Thanks greg I was figuring somewhere around 12 - 16 hours. Dave I was thinking I'd plug the thermostat in the wall socket then plug a power strip into that and the mats into that. What is a good temp to set the thermostat at for starting seed? When the seeds start to grow I'm thinking I can turn the mats down if not off altogether is that right? Also since the trays will be one above the other which tray would be the best to use the probe on? I was going to get some Styrofoam board with like foil on one side to set the mats on to help reflect the heat back up instead of letting it dissipate down is that a good idea? I also ordered some mylar film to put in front of and behind the shelves to help keep the light bouncing around inside. I don't want to do the sides so that there can still be some air circulation. I will keep this thread going with updates and pictures as I go so that people can comment on what I'm doing right and wrong. Also so that others might be thinking of doing the same thing might learn from my mistakes and what (if anything) I am doing right.

Lucy darling, my oh my ! Some hybridizers are very picky and others not so picky. On BGI for instance, some of the seeds in the seed bank come with stipulations and some not. JT Sessions donates seeds free and clear, he wants nothing to do with them after he sends them in. You can do with them what you want. He doesn't have the time, and doesn't want to be bothered with them once they leave his hands. If you get a really nice brug from his seeds, he wants no credit, you can do with it what you want. You can register it or not, your choice. All of the other donors @ the bank want hybridizer's rights. This means you give them credit. The hybridizer has the right to deny the ability for you to register the brug if they feel it's not up to their standards. In other words, they don't want their name on a plant that isn't worthy of registration. Once you get a nice plant from a seed, you give the hybridizer one to grow and the two of you can evaluate it's potential. You can, and should let different people in different climates grow it also. This comes under the heading of trialing a plant. While you are trialing you shouldn't share the plant. You are growing it purely to evaluate. I also would think if you grew a nice plant from a seed, but not worthy of registration, it would be perfectly fine to share the plant. If you had any doubts you could check with the hybridizer. I also think (this is my opinion) that you keep the name of the cross, and not use NOID. This way you keep up with what the cross is for further use. Also I think once a hybridizer sells those seeds, you are given the green light to do as you wish with the seedlings. Clear as mud ?? ~Edna~

You are training them well! Your comment about the hampers is correct. I end up having to collect clothes from their rooms. My 15yo daughter is the worst. I have to avoid her room if I don't want to ruin my day, and her clothes are the deplorable. The underwear, the deodorant stains, and she is the brute on the soccer fields, her uniforms are always stained up. She is a lost cause for now. I can just see your little guy sorting his clothes. ..I think I still have some time with my boys to get a few lessons in, after I learn them myself. I have been washing my clothes since I was 12, but I never learned how to properly do laundry, even in Home Ec.

Weird, but I have a link to the FL gardening forum on my browser bookmarks bar & I always go through that w/ no problem @ all. Since I'm on Chrome & have Android OS on my phone, all the bookmarks are synced. & I think the most frequent way I get here is through the link @ Home Decorating forum. I find it best to click through the links to 'Home' forums & 'Garden' forums on the sidebar, since that's not cached & is automatically refreshed. Wondering what Operating Systems others are using? Is it iOS or Android, Windows or Mac? & who else has their favorite forum as their portal, rather than the forums index? & I don't log out either - why bother?