What source of light will these plants be receiving and from what direction will the light be coming? (i.e. North, South, East or West window?) If a north window is the only option, invest in a 4' fluorescent fixture to provide light. The haworthias and gasterias should get along quite well together, I would guess, since they come from fairly similar growing conditions. If growing in a window, how far from the window will this garden be? The distance and the exposure will pretty much determine what plants should be tried and whether the garden has a chance of success. I've grown haworthias and gasterias under fluorescent lights in my basement for 30+ years without a problem. Under fluorescent lights, there is never a cloudy day and the light is coming from directly above the plants so they grow very symmetrically. Growing the plants in a window will require turning the garden occasionally to keep the plants from growing toward and leaning into the light. If you're concerned about cultural conditions for individual plants, you could always keep the plants individually potted and sink the pots into sand or gravel to hide the pots from view. This would allow watering each plant individually and allow plants that like different watering regimes to be grown close together without affecting the neighboring plant. Individually potted plants will also allow plants that may not be doing well, or those plants that may have gone to the big greenhouse in the sky, to be be removed and replaced with a new plant fairly easily. Good luck! I hope you'll post a photo once you get this garden put together so we can see the results of your vision and the plants you decided to grow. Mike

Welcome to the forum! The first thing I would recommend, if you bought a commercial cactus soil, is to cut it in half with perlite. That will increase air circulation and decrease water retention, both of which are very important. You can get into more advanced soil mixes, but that's how I started out. Terra cotta pots are a great choice, just be careful with the saucers that they aren't holding on to too much water or your plants will rot. If they're going to be outside, I would recommend not even using them. It's hard to tell the exact size of your plants, but your pots sound a little large. Just be sure the plants are snug in their pots with not too much extra space. For the plants without roots (1 & 2, maybe 3, 4) you'll want to start differently than with the others. You can either leave the cuttings out of soil for now until they develop roots, or just barely bury them. Do not water until you see the plant growing, which means roots have formed, or the plants may rot. Also, shelter these ones a bit from the sun since they are prone to burning. For the plant(s) with roots, plant them as deeply as you would any other plant. You can water these ones right away. Water all of your succulents very sparingly until you figure out how much they can take. I water about every 3 weeks. Be sure your plants get lots of sun -- if they start to grow tall with lots of space between the leaves, they are not getting enough. Hope this helps and let me know if you have other questions!

peat pots aren't a great idea... they work ok for small seedlings, but i've found them 1) expensive 2) they tend to wick the moisture away from the plant. you'd be better off with shallow pots, buckets... i use window boxes to house my seedlings. the long, narrow, and shallow nature of the boxes is perfect, tho you need to be sure to water frequently and, every once and a while, drench the soil heavily to remove salts. use a really loose mix--half perlite, half potting soil or the like. lettuce thrives in those conditions if fertilized regularly and in small amounts. you can transplant it out into the garden, tho you might find (like me) that a couple window boxes with cut and come again lettuce produces enough salad to keep everyone happy. try these lettuces (from seeds) when things cool down: red sails, jericho, appollo arugula. all of them are very heat tolerant and prolific.

Rosepetals, Glad to have you join.You have some great seeds too.heehee I'm feeling much better and went a little crazy on the swaps,but this way you can be in different swaps for the certain seeds your looking to trade. If you join all or any of my swaps,you can send all the swap seeds in one envelope.Just send the seeds for the different swaps in different ziploc's; label what swap they're for on the baggie's this will save money on postage,plus you'll still be in the swaps you signed up for.Does that make any sense.Couldn't figure out how to word it.heehee