Heretic

I find indoor gardening to be fraught with problems , trying to create a suitable environment is not easy and pests can be rampant. Although a tropical species , I have seen a psychotria thriving outdoors in Melbourne on a balcony . Some plants can be quite adaptable as far as habitat , however , I imagine psychotria would be very sensitive to frost . Mine are outdoors , and shaded from noon sun , fed with S/R Nitrophoska and occasional seasol - powerfeed combo . I think DarkSpark's suggestion to take some cuttings is a good idea , if your plants are big enough - that way you would be able to experiment with environments , or as a safeguard against the plant dying for some reason . Not sure if your problem would be too much light - I'm thinking if that were the case then it would be the top leaves stressing , not the lower ones . I'm inclined to agree with Stillman and DarkSpark about watering , IME anything in pots seems to prefer alternating wet - dry conditions , without drying out to the point where the fine roots start to die . Indoors pest numbers can quickly explode . I know a chap who catches ladybugs outside , sprays them with Coke to glue their wings down to prevent escape , then releases them into his indoor herb garden to control pests . He says it works quite well . Good luck with your indoor garden though , I hope it does well for you !

Hi 2Deep, I wanted to reply sooner , but was hesitant to do so until certain of my facts . It took me a while to recall where I had read a warning about using pyrethrin sprays on trichs , after burning my own using it . Derek Westlund , in Adam Gottlieb's book " Peyote and other psychoactive cacti , p 63 wrote : " Thrips can be eliminated by spraying with pyrethrenes , an organically derived pesticide . This is fairly safe for Lophophora , but will damage or destroy Trichocereus unless it is rinsed within one or two minutes . The treatment should be done in the morning or evening . After a minute or two , the cacti should be rinsed and the residue washed into the soil to try and disinfect that too . Only the skin of Trichocereus seems to be affected by pyrethrenes , they have not been shown to cause harm by being in the soil " . Hope this helps , Tom

Thankyou guys , I am curious about this - wondering if the caespiatose characteristics are the result of injury or genetics . Yes , Trucha , that's the one you described . It is very distinctive , and I have seen photos of it from Europe , USA , and Oz , so it must be very widely cloned . BTW , beneath the multi heads that are visible are more tiny heads that are white from lack of sun . This makes them very susceptible to rot caused by rain , especially during humid weather . regards , Tom .

Hi Reptyle , did you call me a " selfish lazy primate with no cultural or personal responsibility " ? Mate , I like that - sums me up for sure . . But you have evaded my plea for more info on the 5-hour+ smoked spice hit that you cited in your attack on me . Specifically , what is this 5-hour stuff , and where do we find it ?? PLEASE elaborate . . Your posts here are confusing me somewhat . I am poorly educated , a high school drop-out , and conscious of this shortcoming c/f others here ; and a lot of stuff goes over my head . Nevertheless , I interpret that you are on some sort of crusade to educate people about spice . Furthermore , having been persuaded by discarnate entities , you are going to establish some sort of tripping resort complete with relaxation pools and hot women ? Man , what a fantastic idea ! Leary tried to do something similar in Mexico , after Millbrook , when acid , etc , was still legal . Sadly , the Mexicans booted them out of the country . . More recently , during the 90's , the Botanical Preservation Corps conducted residential seminars in Mexico [ at Palenque ] with notable speakers such as Ott , Shulgin ,and many others . Not sure if they're still going though . Last I heard was that some vermin had torched Dr Ott's home nearby , using his extensive library to start the fire . I really wanted to attend a seminar , but was never able to do so . Wonder if they're still going ? . Not sure about the dentist-type chair - it may be threatening to someone tripping out , but I love the rest of your pictorial plans . You're intending to establish something along the lines of a psychedelic Tibetan - style , tripping resort ? My mate almost pissed himself laughing , when shown your post ; but I reckon it is a marvellous idea . May I make a reservation ? Will you be accepting credit cards ? What about room-service ? Tell us more , please .. But Reptyle , mate , spice is illegal just about everywhere . Have you considered this ? Where , specifically , do you intend to establish your resort ? And ,specifically , what is the word about this 5-hour spice of yours ? regards , Tom .

Hi Reptyle , I won't blow the spice whistle , nor try to influence people . I'm leaving that for those with more wisdom than I ; folk like you . For me it is something sacred and spiritual . I am just amused at attempted suppression ,for it truly is an exercise in futility . But mate , claims of 5 hours - smoked , are indeed quite astonishing ! Seriously , you've got to tell us more . Can you elaborate , please ....

The usual media hype and bureaucratic ignorance . Spice is nothing new - it's been here for a long ,long , time . And will still be here after we're long gone . Ineradicatable . Unenforcable . Beautiful .

some cacti [ esp trichs ] are very susceptible to " pyrethrin burn " .

Tragic . I am lost for words . My most sincere condolences . Tom

Agreed . Truly disgusting , and people are homeless and starving . It demonstrates the immorality of govt and big business .

Hi . I live about 30 k south of Gladstone in a nice town where everybody greets one another in the street , shops etc . Small population , and virtually crime free . Many people work in Gladstone , which is the heavy industry town I mentioned . My town is really nice , and beside the beach , But Gladstone is really heavy industry . There is an aluminium smelter nearby to my town on Boyne Island , fed by a conveyor belt from the alumina refinery in Gladstone , but it is in a very discreet place and not really noticeable , unlike the horror show that is Gladstone . Many locals work at the Boyne smelter .Recently there was fish - pollution scare , but it seems to be over now and the cause said to be from recent massive flooding inland , not industry . Not sure about that , but it seems to be over now . The area is on latitude 26 - tropical , but not extreme . Truthfully , I like it here , as do the Dutch , Swiss , and others moving here for work .ATM a massive LPG project is under construction in Gladstone , and they are desperate for labour here and out west . They're paying people megabucks . I hear of $3K p/w ....but the work is hard and days are long . Makes me wish I was young again ...

Why the big cities ? There are many Dutch and Swiss people [ mainly doctors and other medical professionals ] in my area in central Qld . Nearby - 30 kms away is a horrible town with heavy industry and a large port . There is a chronic shortage of workers , and many people work in jobs that are not their chosen profession because of the big money paid . Many of these big companies re-train staff, and provide housing for their workers . Also many people are heading for WA because of the mining boom , and the megabucks that can be earned there atm . This is making it difficult for the local industry to find people for the jobs on offer .

sorry , I erred quoting half-life timespan , and have edited the post . Actually , it is even worse - Pu 239 has a half - life of 24 ,000 years ; U 238 has a half life of 4,470,000,000 years . . . Maralinga is contaminated with U 238 ; U 239 ; Pu 239 ; Pu 240 ; Pu 241 ; Am 241 . there is also contam from depleted uranium . On the ABC news tonight they reported that now Pakistan want to buy Australian uranium Because India now has access to it, the Pakis believe they are entitled to it also.The arms race insanity continues ...

Very sensible legislation . Our laws are a god-send to crime .

I believe that uranium mining for any purpose is utter madness , leading to possible extinction of all life on this planet . The final few lines of the last verse of the Old Testament [ Malachi 4 ] I believe are a prudent warning for us all : or has it all occurred before in the distant past ?

maybe if you left some other food out for them . Perhaps they are doing it hard at the moment for their usual food ?

I am reading a book called " Maralinga " by Alan Parkinson atm . Appalled to learn that Britain has detonated 12 BIG nukes on Australian territory , and more on Christmas Island . Apparently there is serious contamination , including plutonium , and ONE plutonium mg inhaled or ingested is lethal . The plutonium contam is reported to have a half- life of of 24,000 years .The half lie of U 238 is 4,470,000,000 years. I have not yet finished reading the book , but what I have read so far is terrifying .

Dolomite should be available in small quantities from a garden supplier for around $10 . They love it .

Would birds eat poisoned snails lying around ? Hate the notion of innocent victims .

I have recently aquired some trich specimens from a commercial ethno vendor [ NOT SAB ] . One of the cuts has black discolouration on its skin that appears fungal : inside it there appears to be some sort of grubs that I suspect may be cactoblastis larvae . Wondering if in fact cactoblastis will go for trichs and other species apart from prickly pear which they control well . If so , are these insects capable of devastating cacti collections , and capable of hitting lophs ? . I have cut out as much of the damage as possible , but am now left with a few small mutilated bits that I suspect I ought to get rid of rather than risking my other specimens . A commercial nursery that once employed me used to regularly spray their stock with a dimethoate [ Rogor ] / chlorpyrifos mix to control pests , but this is way too toxic for me to consider . Any ideas ? Apart from termites I have had very few problems with cacti pests in the past , nevertheless I am very concerned . Wondering if these larvae might have a local predator , rather than resorting to sistemic poison to eliminate them if encountered in future . [ BTW - I am gobsmacked that the vendor did not spot the blatant problem before sending , or perhaps they dont care ? In hindsight , I should have complained and returned the item , but I had mutilated it before thinking of this ] . any advice and suggestions are indeed appreciated , Tom .

I guess it is just the apparently common black infection , whatever it may be . I jumped to a grub conclusion because it appears to originate from spots on the skin , but is worse internally - sort of like an apple with a grub inside . I live in QLD and have been told that authorities still maintain the prickly pear control programme , and that the bugs can hit other genus besides opuntias . Whatever it is , I think I ought to toss the infected one . Many thanks for the opinions .

Thanks guys . Sorry , I dont have a camera to show you what has occurred . The damage is a black spot on the skin , and what appears to be black ' streaking ' on the outside from base to tip . Beneath the spots , which I thought were stings is rot inside the flesh . After gouging it out hard to tell what it actually is . I did not think of the black rot fungus because there has not been rain in my area for several months , but I dont know if this is the case where the cactus came from . I actually have not experienced much black rot on trichs where I live , even in wet seasons . They live in pots outside on a balcony all year happily without problems at all . My main concern is contamination to other cacti . In the past the only real damage has been yellowing from too much sun which I have no control of .

I have a mate who has chronic depression . His right arm has been amputated about 15 years ago after a motorcycle " accident ".He does'nt read much ; maybe Ozbike and such . I have tried to interest him in ethnobotany , but books lent go unread and gather dust . I used to have a small market stall, stocked with potted plants- mostly ornamentals and cacti with a few ethno species at times. I did enjoy running the stall , and keeping it stocked kept me occupied and I enjoyed meeting people- it was good therapy for me . My friend expressed an interest, and has a rural property and the idea was that I would start off plants at my home , and we would move them out to his place to grow until they're ready . . But he is no gardener; and is disappointing to see plants wilting or even dead from thirst. He is very addicted to analgesics , and on dosages so high that I would'nt be believed if I told you . He used to hassle me for tablets , when I was on such medication . He is unable to grow mj much beyond the seedling stage- they're doomed, and microwaved and mulled up as soon as recognizable. I have a tiny garden myself in a closet , for medicinal purposes, but apart from males or hermies I dont touch the girls until they're ready. I am really resentful to be continually hassled to tax them for him - when they're ready I'd give him some or most of it . It puts me in a position I dont want to be in , and is difficult to refuse.I would'nt mind if such requests were not virtually constant when he cant score . I feel like ripping up the lot , and not bothering .- . . I realise that it is depression and chronic analgesic abuse that causes these and other problems for him , but more medication would not be the answer. I can hardly believe how many tablets he takes every day . He is so out of it all the time at home he can barely maintain a conversation , let alone a garden of potted plants that need regular watering .I have given up on relying on him to look after potted plants, but negative issues aside he is a decent fellow . I wonder how he might snap out of his depression ? Any ideas ? Tom

I dont know how to transmit the item to the forum - but on my Optus web page at the moment is an article about koalas in a restaurant in China . May be somebody can post this ?

Thankyou ,I have much to think about . I was so saddened after going out to his place for the week end that I have been drinking , which I dont do often . I have a terrible hang over now . he seems to have given up , but I know there are people with much worse disabilities that really do live in constant pain . I know it is the high dose prescription maintenance that is his main problem , he just sits at home nodding off all day every day .Him driving at times is another issue of much concern for those who know him at times , including the dispensing pharmacist who would have called the cops recently had I not intervened and took him home . No easy answer , I know .

greetings folk . I have about a dozen small MH plants in 6" pots . They're doing well- about 12" high in less than 3 months . Having seen the mimosa choking the NT floodplains , I feel some trepidation about this species . I wonder if it could go feral like the M.Pigra has done world-wide ,and am I being irresponsible growing MH in QLD- clearly MH likes this climate . Nevertheless , it has a strange growth habit - all of the plants are leaning over at about 45degrees or more , and all are leaning in the same direction . It appears as if the plants are in need of staking . I was wondering if this is a normal trait of the species ? The bend is occurring near the base of the plants , although the stems are otherwise straight . They look like trees that grow bent in a prevailing wind , only there is no prevailing wind . They are not pot bound and are otherwise healthy . I have read they originate from an area called "caatinga " . Also wondering if "caatinga" is floodplain type country ?