domide Posted December 4, 2012 I've been experimenting with growing cacti from seed for the last couple of months and have had very little success. For my first attempt, I used the 'take-away tek' with two different mediums: 100% propagation sand and 60:40% sand and coco coir. I waited four weeks and the only germinating seeds were in the 100% sand mix. I figured the sand mix must be the medium for me, so I prepped another 4 containers with 100% sand. Six weeks later, and I'm yet to see any activity from these seeds. The containers are keep in an open,large plastic box near my windowsill. I've tapped white plastic bags to the walls of the box, and I sit one open plastic bag over the top of the containers. The room can get to temps of 35C, but it usually sits between 20-30C. I've followed the steps the take-away tek exactly, except this time I only microwaved the container for 3 minutes and then one minute. Does anybody have any suggestions of what I could be doing wrong. The only two possible things I can think of are - the lack of light in the room (I keep the venetian blinds down all day, and the room is quite dark) or the amount of water I used to wet the sand before microwaving. I don't want to give up, but it's breaking my heart every time I look at the containers 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted December 4, 2012 (edited) 35° Degrees are too hot. Temps should be between somewhere in the 25 Range. Besides, it would help if you´d post pics of them. I wanna see how much water you got in there. Where are the seeds from and what type? Also i wouldnt store them in another box. They dont get enough light and if you have another closed box, its possible the temps are higher in the box than in the room. So if you have 35 Degrees in the room, its possible you actually get temps up to 40-45 in the boxes. Not good. Edited December 4, 2012 by Evil Genius 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
obtuse Posted December 4, 2012 (edited) I use the plastic takeaway method, but i store mine outside in a spot that gets a fair bit of sunlight. i have them in a plastic box with two layers of shade cloth over the top, with the box sitting on bricks that get really nice and warm during the day. I have the takeaway containers sitting on top of one another and rotate them every little while. I get an excellent seed germination response. Im located at around 42 degrees south, so i would expect they dont get too hot, but it certainly suits my climate, as other methods i have used have no-where near the same germination rate. Cheers, Ob. [Edit, cause im feeling a bit slow since im on holiday ] I dont use sterilised soil, i use bog standard amgrow cactus mix. nothing special, and have no problems with fungus. With having my plastic tray on the bricks, the bricks act like a heat pad keeping the takeaways warm for some of the evening. As mentioned, freshness of seed does contribute to germination rates. Edited December 4, 2012 by obtuse 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Getafix Posted December 4, 2012 (edited) Hey Domide, Don't give up! You will find advise from people here on many different ways to propagate. There are far more experienced people on this forum than myself but I have very good success with germination and am doing the following. I am currently using a couple of seed propagation units from Bunnings which I think cost about $50.00.They have a heat pad built in that you can't control the hea via a thermostat but there are vents on the lids to control the heat/humidity. In a closet with flouro bulbs, 60watt equivalent on a 17hr light cycle. Get a cheap timer. It sounds like your seeds need a lot more light but the right kind of light. I don't sterilise, never have and have never had fungal issues. I use probably 40% potting mix (sieved), 40% propagating sand and 20% perlite.Put the mix in the trays and place in a tub of water until soaked through.Sow seeds and wait to germinate.After a few days I spray mist everyday or second day. This works well for me but just try a few methods until you find something that works. As EG asked what kind of seed, how old? if the seed is old/not viable no amount of effort will germinate them. I have heaps of hybrid Trich seedlings I can give you in the meantime until you get going if that is what you are trying to germinate? PM me if you are interested A couple of pics below of my current batch of seeds and set up. . Cheers Edited December 4, 2012 by Getafix 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr. Bowser Posted December 4, 2012 35° Degrees are too hot. Temps should be between somewhere in the 25 Range. I've done the same thing cooking seeds. Although my ambient temp was around 35C, as EG said, I suspect the temp inside the container was well above this. None of those seeds germinated. Sowed some of the same batch and kept the temp down (20C night to 25-28 day C) with gentle heat from below and had great germination. Keeping a seedling grow log is a great way to keep track of what works and doesn't for your particular climate and setup! Keep at it, split up your batch of seeds so you can run several trials until you're happy with your germ rates. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
slice Posted December 4, 2012 domide.keep the fight! you will master this. this summer I had a very bad experience and "lost" about 3000 seeds.it was not my first time sowing and took success for granted , probably the heat (in my greenhouse) messed things up.nevertheless the containers are dry now and i will water them in the first week of spring, hoping life shows up. I normally germinate my seeds during the european winter in a controlled environment, a DY grow chamber or incubator… I have always had great germination with this fixture.I am currently growing 1000 KK339 and 500 BriXJuuls , they were sowed in September 12th and will remain covered until December when I will start fertilizing more, In spring I will start hardening them up in natural sunlight. I have 4x26W cfl's in each box and for the first 3-4 months keep a green mosquito net on top to protect seedling of too much light, there is a fan extracting air on top (connected to a dimmer, for controlling temperature). If this boxes seem a lot of work you can use the principle and manage your own system. Best Slice. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
domide Posted December 6, 2012 Yikes, sorry for the late reply. I've been trying to upload photos of my set-up but I can't find a working usb cable. Thanks for all your advice and encouragement! Slice & getfix - I'm loving your set-ups.. mine is very hobo-style and kind of embarrassing. I'd like to create a high-tech grow chamber in the future - once I have a couple of successful trials under my belt. EG - The seeds are a mix of trich hybrids and some might be up to a year old. I'm not telling you who the supplier is but I'm pretty sure they are reputable. I think you guys are probably right about the high temperatures. I think might try relocating them to the bathroom as all my other rooms are ridiculously boiling in this hot qld summer. I'm not sure setting up outside is an option, also due to the summer heat. Thanks for your offer, Getafix I've still got a decent supply of seed left, but if these fail, I'd love to take you up on your offer. I'll start a new batch on the weekend using everyone's advice and let you guys know how I go. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted December 6, 2012 I'm not telling you who the supplier is but I'm pretty sure they are reputable. lol. I only know of one supplier who sells a Trich mix. The purpose of my question was to find out if the seeds are viable or not. You would be surprised how much seed from reputable suppliers is in fact unviable. If someone is selling about 5000 types of seed and gets fresh one every year, its kinda hard to check em all. I basically tried germinating Trich seed from all possible sources and the one that i think you may have tried is viable. But most of the Trich type seeds that are in there are a lot older than one year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zelly Posted December 6, 2012 hey guys, fwiw, all my hybrid trich crosses are this years fresh, heck I still have flowers blooming & fruits ripening..... and still have ample supplies of all but a few of these Bridgesii x Validus Validus open (SS02 x SS01) x (SS02 x SS01) F2 Juuls Giant open Validus x (SS02 x SS01) Validus x PC pach PC pach x Validus Spachianus x Juuls Giant Juuls Giant x Lumberjack Lumberjack x Juuls Giant Juuls Giant x Peru Juuls Giant x Kimnach Peru x Juuls Giant Juuls Giant x (SS02 x SS01) Scop x Peru PC pach x (SS02 x SS01) Kimnach open Kimnach x Bridgesii (SS02 x SS01) open (SS02 x SS01) x Kimnach (SS02 x SS01) x Huanucoensis Huanucoensis x (SS02 x SS01) Huanucoensis x Bridgesii Huanucoensis x Kimnach Huanucoensis open Kimnach x (SS02 x SS01) Peru x Kimnach Peru open And two different people have reported Albino seedlings from the Lumberjack crosses. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bogfrog Posted December 6, 2012 ^ Mildly un-related but i have a 1 year old juulz x peru x brevilispinulosus seedling from your seeds zelly, which is an on its own-roots albino. The bottom half is green and the top half is pure white 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mushroomman Posted December 7, 2012 hey guys, fwiw, all my hybrid trich crosses are this years fresh, heck I still have flowers blooming & fruits ripening..... :wink:/> and still have ample supplies of all but a few of these Bridgesii x Validus Validus open (SS02 x SS01) x (SS02 x SS01) F2 Juuls Giant open Validus x (SS02 x SS01) Validus x PC pach PC pach x Validus Spachianus x Juuls Giant Juuls Giant x Lumberjack Lumberjack x Juuls Giant Juuls Giant x Peru Juuls Giant x Kimnach Peru x Juuls Giant Juuls Giant x (SS02 x SS01) Scop x Peru PC pach x (SS02 x SS01) Kimnach open Kimnach x Bridgesii (SS02 x SS01) open (SS02 x SS01) x Kimnach (SS02 x SS01) x Huanucoensis Huanucoensis x (SS02 x SS01) Huanucoensis x Bridgesii Huanucoensis x Kimnach Huanucoensis open Kimnach x (SS02 x SS01) Peru x Kimnach Peru open And two different people have reported Albino seedlings from the Lumberjack crosses. I just grafted my albino Lumberjack x Juuls Giant then fingers crossed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
domide Posted December 9, 2012 Zelly, that is incredible list. I'd love to get my hands on some of those seeds some time in the future. EG - I've also heard from multiple humans that the seeds are viable and I did actually have one successful container and every single seed germinated. I preferred not to state the seed supplier as I'm pretty new to growing from seed and don't think my inexperience should automatically be blamed on the seed supplier. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
domide Posted January 10, 2013 Just to update the above posters: I prepared another 4-5 containers, moved them to my cooler bathroom and saturated the sand with a lot more water than previously used. Every single container has seeds that have germinated! Thanks everyone for tips and inspiration :D I do have another question - I've been obsessively watching a previous container with seedlings that are about 2 months old (see below photos). Do these look a little elongated? Should I move them to more sunlight and when should I fertilize them? I don't understand how they are growing in 100% sand with no nutrients.. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Evil Genius Posted January 10, 2013 (edited) They look a LITTLE BIT elongated but nothing i would worry about at that point. Just put them at a window that does not have direct sunlight shining through. They only need very diffuse lights at that point. The risk of them being burned by the sun outweighs the risk of them being elongated. If you grow them in pure sand, you should fertilize them after one month. The nutrients that are saved in the seed corn last about 2-4 weeks. Edited January 10, 2013 by Evil Genius 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
