orchiata bark: i don't think you can truly hydrate coarse bark by just watering it to dampen sphag in it. overtime it will become bone dry and will completely shed water. unless you patiently douse it with a fine stream of water from pressure sprayer sev times over sev days - which takes quite some time. .. not sure about shower - depends how leaves cover the surface of the bark, it's possible to shower leaves and not get much into bark...and the water will just pour thru like with reg. watering. i did read posts about orchiata - saying it sheds water, hard to hydrate it. if dolomitic lime is of such great importance - it can be sprinkled in top layer of bark from time to time - though usually it's mixed into medium. so i am not sure if light surface application is OK or not. This post was edited by petrushka on Tue, May 6, 14 at 17:48

you could use large CFL bulbs, LED, Metal Halide, or High Pressure Sodium bulbs. or go with a 4' shop light with fluorescent tubes. you'll need a small space heater and a little setup for insulation. pics of nice setups from the tropical fruits forum: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tropicalfruits/msg122346123745.html http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tropicalfruits/msg1223592210538.html http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tropicalfruits/msg010040363737.html and my CFL's with pvc pipe stand.

I can't give an answer on CFL's but... With regular tubes: 2 20w T2's will not be near enough... you will need probably at least 6-8 bulbs. Esp if using standard magnetic ballasts (most 24" fixtures use cheap low-power-factor ballasts) you can get more light *if* you can find one with a commercial/high-power-factor ballast (rare-thing on that size light...good luck) -or- if you feel safe doing it you can use a T8 ballast to 'overdrive' (in this case if you use T12 bulbs the 'overdrive' will amount to basically what a commercial ballast would give brightness-wise. If you use T8 bulbs they will be truly overdriven and give more light...but...heat may be an issue (in any case with multiple lights) it may not be a good idea to attach the lights to a wood desk. Also use a mix of bulb colors (Daylight, Grolux, Cool-White) And if you can give the plants any natural sun do so... no artificial light will compare to sun

I have been starting flower seeds indoors for years and have a great deal of experience with success and failure. I wanted some information on heating mats and saw the discussion. Last year was the first year I used a heat mat but had to buy new ones this year due to losing my home and contents to a fire. I bought one mat from a trusted garden supply (too expensive) 2 off the internet, and recently a kit with mat from a big box store. On this last one I was appalled that the directions stated you should put the mat on a timer. I was told by my trusted garden shop that I needed the timer on the lights but that mats need to be on 24/7, which I already knew. So when I read the box, I hit the internet for answers. I have used a small enclosure off the finished part of the basement for my plant room, with grow lights timers, shelves, etc. and have had some wonderful results. When they did the rebuild I told them I wanted the same but refined. I have four outlets with a programmable timer and 4 outlets without timer for heat mats. I just started my first tray last night with heating mat, dome and light about 2" above dome, giving them 8 hours of darkness each day. I do not have a thermostat but a thermometer. My home thermostat drops to 64 while at work 5 days a week, to 67 during the night and is around 70-72 the rest of the time. So I will am hoping the mat will make up for the fluctuations. Even though I have been growing from seed indoors for years, I still need lots of help. Over the years I have heard that seeds do not need light to germinate, only heat. Others say they need both. I have always heard that once the seedlings emerge, both the dome and heat goes off. I have notes that say light should be no more than 6" above plants while others say no more than 1". I look forward to hearing more comments from newbies and veterans by joining this group. In the meantime, I just hope my snapdragons, impatiens and coleus I started last night will be off to a good start. I started later than I wanted and will be adding more tomorrow until all four mats and four hanging lights on the new plant are filled with trays. (and by the way, I freeze the seed packs before planting which shortens germination time too) Just thinking about my sad stories of losing plants from damping off, leggy plants, etc. but hope I can help others while learning more while waiting for Spring and a new garden in my newly built home. To think of the great results I have had with just egg cartons, covered with elastic bowl covers, near home heat source in front of sunny window, transplanted to Activia yogurt (perfect size) cups friends saved for me. So much fun learning on a small investment! Your thoughts are appreciated.