IndianDreaming

I have root pieces - I can send you some if you like.

Re-potted into individual pots, you can see the snail damage on some - they love to get all the way to the fresh growth on top! These were all in long pots and they were crowded and bumping into each other in the wind, and some snails were having a field day with them, I think they look fantastic in their new homes!

They're finally in the ground - with a whole heap of my first ever batch of compost. A proud moment My shadow even showed up and took a few photos

That's really unfortunate PS! I found 10 seeds in my seed box when I pulled it out to dust it off for spring so I'm going to try again. I had 30 seeds and got 2 out of 20 to sprout, but I had to go away for a long weekend when they were only at their second leaves and my housemate missed watering them.. I have some GA3 - if you shoot me a pm I'll send you some. It'd be great to see this plant in the community since it's roots run so deep in Australian history.

Do the pallets help with snails much? I noticed that my pots on the ground had snails living in the cavity in the base underneath the pot... I have a whole lot of damaged cacti from those clandestine little buggers...

Hi Squish! Not directly related to Trich's, but a quick search (G00gle search for 'companion planting chart' - then click images) comes up with a some fantastic companion plant info - maybe finding plants similar to cacti on the list would be a start - then find the companions? Great idea by the way - we planted corn, spuds and beans(I think?) together and they all went well. there's a name for that combo that escapes me, I'm new to companion planting. But I did encircle our tomatoes with chillies and it kept all the bugs away that absolutely swamped the other non chilli garden bed http://www.permaculturenews.org/resources_files/Poster_GDN_Com_Plant.pdf WELCOME!!!

Here's a few pics! The top 2 are grown outdoors right from the start (Acacia Acuminata), before they even popped their little heads out. The bottom one is an indoor, morning sun, window sill Acacia Floribunda

Here's my efforts - well, the big ones are the gf's - the backup lot are mine. (and the glimpse of the magical pumpkin there off to the right )

How are these going now PoisonShroom?

I'd have a go for you Tripsis - I've been busily growing all sorts of cacti using the Take-Away tek, then moving them into the 2x4 trays and eventually out into pots. Over the last few years my techniques have grown so I'm not losing many at all now. I've organised a nice shady spot for hardening off which was the biggest issue, I put them outside too quick and lost a lot to sunburn... I can send you some photos of my seedlings if you like See how you go - there's more experienced growers here, but I'll have a go if you want. I'm happy to send photos - just got a new camera and it's 18.2mp and has an awesome macro!

Euclids Elements: I wanted to get to the root of mathematics, and this book is an amazingly elegant and pristine work of art on the subject of geometry. The version I read was from 'Everyman's Library' series of books.

What if a there's a man named Cactus and he is getting spined while watering his garden??? Cactus' cactus, Cactus's cactuses caught Cactus in Cactus's cactus garden caring for cacti. Edit: Capital letter for names...

^ PH - Sometimes trolls are jealous people - you may have done nothing wrong, but by doing so much right you've attracted a jealous person that wants to be like you, and they have no idea how to do it and instead of looking within and changing themselves for the better, they try to level the playing field by smashing you down. Stand tall as ever and lead by your awesome example, as you have already by offering the troll(s) some great advice in the comment above.

Plants arrived safe and sound the other day - PH you are fantastic!

Would bitter orange extract and hence Octopamine fall into this category?

Check out the importation laws before ordering Andrea - do a search of these forums to find out more - there's a wealth of information he about what you're allowed to import. http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=31406 I would search for Torsten's comments in particular as he is the most up to date on legal information and there is some conflicting posts by others.

Torsten: All good points. I can see there's a lot more to the situation than I had read into it. I hadn't considered the fact that regulating the new could open the channels to regulating the old. It seems like a roundabout way to skin the cat considering other countries have managed to cut straight to the chase with natural cannabinoids, but if that's the only way forward then I can see good reason to push for it. I agree, natural substance availability wouldn't change the E market much, but it would make available other options such as a dab of sassafras on the legs whilst dancing instead of popping a pill, chewing a few ephedra sticks instead of insufflation of unknown white powders etc... Mimzy: The angle of natural from my perspective is not the molecular makeup of the substance, synth/natural are the same molecules, its the long history of human use of natural substances that can prove a certain level of safety without all the expense and testing of new molecules. But I can see now that the legislation is so ingrained and multinational that it's going to take moving on with the new to be able to revisit the old.

Torsten: I can't see the benefit of regulating synthetics. The whole synthetic market is driven by the lack of properly regulated natural substances. The synthetic market would dwindle or wouldn't be here at all if people had access to a few natural alternatives that wouldn't land them in jail. $100k - $1M for testing means Pharma-Joe is the only person that's going to be putting products out in the market. Which IMO means more pills for people to become absent minded on. Look at what they've done with anti-depressants so far, make billions out of them because every man and his dog is on them. So putting the choice of which chemicals to research and deploy into the hands of Pharma-Joe is another step backwards in my mind. Taking the government approval out and putting the risk assessment in the hands of scientists is definitely leaps and bounds in the right direction. And yes - I should research more before posting on such a touchy subject, as I know very little about the NZ proposals, but from what I've read, it looks to me like its only going to give Pharma-Joe more power, the tax man more money and still leave the people with limited options when choosing to manage their own health.

^ They're on coke, cos they can afford it...

I normally make it a point to stay out of politics, because I'm extremely bad at it and I feel its a man made problem in a natural world, but I received a response to an email I sent and it made me extremely frustrated. This is from a person that's supposed to represent us and I really feel like he's missed the goal posts by a good half an oval. I've added what I think should be the appropriate response, and please correct me if you think I'm not on the playing field... Good afternoon, Thank you for your email and for sharing your thoughts with me regarding the new laws extending the State ban on 'synthetic drugs' (any chemical constituent of a plant that resembles a scheduled drug). I understand your concerns that there is a risk that the scope of the new Bill could have unintended consequences on the trade of herbs and natural extracts. The Greens share your concerns and I, with my colleagues, voted against this legislation.(Nice work, I approve) Synthetic drugs pose a significant health risk (To which drugs is he referring? Pharmaceuticals are synthetic... plant based chemicals are not), I agree that the solution is not as simple as banning all substances outright. However a knee jerk comprehensive ban will only exacerbate the current synthetic drug problem by placing the decisions of quality control in the hands of criminals who are not concerned with the potential health risks of the product or whether they are selling to children as well as adults. (Agreed - good point) For this reason I am strongly opposed to the new Drugs and Poisons Legislation Amendments. (Yay! Me too!) A rational (?) approach to the dangers posed by synthetic drugs would be to actively regulate the legal sale of 'synthetic' (natural) substances so that the State can monitor the level of toxicity and dosage to a “low risk” level. (This is entirely infeasible due to the cost of TGA approval, no one is going to pay to get approval for any of the enlightening 'drugs', the natural 'drugs' have stood the test of time and have countless studies approving their safety already) This approach has recently begun in New Zealand and a reframed and improved regulations and tax levies imposed on alcohol or tobacco. An excellent argument in favour of rational regulation of synthetic drugs was made in the 10 August 2013 edition of The Economist. It said in part: “The arguments for legalisation—that it protects consumers, shuts out criminals and saves money while raising tax—are familiar to readers of this newspaper. Yet it requires careful regulation to ensure that its outcome is not worse than widely ignored prohibition. New Zealand must now get the details right. The government has yet to define “low risk” (Well that's a shifting goalpost if I've ever seen one). Set the bar too high and the policy will be prohibition by another name; too low and potentially lethal products will be on sale legally. (They are already, in the form of alcohol and tobacco, but consistency is hardly a feature of drug policy.) Nor does anybody know what level of taxation will most effectively deter consumption without encouraging a black market. Similar debates are under way in Uruguay, which is poised to legalise cannabis, and in Colorado and Washington state in America, which voted to do so last year. These tricky questions may look like weaknesses in the policy. In fact, they are its strength. While New Zealand and Uruguay are discussing what level of toxicity or what dosage is acceptable, every other country is leaving the matter to drug dealers, who do not care about quality control and who peddle to children on the same terms as adults. As New Zealand ponders what rate of tax to levy, in the rest of the world the business is tax-free. A hard road lies ahead for New Zealand and its fellow policy innovators. But every dilemma they face is a reminder that, unlike other jurisdictions, through government they are regulating the drugs business, not the gangs.” The Greens will continue to work towards an evidence-based and harm-reduction solution to synthetic drugs. Such an approach would not in any way encroach on the legitimate business activities of people such as yourself who deal with natural herbs and extracts as a 'long-established addition to traditional western medicine' (wtf??? Addition to western medicine? Which came first, the pill or the leaf?) . Should you want to find out more on the topic, you may be interest to read Greens MP John Kaye’s speech in Parliament on 18 September 2013. Thank you again for contacting my office and if you would like further information or any clarification, then please do not hesitate to contact me again. Regards, Our Greens member that seems to think Synthetic Drugs should be regulated, but hasn't considered the fact that the age old ban on natural drugs might need to be revisited to get rid of the 'Synthetic' problem that has come about because of the aforementioned dullard approach to natural drugs medicine As I mentioned, I'm not a great politician, and this bloke seems to have his heart in the right place, but surely it doesn't take a rocket scientist to go - "oh, hang on, maybe all this could just go away if we followed America like we usually do and take a look at regulating natural substances instead of banning everything that can make you have a really nice day" I'm sure he's doing his best given the circumstances, but the wording of his email made me think he's only thinking little picture stuff, to keep him in office and on a nice salary. Edit: I made lots of edits, because I'm drinking heavily taxed and legal Gin at the moment, and it has 'significantly' impaired my mood, motor function, and probably my liver...

Well... Its kind of giving away the secret to the trick by posting it, but I can get someone to hold out a $1 coin - and then whip it out of their hand with them thinking it is still in their hand - then bet them $10-$20-$50 (depending on how much I like them ) that I have their $2 coin. They take the bet because they can feel the coin - but really I've swapped it with a 10c coin. :) Edit: All sorts of edits - gin made me do it...

Very nice! I will need to wait for some light tomorrow to take pics. Good work, they look very healthy

^ nice, if you get a chance, post a pic of your little babies. I let half of mine soak for an extra week - I wanted to see if this helped at all, and it seems to have increased the germination rate a little. I've also left some in there for 30 days - I wanted to see if extended soaking kills them or causes them to germinate in the water. A few germinated, but they seem the same as the day they swelled, so we'll see if they sprout ok - I sowed them 2 days ago. I also had another few that in a separate glass that got a white hazy fluff on them which I assume is mould, fungus, yuk - so I put 2 drops of peroxide in the water and planted them elsewhere to see if they'll survive the fluff attack

I can play the fool - Apparently I'm world class at it too

^ Nice picture upside! About 50 of the 100 seeds I soaked have germinated, a few have since gone belly up because I didn't plant them correctly, but some are still poking their heads though. I planted so many because my previous attempts have been about 1 in 10 - I'm assuming it was bung seed though not operator error I'll post some pics later of the baby seedlings, and hopefully I can get a few shots of different stages of growth. I'll have acacias coming out my ears if they all survive - happy days