Weirdo

finger limes are dead easy to germinate. I germinated about 50 seeds (100%). picked the fruit in the morning and sowed the seeds in pots that afternoon. seedlings poked through in a couple of weeks.

Hi, Has anyone got any spare Nicotiana rustica for sale? If you do, please PM. Cheers

Got a book from the library the other day on this very subject. Haven't read it yet but very curious. I start work tomorrow after being unemployed for 6 months, so when I'm financial I will definitely look seriously at aquaponic gardening. In the meantime I'll glean this thread for every bit of information I can use. Cheers

Your cuttings should have roots by now. Check the cuttings to see if they are still alive by scraping away the outer bark with a finger nail on a small test area. If they are green underneath, they are alive. Sphagnum moss is not parasitic and does not have true roots. The root-like organs are probably just attaching to the cuttings for purchase and water absorption. They cannot harm live plants, but may penetrate dead and spongey plant tissue. I strike caapi cuttings in a glass of water so I can watch for developing roots without disturbing them.

Hi GOT, those epiphyllums are just beautiful, I'll have to get some. Can you tell me the species of the Mammillaria in the photo on the bottom right please. I have grown one of those for several years. When I bought it, it was globular in shape but as it grew it became taller. As it grew even taller, it began to lean over and now is lying on it's side. It seems healthy but cannot support itself. Do you know if this is normal? cheers, Weirdo

What does it matter? My puny intelligence cannot ever comprehend the complexities of our earthly existence. Why am I here?...... fuck knows. Is it all an illusion?..........fuck knows. If it is an illusion I guess it matters even less. If an illusion is too much for me to comprehend, is the 'truth', 'reality', 'existence' even further from my reach? I don't know and I don't care. I realise? that it is the 'human' condition to try to understand, to know the meaning of life, but as I will never know these things, the need to know is not important and I just don't care. The natural world (the universe) is enough for me to concern myself with whether it is an illusion or not. The concept of nature continually striving for total balance and observing the dynamics of that are more than enough to keep me occupied. I hope there is an 'afterlife' when my 'spirit' lives on......but if there isn't, then it won't matter and I won't care.

Fair enough

leaf miners are particularly fond of members of the Rutaceae family e.g. Citrus, but do no real damage except disfigure a few leaves

In It's day the catholic church was the true ruling power in Europe and the christian world. Kings bowed to their authority and warrior popes led their armies into battle against anyone who resisted the authority of the holy church. Only the clergy and the ruling echelon were educated, leaving the masses ignorant and easily manipulated and controlled. Herbalists and healers were deemed witches and agents of Satan and were tortured, raped, hanged, dismembered and burned alive for their heinous crimes against the holy mother church. These boys really knew how to party and invited every pedophile, rapist, sadist sicko motherfucker to enlist and indulge their pleasures in the name of god. The Spanish Inquisition was the best rave of all when any depraved punishment was fair treatment for non-believers. Yeah, the poor old christians really had a hard time fighting against oligarchy............NOT! The church WAS the oligarchy!!!!

you can buy it on ebay

El Guapo! Muy simpatico!!

love your photos Mate, I'm not a photographer but it seems to be paradise out there if you are one. No wonder your Dad went there as an artist. I've been toying with the idea of doing a tour out west and you have reinforced that idea. Good stuff, post more please. The last pic looks like the introduced tobacco Nicotiana glauca but I could be wrong of course. Cheers

Looks like Brachychiton bidwillii. They have no thickened or caudiciform trunk and is a smallish tree or shrublike. The flowers look right and the occurrence matches the distribution.

Is that the species that makes the honey useful in healing ulcers?

mutant my my you are an angry girl aren't you?

Mutant, I don't understand why you wish only bad things for your country. It seems to me that you are emotionally troubled to the point where you only feel disdain for the world and all who live in it. Mate, I've lived in this country since 1954 and I've seen quite a bit of it. I have also been to other countries which I have enjoyed immensely because of the people and cultures I experienced. I still communicate with friends I made overseas many years ago. I have an emotional connection to this fantastic place and anyone who attempts to belittle it because he or she has no respect for anything, can expect to receive some flak. I do not denigrate any nation out of respect for the decent people who live in them. Respect is the key my friend.....try some and make a difference.

If the apical bud is intact the seedling still has a chance of survival. But if there is no growing point and just the stem left, forget it because there is nowhere for new growth to initiate from.

Thanks for that, it was eye opening. Replicating nature is obviously the way to repair degraded land in regions where large herds of grazing animals and their predators once helped to maintain the natural balance. What of Australia though? Desertification is a threat here also, but I am not aware of there having been vast herds of grazing animals migrating all over. I read that there would be a lot more rainforests on this continent if Aborigines had not introduced their burning regimes. No doubt human beings have contributed to Australia's various landscapes and I can only imagine what Australia looked like before the human invasion. I certainly do not hold Aboriginal people responsible for Australian desertification, that would be the work of invading Europeans and their need to change the environment to suit themselves rather than to live as a part of it. That presentation certainly provided food for thought.

All I was doing was defending my country (regardless of the governing body) against a non-Australian who has probably never been here and wouldn't have a clue about the place beyond what the N.S.W. government is implementing re the new drug laws. That's great coming from the citizen of a failed nation. I feel great compassion for the Greek people and their plight and I would never make fun of them for that and would appreciate a similar attitude to be reciprocated. Of course I know that the population puts governments in power, but what government honours it's promises in the long term. All governments reneg on their promises eventually and no longer represent the people who put them in power. Obviously some individuals can't fathom that. I love this country i was born in and If anyone hangs shit on it (regardless of who is running it) he or she can expect to get that shit tossed back at them. Nice debate btw, keep it rolling. Since when has Greece been an African country?......derr pardon my Australian ignorance

nothing strange about the country mate.....just the friggin government

Hi All, I have fresh seeds of Cucumis metuliferus to give away or trade. If you have nothing to trade, that's ok, no problem. Also known as African Horned Cucumber, Kiwano, Jelly Melon and Horned Melon, this is a very popular fruit in southern Africa namely, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Swaziland. Hardy in a dry environment, it is adaptable and self-fertile. The fruit is edible at any stage of development and the taste has been compared to a combination of cucumber and zucchini. When fully ripe it is said to taste like a combination of banana,cucumber and lemon. The skin is also edible and high in vitamin C and fibre. It can be eaten fresh off the vine, included in salads and fruit salad and the leaves can be eaten as a vegetable when cooked. One way to enhance the flavour of fresh fruit is to sprinkle with salt or a little sugar. Eat with a spoon as you would a passionfruit, seeds and all. I would suggest growing it up a trellis or similar to prevent the fruit rotting but it's happy to scramble along the ground if you put mulch under developing fruit. So, if anyone would like to grow this versatile plant, please PM me and I will endeavour to get seeds to you asap. Cheers, Weirdo

Trichodesma zeylanicum Family: Boraginaceae Common name: Camel Bush

Hi Guys, having some sign in...log out problems myself. I always log out after visiting the site but when I visit again I find I am still logged in. Other times when it has signed me out, it won't let me log in until I also type in my password (it has always been in 'remember me ' mode). Ah well, no biggy because it's no hassle to correct. Computers and websites are not infallible.

In my opinion religions need members in order to survive, whereas we do not need religions in order to survive. Nature is pure balance and strives to maintain that status quo no matter what humanity throws at it. If human beings lived within natural bounds we might have a chance at survival on this planet. But, as human beings are 'superior' to all other life forms due to our power of reason, we will always be a threat to ourselves and all others. Greed, hate and the desire to control others are human wants(as opposed to needs) which, whether we like it or not, will always be parts of our nature and will always threaten the well-being of the human race. In other words, we won't be content until we have caused our own extinction and on a positive note, will bring back an uncontested natural balance to the planet and ensure it's survival. I believe we are here to learn this lesson and therefore learn humility in face of the ultimate power of the universe......Mother Nature. She will prevail long after we have returned to cosmic dust. The sooner we learn to humbly live within her rules and bounds, the sooner we will learn to survive under her her umbrella of tough love. Mother Nature grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things that should be changed, and wisdom to know the difference.

helpful stuff PH, are the roots safe to use as well in a boil up? I yanked one out of the ground today and it has a succulent like root full of yellow sap.