Everything is looking pretty good. Never heard of Xenon Light before, I'll have to look it up! Have you finished that strain yet? If so, how do you like it?
Also, I never used the paper towel method, except in school for lima beans. I was thinking of using that method for the seeds on my first grow, but my boyfriend said he looked up germination methods and dropping the seeds in water til they sink then putting them in Jiffy Pellets was the best way to go and that the paper towel method doesn't work with marijuana. But now I see more and more people that use that method. How exactly do you do it? What are the benefits of using that method?
Sorry, I get techie about the xenon light, it's nothing more than a standard camera flash.
I've only smoked SS, WR and sativa A and sativa B. Sat. A is near worthless, it looks great, tastes minty, but has no potency. Sat. B is quite a surprise, has a mild taste, but a very "tingly" sort of head buzz. Very nice for a lift.
The paper towel method is probably the best for mj from what I've found, it gives the seeds both totally high humidity and plenty of oxygen as it hydrates. The main disadvantage is keeping track of your seed strains. What I've found, is that truly dry seeds, as you might get from a seed bank, hydrate unevenly if put directly in soil or hydro medium like the plugs I use. You end up with seeds that sprout, but due to uneven hydration, may have leaf issues as they start, which delay growth and sometimes kill the plant entirely. Submerging them in water is one certain method of hydration, but does not give much oxygen, and you can't let the seeds sit at the bottom more than a few hours without saturating them. You never want your seeds to turn to mush inside.
Peat pellets are great once you have a tiny root coming out just after cracking, but wait too long and the root becomes fragile, and moving it may break it - game over.
Ideally, you want to get a tray or plate, soak a good paper towel, or several layers of towels that suck, and put the seeds between the layers of towel. Saturate the whole thing with pH 6 corrected water or hydro solution. Don't let the seeds be totally submerged, just let the paper be as wet as possible. Let sit in a warm area, dark or light, you pick. Then wait until the seeds crack - you will only have a few hours - put them in peat. Water completely after putting them just a few mm below the surface. Then keep the peat moist - you may have to let it stand in a small amount of water, with a humidity dome. Being concerned about the orientation of the seed ( up or down ) is not important, the plant will figure it out, and the more you screw with it, the worse the outcome.
Hope that helps.
Next comes the flowering room.