away from the surface and suddenly that same amount of light is trying to cover four square feet of surface, thus effectively we have 1/4 lumen per square foot. The further away the bulb is the smaller the amount of light you get on the same size surface. So. Those shop-lights at Lowes or Home Depot? They're good for a shop. Not so much for growing plants. The 'standard' shop-light needs 2 forty watt bulbs (not included) so you get 80 watts of output spread over 4'.. 20 watts per foot. Yes, the ballast comes with the light & the whole thing is usually less than $10, but you have to buy the bulbs. Some don't even come with a reflector so 1/2 the light goes... Somewhere else. They're Great for a shop or garage where you want some light over a large area- They suck for a spot where you want every bit of light you can get on a small area. Those little 'spiral' bulbs you see hanging in the pic? 23 watts each from a point source. So I've got 60 watts hanging about 4" from the plants in the terrrarium. If I was using a shop-light sure I could just get one & use it to light the whole shelf on that rack. But if the terrarium is 1' wide so I would only have 1' of shop-light above it.. So 20 watts of light & since I can't lower that light into the terrarium the source would be about 12" away from the plants. Back to the 'light output' pic above for a minute- 60 watts at 4" Vs. 20 watts at 12". With the shop-light I've got 1/3rd as much light output 8" further away... Not good. Plus a box of 4 'twirly' bulbs is about $10... Same price (without the bulbs) as that shop-light. Yes, if you are going to use those twirly bulbs you need the sockets & a cord. I'm using a 12' extension cord- One of those ones with 3 plugs on the end... They're $2 at Home Depot. The sockets can be hard to find- I got mine at the local plumbing & electrical shop for $2 each. Just split that extension cord & slap 'em on: Makes it pretty easy to hang them wherever & raise / lower on a string. Put your hand under the bulb at the plant level- If you can leave your hand there comfortably then the bulb isn't too close & won't burn those plants. So $10 for 4 twirly bulbs + $2 for the cord + $8 for the sockets + $20 for the whole setup. Want a timer? Cheap ones are $5. So $25 for 80 watts of light? That's hard to beat. The whole idea is to get the most light possible as close as possible to the plants. Which is why I bought a 250 watt metal-halide setup for a fishtank.. I'm in the process of building a reflector for it & whence finished I'll replace those twirly bulbs with it. Have to have it about a foot away as it puts out lots of heat, but I'll still have more light hitting those plants. If you are wondering- My 250 watt setup will cost me $40 for the ballast (ebay) & $20 for the bulb- so $60 for the entire light. Now I got the ballast as a "kit".. Had to put it together. Also have to build a reflector & a socket for the bulb- Which has been a bit tedious. With my time & everything call it $100. Not too bad for 250 watts. Years ago I built a big (ish) terrarium with a bunch of twirly bulbs & some shop-lights.. Even a misting system controlled by a humidistat. (there's a how-to coming by special request about controlling something with a humidistat) check it out here if you wish its at the bottom of the page. I didn't seal the bottom very well apparently as it began to leak after about 6 months.. And allll those bulbs created way too much heat which I had to get rhid of which screwed up the humidity. A learning experience. ~Oh. In the plant rack pic? That round circline bulb on the far right? (hiding behind the decrepit passion flower) Ya don't bother with those. They're expensive, only 22 watts and frankly kindof suck. For ease of use + price the 23 watt twirly bulbs are your best bet.

Tommy wrote "The humidity need is a MYTH. Good lighting is far more important" I agree that good lighting is more important but not all Nepenthes will grow well and pitcher prolifically without the added humidity. Pitchers can be stunted and aborted and don't last long if not kept moist. The plants I have in a terrarium have pitchers on just about every leaf and some pitchers are 5-6 months old. The pitchers on the plants I have that are in open air only last maybe 2 months and don't grow on every leaf. Since I have been misting them 2-3 times a day they are doing much better. The biggest problem with planting a Nep. in a terrarium will be keeping the water level right and not let it stagnate. I know it's not very pleasing to the eye but that's the reason for keeping them in their own pot. Some Pygmy Drosera will do good in a terrarium. D. occidentalis, pygmeae and omissa and any hybrids, Badgerup, Carberup and roseana should do well in a plated terrarium. If you insist on planting a Nepenthes in a terrarium I suggest you keep it in it's own pot so you can easily take it out without disturbing the roots if problems arise. Even then you may need to pot up or transplant into a bigger pot. I have 2 larger plants that will not last the next growing season in the terrarium(getting too BIG) so they will have to be acclimated to lower humidity this coming spring. Lucky for me the humidity rarely gets below 50% here.

The LED lights are from Ebay from a company called LED wholesalers INC. This will be the first time I use the lights for an application other than supplemental light. The lights come in varying wattages but I use the least expensive panels because I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars and I really don't need lights that are that powerful. A 90W LED light is the equivalent of 400-600W HPS light. A mix of red and blue LED's is the best for growth and flowering while white just adds extra brightness. The colour of the light is not very noticeable unless it's in a dark room and the lights run cool/warm instead of hot and are very slim and light which makes them easy to install. I also found some really cool LED aquarium lights that are a strip of lights sealed (water tight) in a tube and are used to simulate moon light at night. I may add two small strips to the inside of the tank to boost the blue portion of the light spectrum under the white panels. I want to see how things grow first but if they look like they need some more light I will invest in some aquarium lights. http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380108250821&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT I think people could be upset with what they get if they don't do some research. If you want an extremely bright grow light you will have to spend the money. There are 1000W equivalent daylight panels out there but they are really expensive although prices are starting to come down slowly. So far I am pleased with my single red/blue panel and my Hoyas have been growing very well under it although they do get some light from a south facing window that is about five feet away. You do need to keep the plants as close to the panel as possible to maximize it's effect. My panel is quite high above my plants but I only wanted it to provide light to the taller plants as they climb their supports. What exactly were the negative comments about LED grow lights? I can always post my experience with these lights after a few months or some time during the winter. If my plants don't bloom or grow well we will know that they are not bright enough. Mike Here is a link that might be useful: LED Wholesalers INC on Ebay