I've been wanting to start an ethnobotanical garden for some time now and I finally have the room to do it. I live in south Florida and from what I can tell the climate should be perfect for the Chacruna, and sufficient for the cacti once established and acclimatized, and so I plan to eventually move them all outside permanently. I got 10 seeds of each (Chacruna, San Pedro, and Peruvian Torch) from a reputable source that I have used in the past and am preparing for germination. I just wanted to share my planned setup with you guys, and to see if I can get any feedback, if there's room for improvement, etc.
Preparation
I plan on germinating them all under two 14-watt 6500K T5 fluorescent bulbs. Each Chacruna seed will get a small, shallow container or pot filled with sterilized peat moss. I'll plant each seed ~1/8" under the surface, moisten the medium with distilled water, then put a ziplock bag over each one and seal them up. The 10 San Pedro seeds will get their own container, as will the 10 Peruvian Torch seeds. Each container will contain a 50/50 mix of sterilized peat moss/perlite, and moistened with distilled water. The seeds will then be sprinkled over the surface, and the two containers will each be placed in a sealed ziplock bag. I plan on keeping the lights about 2 ft above all of the containers.
Maintenance
The Chacruna's maintenance will likely be relatively straightforward, I'll just make sure the medium remains moist but not wet and pray for a sprout! I don't anticipate working with the Chacruna for at least a few months. When (if) I finally get a sprout, I'll just remove the container from the ziplock bag and mist several times daily, maybe even put a humidifier in there. Slowly (over the course of several weeks) I'll reduce mistings while also giving it an increased amount of time outside in the shade. At this point it should be hardy enough for a transplant to a large pot and a semi-permanent presence in a shady spot outside. The timing might be off though, because the hot and rainy season here is happening right now, by the time I get a sprout it'll be getting cooler and drier, but I'll figure that out as I go along.
As far as the cacti, hopefully I'll have two clusters of seedlings within a few weeks, at which point I'll start cracking the bags open daily, while making sure the media stay moist. Over the course of the next 2-3 weeks I'll give them more and more time without the bags until they don't use them at all anymore. When the clusters become crowded each cactus will get its own container. At this point I'll start bringing them outside for an increased amount of time every day, first in the shade and increasingly (over the course of a few months) into direct sun. The media will be kept moist until about 6 months in, at which point I'll allow them to dry out a bit between waterings.
All plants/cacti will eventually be planted into the garden when I feel they're ready.The cacti will be planted in the direct sun next to my prickly pear tree and aloe vera (the area already being full of rocky, sandy soil), and the Chacruna will be planted in the shade under some palm trees in some rich soil.
What do you guys think? A few questions/concerns:
Are the fluorescents mild enough for the Chacruna in the first months during germination?
For that matter, are they mild enough for the cacti seeds/seedlings?
Is a distance of 2 ft about right?
Any advice as to a watering technique for the cacti seedlings?
Do you think the failure rate of Chacruna seeds is high enough that all 10 seeds should go in 1-2 containers, rather than individual containers? I don't want to untangle the roots of multiple Chacruna seedlings and kill them, but I'm not sure if that problem is likely to happen.
At what point do the seedlings (of the cacti and Chacruna) use up all the nutrients in the seeds and require fertilizing?
As you can see, some of my main concerns are about the lighting. Most info regarding the germination of Chacruna suggests that germination should take place outdoors in the shade, or in a windowsill. I figure that even direct lighting from fluorescent bulbs are more mild than indirect natural light, and is therefore preferable for the first months of germination, particularly for the Chacruna rather than for the cacti. Am I correct in assuming this, or will the fluorescents be too harsh?
Any comments, help and/or advice is welcomed and appreciated. If this thread generates any interest, I'll gladly update with pics as they come along 
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