Are grow lights out for the same reason as the electric mat? Salvia coccinea germinates readily, so it is a good choice.

Can you righ other bottom heat, such as a circulating hot water source?

I think Salvia coccinea (including Lady in Red) is probably your best choice - it grows very easily and pretty fast from seed. Another possible choice would be Chia (Salvia columbaria) which is the seed used for Chia pets, so of course it sprouts very well. At least I think Chia pets used to use Salvia columbaria, perhaps they have switched to another seed??

Thank you Rich and Ladyslppr. I was hoping Salvia coccinea seeds didn't require a resting period before they would germinate. I have several other types of salvias but none of them are producing a copious amount of seed. Plus my son likes red.

We haven't tested the grow light to see how much electromagnetic radiation it puts out, but we will do that over the weekend. I imagine it will depend on how far away the light source is from the soil. I was trying to think of a non-electric heat source but I am not sure how to create a circulating hot water setup. I thought about inverting an aquarium over the plants to create a greenhouse effect. Maybe if the grow light is outside the aquarium, it wouldn't create to much radiation.

My son is a 9th grader with an aversion to science fair projects so the more complicated the setup, the better he will like it. He likes building things.

Thanks again. Becky

I had no idea about Chia using Salvia as its "hair", ladyslppr, so I looked it up. You're correct; it is S. columbariae! Hmmm, learn something new every day. :D

Brenda

Salvia columbariae is Golden Chia, a California native whose seeds are used as a flour, the mucilaginous coating dissolved in warer along with sumac heads for acidity and with honey for a natural kind of energy lemonade.

The chia used for pets is the annual Mexican Salvia hispanica, which is a much more abundant seed source. It has similar native uses to S. columbariae.

Columbariae seeds are mottled in color, and hispanica seeds are a uniform dark brown to black.

Becky, how did that project go?

For the last 18 months, I've been involved in a not-for-profit organization to promote the use of chia seeds. We create science fair projects using chia seed (S. hispanica)

I'd love to experiment with seeds of other species. You should visit my website for more ideas on growing and cooking with Salvia seed.

Chia is high in omega-3 fatty acids.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chia Power