Maybe we can repost this with a note NOT to reply that way it stays at the top? Is there a way we can sticky this?

I agree with shrubs_n_bulbs and dcarch. While it is useful to study the aquarium community, because they are very obsessed and very knowledgeable, you do definitely learn a lot. Unfortunately there are just not too many people participating in this forum and some of the people just seem to be here to sell lamps and spread misinformation. Our local lamp salesman should have banned long time ago. (New lamps for old! New lamps for old!) FWIW in my other life, I'm a senior pathologist, who is rather obsessed with perfection himself. In my professional life and in my hobby life, I like to go all the way, understand it all to the maximum that I am able to, and apply my knowledge to the utmost. My most inspiring person is Henry Kuska, who is a member of this forum, and who applies theory, scientific method, painstaking dedication, sweat, and generosity, all tempered with what is practical, and how can resources be applied most efficiently. Henry got me started on indoor gardening, and I have been going strong ever since. I think I started out with germination of rugosa achenes about 6 years ago. For that reason I commend shrub's comments most highly, please take 100% heed of them, because I completely endorse them. My viewpoint is also a very practical one, and although I am blessed that I can afford just about any gizmo or setup my heart would desire, I restrict myself however, I don't just go out and get the "newest and the best", don't play into manufacturer's hype, learn how to recognize real data from bogus. My holy grail is "most bang for the buck". I work hard for my money, and I try to spend it as wisely as I am able. The aquarium community is very good at evaluating reflectors, that's why I bought myself some lumenmax reflectors, although they're bent metal, the bends to the first approximation if a full parabola. I recommend them. Choice of lamps: Pulse start metal halide, blows away conventional halide by a country mile, there is absolutely no reason why anyone should use probe start for growing on land. Venture lamps sold by businesslights.com have a perfect spectrum for vegetative, can be run continuously, and in that mode last up to 30,000 hours. For general growing, a ratio of 2 x HPS : 1 x MH maximizes the terrific growing power of the sodium lamp and adds the blue spectrum that is critical for synthesis of chlorophyll and to discourage stem elongation. Try to design your garden so that it has at least 3 "sides", and cover the sides with mylar. A garden illuminated by 2 lamps, and surrounded by mylar, due to reflection, is equivalent of a garden out in the open illuminated with 3 lamps. For example I built a grow-closet, and lined all 4 sides by mylar, but my next project is to have a garden across the short dimension of a room that has kind of a 8' alcove. The back and sides of the "alcove" are covered in mylar, and the front is open, for general viewing, and access to work on it. Practical things and attention to detail is always critically important. The aquarium community must grapple with very high scattering losses of water. Scattering is proportional to wavelength (why the sky is blue), and for any useful light to reach the bottom of the aquarium, it must be top heavy with very short wavelength (blue violet). Aquarium owners also grow beautiful ?coral or other vegetation, they have colorful fish, and the extremely high color lamps are essential for the esthetics. Remember, the aquarium owner is buying it for pleasure to look at, we are buying for maximum size of crop for us to eat (vegetables and fruits), admire (various ornamental plant), or smoke, as the case may be. So while I am grateful to the aquarium community, and like yourself have read over extensively the forum discussions, the bottom line is I adapt what I learn there and apply it to land farming. Also why I study the cannabis growing forum, but due to LEO, the best forum overgrow.com was shut down. If you visit plantlightinghydroponics.com you will even notice that under their horticultural lamp selection, they superimpose the photosynthesis activity spectrum with the spectal output of the lamps they sell. However, the regular horizontal 400W pulse start Venture metal halide lamp sold in the sister company businesslights.com has the exact same spectral output as a SunMaster "horticultural vegetative" lamp, but has higher lumen output and longer lumen maintenance.Paul Mozarowski.

"What would matter more in the long run...a bigger root system, with a smaller crown, or a smaller root system with a larger crown?" Hostarox My belief is that there is a loss (IÂve explained how I come to this position) but I can't find any research and I haven't done any. That is why I'm trying to enlist a seed grower to try some work on culls. If I still had hosta in tissue culture I would take 18 (the number per flat) and cut the roots off and leave 18 alone and see what would happen. "What I want to know is if anyone has done any research to see what a Hosta (monocot) root system does if put under sudden duress" Hostarox No I donÂt have research. That is exactly my question! I assume all plants have mechanisms to respond to stress, my question is; does stress create a loss. If so, then donÂt create the stress. Plants have signals to grow, bloom and go dormant etc and I assume signals to respond to stress and survive. Same question is there a net loss from stress? "You can tell the difference easily because the dormant buds point up and have green coloring while these root buds are white and point down on the same plant." Dave I should have known that, duh? Now that you point it out I have seen exactly what you describe. Would you like to try a little experiment to bring data to this question.

Wild- I saw that on joss and main this morning and thought it looked promising for you but I find the info they provide is really like pulling teeth.......and since you truly cant sit in it or know what it is ( at least I don't know how to find what it really is)... I didn't pass it along. I know they are reputable in that you will get what you ordered, but the delivery is also an issue. It says delivery to front door and assemble with screwdriver or enclosed tools. oh well. If you do look at some Rowe sofas, they do have a few with tufted backs and 2 cushions. I know the one I have is comfy and solid (but not a $3,000 sofa either)....... but that craigslist one looks perfect. I hope you hear back from then. Re Ashley, it is confusing as there is a brand and a store. What I have seen at an Ashley store near me is that the stuff looks very nice, but seems to not be very good. If I recall, the cushions were not fully covered. The bottoms had Velcro so they would stay in place but you can not flip them. That would be my only caution. If they are fully covered and it looks good, I guess it would be fine.