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hey guys, welcome to dionysus' first little giveaway. i have a pretty mature A. Melanoxylon tree in my yard with seeds just ripening and a few pods open this morning, it may not be podalyriifolia but some of you might be interested, at least as practice germinating acacias or practice with tissue culture or somethin'. timber is a nice artisan timber, good for furniture making or instrument making. the tanins (maybe saponins also?) reduce the availability of oxygen for fish and hence can be used to stun fish in a small water body for surface collection, an aboriginal technique. according to wiki, there is also traces of tryptamine alkaloids in various parts, i think mostly NMT but maybe little DMT, >0.02%. not useful, but still interesting. wiki also states that aboriginal people may have derived some sort of analgesic from it, but, this i have 0 knowledge of and haven't heard mentioned else where and can't be bothered looking at the references, so, take that with a grain of salt. anyway, seed packets will have a random amount of seed in each, depending on interest, but i will cap the amount of packets i send out to 15 to ensure that everyone gets a decently useable quantity. express interest in the thread so others can count if they will be included and via PM with postal details. small trades will be accepted, but not at all encouraged or expected. i will pay postage also, of course with such small packages happy holidays everyone, and have a rad new year dio

not so free now is it lol.

maybe a sexual favour?

more likely it was a rift in the interdimensional membrane. what you were seeing were wasps from the other universe.

picz

Ok, I sussed out the Kariong Hieroglyphs Easy to find Its a 20 min easy walk in, dont know how old arthritis knee would cope carrying camping stuff in. Great and curious spot for a day meet. There is a cleared area at the rocks to camp The place has shrooming written alll over it.......including one in the carvings. Campsite

or replace the cactus with a rose bush or a plant that she might find more enjoyable

early stuff from a planetary treasure http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=221mohEolWc

Heres the start of a little grow log of some Astrophytum seed. The seed is the progeny from my Asprophytum Super Kabuto x A asterias in the above photos. First planting was around the first week of December and I grafted around 20 or so on the 23rd of December, so far looks like pretty good success rate, but in another fortnight we will see. 1 week old seedlings 3 week old seedlings My trusty grafting seedling light box, converted kitchen shelf with party lights wired in 20watt cfl seem to provide adequate heat and light for good growth. 200 watts in total. Set on 18 hours on in winter I panda film th efront to help keep light and heat in but in summer while lights are on temps sit between 28 and 30 degrees. Added humidity chambers for new pereskiopsis grafts Some grafts taken 23rd of December So as you can see very low-fi but works for me and hopefully over the next couple months I might get some interesting little hybrids out of my seeds.

Hi guys, a few questions popping up here. Qualia, re Mission Statement This is the definition of Ethnobotany. Ethnobotany Our mission statement is: Plans As far as plans go, we have a number of ideas floating around. The association will be, at it's base, much like any other plant society, with regular meetings where any and all members are invited to attend, talks will be held, discussions will be had, and plant and seed material will be shared, as well as information. There will be a regular e-newsletter with stories, updates and discussion of scientific studies, probably strongly linked to the website. There will (we hope) be affiliation with other groups, such as the IUCN and PRISM. And yes, it will most likely be a lobby group, as the committee members are all very much opposed to the current Western government's attitudes towards personal medicine use, and we are concerned that the new legislation may, over time, evolve into banning all plants that contain toxic materials and possibly even to control food plants. Personally, I am a long-term campaigner for the environment and freedom to use medicines of our choice, and other social issues. Most of this has been through online discussions, emailing the government and signing petitions through various organisations, to promote a fairer future for all people. I remember last year when these proposals got a lot of attention, and although thousands of people asked Avaaz to run a campaign against it, it refused. We were left with nothing, and perhaps all we have left is to organise ourselves and do it the best way we can. The association can do this, with support, and in return it allows people to get to know and trust each other, share ideas and organise better in a more effective, legally recognised framework. Ethnobotany is also a very wide ranging subject which also covers, in theory, commercial gardening as a human interaction, so our potential membership base is quite large. I do want to prepare an official submission to the government regarding these proposals, but I haven't had a chance to even think about this as I'm very busy trying to set up the association, working full-time with a family, plus it's Christmas. Just remember, we haven't had a meeting yet, we have no members, so these ideas are just that and have yet to be confirmed.

My tips. Use cactus mix or perlite or verm or a combination (as long as its small with sharp edges) for your medium in a mini greenhouse or something similar. Thoroughly wet your medium, Sprinkle seed on top DO NOT BURY! Place in a strong indirect sun (even better under a 22watt 2700 light spectrum hurricane light for 14-18hrs a day ($5 in any supermarket or Bunnings - look for a philips warm globe). Keep em moist and the environment humid by misting regular with a spray bottle if your hothouse isnt sealed, watch em swell and pop (about a week for nev - bit longer for sin). Once they pop make sure they stay moist until the root is down and they have stood themselves up. When they have stood up start opening up your hotbox a little for more and more air each day to harden them off, also start laying off the misting (if you mist them to much they will rot and its game over). If you have a bag over your setup pop a couple holes in it each day with a pin. Once the first leaves are out STOP WATERING FROM ABOVE they dont like it and will either grow very slow or stay as they are for ages and suddenly die. Its time to start wetting soil only - keep moist, not soaking. I do ALL of the above in a cyclic flood and drain hydro system. When these babies are around 5 to 10cm high very bloody carefully move them to a pot on their own and place the pot in an icecream tub or something similar with a bit of water in the botton so the water is drawn up. Stop wetting soil from above to encourage strong downward root growth. When they are a foot or so tall move them to their permanent home. Remember they are a desert plant. I dont grow in the ground anymore but I used to stick a bit of pipe in the ground and water direct to the roots 1-2 times a week. I cant be fucked with that now so Its all in pots with perlite happily growing in a special hydro setup. Dont love them too much once they are establised, they like to be treated mean (little minx's) and will be hardy as fuck with some tough love. I pull bits off regulary just to let them know I'm not happy with them at all and they love me for it. Good luck! Anyone for Tea?

how could we make a peer to peer currency among sab like a bit coin for when you do trades or to pay for postage or could we start using bitcoin for this any thought's

Pm'd

Sounds freaky!. I am glad you worried about what was important ...your kitty .

Mine finally flowered! Got a bit excited with the camera dismorning.

Personally I'd get the pollen off of them, then put the pollen in a container with a desiccant to remove the water content - the problem with those filaments is that the pollen will pull moisture, and the moisture will lead to the pollen going bad pretty quickly.. If you dessicated the whole filaments that would work too - but you for sure don't want them to be damp in a ziplock bag for long at all. There is a product in the USA called "Damp Rid" which is excellent for this purpose. In general I like to collect the pollen by putting a glass/cup under the mouth of the flower, and using a knife or any such utensil to fluff the pollen off the filaments and down into the glass - can also tap at the outside of the flower to get pollen to fall out into the glass.

love the work very artistic, when it comes to carving im more of a gunner it's just i cant get the detail most stuff ends up looking like a a sped made it out of playdo.(my failed atemped at sand stone ) is there any tips for beginners to use as in material so it not as easy to fuck up i have a dremel and what not

I seem to remember (might have been a dream) that the guy who makes Adventure Time is/was? a member at gardening forums like SAB, I don't think it was SAB specifically but one of the gardening forums like SAB. edit: thought I had better post a vid, sorry if it's not as tough as some of the vids posted lately but is's pretty tough... keep rocking no stopping you gotta rock-it don't stop

Love Astros ,cant wait to involve more of my time in collecting them... the more i am confronted with obstacles regarding importation , or selfish collectors who wont share genetics, the more i focus on getting them... pic stolen off facebook ...

Thats it SallyD just take Tomatoes, Strawberries and Corn for example. All three are relatively "staple type" vegetables/ fruit in average housholds. The way we allow our Supermarket/ super farmers to dictate our needs soon children will only believe a tomato is red and round and taste like water, that Strawberries are the size of 50cent peices and are sour and corn taste like cardboard. lol The food element of this whole augment is extremely worrying..

Many thanks to Torsten for your donation, I really appreciate the support and advice you've given over the last few weeks too, that's the sort of thing which is really important but often doesn't get acknowledged either.

I think the AMA has played a large role in that dood, they've used a few examples of natural practitioners causing harm so they are regulating the crap out of natural medicine. It's all driven by big pharma/codex. It's hypocritical bullshit, AMA doctors kill thousands every year and natural practitioners kill hardly any.

I urinate regularly on the cacti near it aswell. The bamboo seems to appreciate the ferts also That was bare soil and weeds 2 years ago. except 3 poor looking bamboo. Now

This letter was then written back to the Queensland government in response to the reason cited for Cannabis Prohibition: Thank you kindly for the information provided. Please send this letter onto the relevant government departments. In response to the information I have received on cannabis prohibition reasoning, I would like to discuss the issue further. I am wondering with the reasons stated why alcohol is not prohibited? Alcohol is an intoxicating drug that is by far more of a cost on society and has actually claimed many lives where as cannabis has not. As for the association with mental illness, not every person that smokes cannabis develops a mental illness, just as not everyone who drinks alcohol will commit a crime on it or become depressed. The reality is though that alcohol intoxication and crime has a significant correlation, far beyond possible connection that might made of cannabis intoxication. The main crime and cost to society associated with cannabis is through the prohibition of it. There is crime because there is a black market for trading cannabis because of its prohibition, not so much because of people being under the influence of cannabis. Whereas alcohol has a well documented connection with violent crimes, injuries, and illness and driving offenses. Alcohol is also known to be linked with depression in chronic users. There are far more severe effects on the physical body from alcohol. I have spoken with doctors who confirm that alcohol when excessively consumed damages nearly every organ in the body. Cannabis does not. So why isn't the government doing more about alcohol if the grounds of cannabis and other scheduled herbs for that matter such as salvia divinorum are less so than those for alcohol. I am interested to know if the government plans to prohibit any more herbs that have been generally unknown to the public and have caused little or no harm? Salvia divinorum is rather unknown to the general public and has never been known to result in a death and has little if no harm on the physical body. Has anyone in Australia been treated for psychosis or any other mental illness as a direct result of consuming only salvia divinorum? I am curious as to why the government continues to take such an inconsistent approach to the law as it leads the public to viewing the law with disrepute? Does this have anything to do with prejudice of religious and/or spiritual beliefs? British settlers most of whom were Christian consumed alcohol as part of religious and cultural practice. Many other herbs of intoxication that the British have found throughout the world they have tried to or have prohibited. Every race on the planet except for Eskimos has found at least one conscious altering plant or substance, Eskimos had nothing locally available. When the British spread out across the world they tried to eradicate other religions and cultural practices including the ritual use of herbs. So is this the continuation of the witch hunts? In England when the Roman Christian movement swept across the nation the witch hunts began. They accused those who stayed with their original native pagan culture and were condemned as “witches” and “sorcerers”. These were people who used herbs for rituals and medicines. They were called evil and burned, drowned or hanged (makes you wonder who was “evil”). The thing is though, Christianity out of Judaism when around 1AD Jesus started his teaching. Before this Romans were a mix of Pagan religions. Then Christianity began and within the two thousand years that followed bloody battles have been fought. First the Pagans executed the Christians, until Christianity became the religion of Rome at which point the Pagans where then executed by the Christians. Persons practicing Pagan rituals were persecuted, and this included the use of ritual herbs. A very similar story then spread throughout the world. For example much later in time, the Spanish invaded the Maya people and destroyed their books; they too tried to eradicate all Maya cultural practices including the ritual use of salvia divinorum calling the plant and the people who used it evil even though the Spanish were cruelly killing the Maya. Also when the British invaded America, the Native American Indians were persecuted for their Shamanism and peyote was condemned and prohibited. Yet the Christians pushed their alcoholic beverages throughout the world and said that it was okay. Even today many Australian laws are reminiscent of the former British Christian rule. Australian politician commonly make reference to Christian beliefs and attend church services. Shamans have for thousands of years all around the world used a wide variety of conscious altering herbs for ritual and healing purposes quite peacefully. Why are the British (and by proxy their invaded colony America) allowed to prejudice the world through threats of trade sanctions to ban all other cultures ritual herbs? Alcohol has been one of the most detrimental substances of all the ones in question. This is not to the inclusion of manufactured drugs such as pharmaceuticals, cocaine, MDMA, heroin and amphetamines as they are a different subject matter to that of which I am referring. Shamans as well as other spiritualist have used a wide variety of herbs as part of their culture and spiritual practices. How would Christians feel if they were told that alcohol is now prohibited and they cannot use wine in their services? Why should shamanic herbs be any different? Rastafarians have also raised this point with cannabis many times. Why condemn people for their personal choice of spiritual practices when these practices do not harm other persons? No real risk to society has been produced in any documentation that I have been provided with on the subject of cannabis use or salvia divinorum use, sassafras or even dimethyltryptamine containing plants for that matter. There is no other person in any way adversely affected through the user actions. Would you impose fines on people for excessively consuming sugary substances which have resulted in the person developing type II diabetes? Cannabis legislation was also influenced by corporations in America who were heavily vested in wood plantations, the chemicals being sold to the wood and cotton plantations and the development of nylon. The key player with those industries was DuPont which was run by Andrew Melon. His nephew Harry Anslinger made quite a career for himself when he and his uncle hatched the plan to use racial prejudice that existed in America at the time against Mexicans to prohibited cannabis and hemp along with it (even though hemp has a very low THC content it is still illegal to grow in America). Harry Anslinger was placed in charge of the newly formed government department known as the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. The campaign was started against cannabis with the name ‘marijuana’ used to get people onside playing on the racial prejudice of the American people at the time and to hide the intention of prohibiting hemp which was widely used for textiles and medicine at the time. The Bill was nearly passed before anyone had released what actually being prohibiting. The campaign involved using the influence of William R Hearst, who not only owned a large newspaper business, but also a permit to harvest 100,000 trees to turn into newspapers and used DuPont chemicals. William R Hearst ran newspaper articles stating outlandish claims like; ‘new killer drug marijuana’ and other comments like’ just one puff of a marijuana cigarette and you could become insane and murderous’. Dr. Woodward a medical physician stepped forward and asked congress question why they were being referred to newspaper actual as cited reasons rather than actual medical studies. He argued that cannabis had been used medicinally for a very long time and the alleged ‘evidence’ (being made up newspaper stories) was completely unfounded and inaccurate. With the research done in the time since then, it has been shown that the claims made at the time were completely incorrect. If cannabis prohibition lives on now in light of this solely through idea of harm reduction to the user, than harsh penalties that are currently in place are entirely inappropriate and a waste of tax payer dollars. Actually the prohibition laws on cannabis currently cause the harm to society. Even when the money in revenue from fines is weighed against the cost of enforcing cannabis prohibition, the tax payers wear a large bill. If cannabis were legalized, there would no longer be a black market for it, not the crime associated with the black market. The revenue raised in tax from the legitimate sale of cannabis (persons over age 21). Even the acknowledgement of medical potential should be given at least a little more thought given it has over two thousand years of history being used for medicinal and cultural purposes. More information on the history of cannabis prohibition can be found on these links: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_history_of_cannabis_in_the_United_States http://www.medical-marijuana-hut.com/history-of-marijuana-prohibition.html http://www.420magazine.com/forums/cannabis-facts-information/83764-history-cannabis-prohibition-1937-1962-a.html I think the current policy in regards to herbs and alcohol is very inconsistent and illogical. The tax payers of Australia currently spend into the billions on drug prohibition and a very large portion of that is used on cannabis prohibition. For at least the last fifteen years there has been Queensland government commissioned reports on the impacts of cannabis use in Queensland that suggest cannabis prohibition is more costly than effective and more importantly that Queensland cannabis legislation should at the very least be brought into line with the other states of Australia and reduce the penalties for personal possession. I found this government report particularly insightful. http://www.qccl.org.au/documents/Sub_PA_1Nov93_Cannabis_Law_in_Queensland.pdf I would like to highlight a few things from this document; • The onus should not be on those favouring law reform to demonstrate that cannabis is harmless and, in particular, that it has no adverse health effects. To create such an onus is unfair and wrong in principle. All substances have some side effects, especially if used to excess. A simple illustration is soft drink which may cause tooth decay and have other ill effects, especially if consumed to excess. But no one seriously contemplates a prohibition on the manufacture, sale and consumption of soft drink. Similarly, the consumption of alcohol, especially if used to excess, has health effects and anti social consequences. However, users of alcohol are subject to formal control only for defined public behaviour. By contrast, the use of cannabis is subject to prohibition, irrespective of the behaviour which that drug induces. This approach misses the mark of social concern, and results in imposing control on many persons who have posed little risk to self or society and have not exhibited behaviour of the kind which normally warrants application of the criminal law. (See generally the Shafer Commission page 249). • “Anyone who pushes law anti order as a way to solve the illegal drug problem just doesn't understand or they are either an idiot or a liar. More than 57 percent of people up to the age of 25 have experimented or have been exposed to cannabis - that means more than 50 percent of Australians are criminals. The law is a joke when it is ignored by that many people (Courier Mail, 18/2/89)." • The principle that the criminal law should not govern private behaviour which causes no harm to others has widespread acceptance. Indeed, one of the functions of law in a civilised community is to secure a sphere of self-determination for individuals to act. The right of the individual to self-determination is recognised by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The imposition of the criminal law is justified by the idea of preventing harm to others. The mere possibility of harm to others is not normally sufficient unless the harm in contemplation is very serious. When one applies these principles to drug-taking in private, the advocates of imposing the criminal law must identify a "harm" which justifies criminalizing such activity. The fact that such drug taking may have adverse consequences for an individual's health does not justify the imposition of the criminal law. If this were so, the consumption of alcohol or tobacco would be prohibited by the criminal law. But whereas the consumption of alcohol and tobacco and numerous other drugs has been well demonstrated to cause adverse health effects, cannabis has not been demonstrated to cause such harm (see the review of the literature in Appendix A to the Discussion Paper). The fact that an individual's conduct has adverse health consequences and the potential to impose a burden on the health system does not justify use the criminal law. For example, deaths in Australia from skin cancer due to excessive exposure to the sun occur at over three times the rate of deaths from the use of all opiates, but sunbaking is not an offence! It may well be asked in those circumstances why the prohibition on cannabis was introduced. So if this legislation founded on lies, racism and religious prejudice is only being kept in force today for harm reduction purpose, why is personal cannabis possession a criminal offence? Harm reduction is the only reason that I found cited in the information I have received from parliamentary discussions and it usually not grounds for criminalization unless the harm is considered significant (cannabis does not fit the usual criteria used for this description, neither does salvia divinorum). I see it highly unlikely that the information talked about on venereal diseases as applicable in regards to cannabis, and the other little bits of information contained within in the Bill; government commissioned reports; and discussion papers that give details on the particulars of cannabis and the reasoning for its inclusion as a scheduled substance refers to concerns over mental health. I would have personally thought harm reduction might be more in line with offering people help if they require or request it, instead of the government imposing fines upon personal users. The government sends police to invade the privacy of persons suspected of using cannabis, and then significant fines are imposed if charges are laid, and the community is encouraged to ridicule persons identified as cannabis users. This is to spite that fact the only person to have been allegedly harm is the user themselves. This does not seem like harm reduction. Going on this philosophy of ‘harm reduction’ should we be fining obese persons for the harm they have inflicted upon their body, their mental health and the very real burden on the health care system as a direct result of their eating habits?