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Darklight

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Posts posted by Darklight

  1. Posted

    Yup- sleep and constipation are huge barriers in PD

     

    Melatonin is excellent for sleep for a lot of ppl

     

    Melatonin ref from 2011

     

    I know the kefir sounds like too simple a constipation solution to be effective, but please let me know how it goes for you. It's such an easy place to start and if you can't make your own, local Farmers Markets often sell them, or find a good quality local fermented foods person on FB. Is a bit of a thing right now so locating someone with experience could be easy

    • Like 1

  2. Posted

    On 1/5/2018 at 10:17 PM, paulinepie said:

    I have researched the medicinal cannabis, but currently Parkinsons is not on the included allowable program. Apparently the best is getting the fresh bud and juicing it immediately. However, we are not growing it due to regulations and our urban property will not sustain the space required.

     

    Now that is a shame :( Are there any informal dispensaries in Perth you know of?

     

    I would def acquire a script for melatonin for your husband, it's becoming increasingly recognised as beneficial for Parkinsons. Unlikely to interact AFAIK but please do your own checking of anything I say

     

    Wrt Lions Mane I'd advise caution and small doses. In fact given the Sifrol/ Mucuna etc etc I'd advise against it. I read something about it potentiating psychosis in some late stage Parkinsons patients. I lost those refs a while back and am chasing them up again.

     

    There are a bunch of variables around that statement above which do need checking

     

    Have you used it earlier in your husband's PD progression?

     

    With you in hope

  3. Posted

    Further, given the gut bacteria changes implicated in Parkinsons progression, have you tried either water kefir or milk kefir?

     

    In addition to slowing gut bacterial changes it can improve gut motility and decrease constipation in healthy individuals. There is potential for it's regular consumption in Parkinsons patients but I have yet to see any academic data on it.

     

    As gut bacteria studies are a relatively new field the absence of formal data doesn't surprise me too much. Because it is unlikely to interfere with pharmaceutical drug actions I'd be giving it a go for a week or so. This, however is just my untested opinion

     

    My relative with longer term Parkinsons will not try it. My relative with the rapid-progression form cannot tolerate water kefir at all- we have yet to try them on milk kefir

     

    We make our own water kefir from fresh grains. It all sounded terribly hippy-ish to start with back in the day, but there are a few of the fam who are deriving benefit from it and the taste is pretty good so it's a winner

    • Like 3

  4. Posted · Edited by Darklight

    On 12/22/2017 at 7:36 PM, paulinepie said:

    I am treating my husband's Parkinson's Disease Symptoms with a few doses of Velvet bean. It is as effective as taking the pharmaceuticals - Sinamet, which contains both levodopa (the good guy) and Carpidopa (seriously bad for humans).

    This and Ashwaganda are effective in controlling the symptoms with no apparent side effects.

     

    Has anyone else used VB in this way or used any other alternatives for Parkinsons.

     

    Hi Paulinepie, so sorry you both have to work with Parkinsons and thank you so much for the info. I find it really valuable to hear about direct experience with treating Parkinsons with natural products

     

    May I ask what stage your husband's Parkinsons is at, and how long he has been taking Mucuna ( Velvet bean ) for?

     

    Hadn't heard of using Withania ( Aswagandra ) for Parkinsons but I have used it as a general health product previously and found it really well tolerated and effective- thank you again

     

    A few of my close relatives have Parkinsons- one with the longer term form ( +20 years since diagnosis, now late stage + dementia ) and two with the faster term form ( one has passed, the other diagnosed recently and progressing rapidly )

     

    My family member with the longer term form is remarkably resistant to trying anything not prescribed by the GP or specialist, which is frustrating but is their choice.

     

    When I saw them last they were willing to try medical cannabis ( informally sourced ) high CBD tincture ( unsupported by formal analysis but a widely distributed form ) to combat the frozen state and hopefully reduce tremors.

     

    However his tremors and frozen state are quite advanced, and the tincture wasn't suitable to titrate a dose with in my absence- it was too slippery to measure small amounts and would require some dilution. His partner was not at all supportive of the treatment and informed me that they would not continue with it in my absence as his tremors would not allow him to dose alone reliably. We ended up not trialling the product at all.

     

    I've heard high CBD products can be effective for Parkinsons tremors, freezing etc and if you are comfortable trialling and able to source some I'd recommend beginning with a low dose and set a comfortable amount as soon as possible after diagnosis.

     

    If your clinician is comfortable with CBD co-administration with pharmaceuticals I'd confer with them. My relative is off all anti-Parkinsonians at this late stage but is taking antipsychotics for the delusions- they have been helpful, but potential contraindications with the antipsychotics were another reason for not undertaking the CBD even at small doses and they do not wish to confer on this matter with their clinician.

     

    Thank you so much for your valuable insights into potential non-pharma treatments. I wish you both, and your family, all the best on this difficult journey. If you are able to share further experience I'd love to hear of it, either online here or via PM

     

     

    • Like 4

  6. Posted

    O M G thank you EGA crew for another excellent weekend. So much fun and so very professional all at once <3

     

    Righto, I didn't see many actual presentations cos I was largely freaking out trying to finesse my own ( shared ) upcoming workshops, but that's OK as a bunch of them are coming up on the EGA YouTube channel

     

    Any time I was outside I'd walk ten paces and run into someone I hadn't seen in five years and we'd get talking

     

    Which is perfect for me as that's exactly what I wanted to do. Personally EGA is, for me, about networking and catching up and trying to pitch in at that level of excellence that the other EGA crew show

     

    Also I got to hang out with Kaz at the EGA info tent which is always a goal for me

     

    But there's always something for everyone at an EGA, and everyone's EGA is accordingly different.

     

    Special thanks to Obtuse for sharing the cloning workshop facilitation ( halfa beta blocker rocked for me and was the first time I'd ever felt comfortable presenting anything ), mate you rocked and I would love to co-present another if you'd have me. The people who came along were wonderful and involved and we kinda went overtime but thankfully only into lunch break

     

    Special thanks to Torsten for saving my stuttery arse at our Experiment Design workshop when I was nervous even tho we had rehearsed it so many times. Same on the co-presentation, next time I'll do it better and actually get all the crucial points across

     

    Melbs crew, EGA crew, you rock. I had the best time. Your professionalism, compassion, humour, comprehensible cohesiveness and sense of fun... whoa... What a great weekend.

     

    Also: while in transit I musta eaten halfa VIC. The entire place is delicious. Wagon Wheels the size of yer head at Yarck, off-the-track pubs providing exquisite burgers for $$fuckall. Even the round trip is fun

     

    So: how was your EGA?

    • Like 3

  7. Posted

    21 hours ago, shonman said:

    Thanks Darklight!

     

    No wuckas, is a pleasure walking with you on the path, your thorough note taking, good questions and sharing results here is an inspiration

     

    21 hours ago, shonman said:

    Yes, always doing 1/2 strength, 1/2 sugar to start out.

     

    :) Sorry i shoulda checked yr earlier responses

     

    21 hours ago, shonman said:

    i agree, PPM suppresses, but does not kill some or many? Fungi.

    sometimes it is very evident, in that if I leave plants in culture too long

    at a certain stage the PPM wears off or is no longer effective.

     

    This is very true. It also has a use by date. I know this because I used some really old stock once past the date and it wasn't effective. Lesson learned

     

     

    21 hours ago, shonman said:

    i think some species of fungi are possibly symbiotic with the plants in some cases

    but in vitro, or in humid conditions with no ventilation....the fungus takes over.

     

    This is also true IME

     

    21 hours ago, shonman said:

    or maybe it's just contamination.

     

    It often is, but not always. Depends on circumstance and your experience with the workflow for whichever species it is

     

    21 hours ago, shonman said:

    Re: cabrerana....I will probably use ppm at first, just in hopes of getting something to work.

    then make sure those cultures get changed, then deflasking, before ppm wears off.

    then, I will let the ppm wear off or discontinue in some test cultures, and see how those do.

    if they have contaminants still, 

    i might t......( snipped this bit )

     

    Ye gods it all sounds arduous, I feel your pain. Scattergun approach is probably best at this point and at least you're taking good notes and making sure you have backup material.

     

    It's hard starting cultures for a species new to TC when you have very little parent material, and heartbreaking. Worth it when it works tho

     

     

    21 hours ago, shonman said:

    right now I am 'afraid' to take any growth from the plant.

     

    No rush, let it grow back and be strong

     

    21 hours ago, shonman said:

    have been so busy....when I can I will slow down and really tune into the plants energy...

    'ask it, what it wants/ needs to grow '

    the other day when I was tending to them, I felt a tingle when the healthiest one brushed against my arm.

    almost a sort of loving, grateful energy like ' thanks for taking care of us '

    I will take some time to really get what this plant needs, from a centered space.

     

     

    That's completely unscientific of you and is exactly what I do all the time too :)

     

     

    20 hours ago, ☽Ţ ҉ĥϋηϠ₡яღ☯ॐ€ðяئॐ♡Pϟiℓℴϟℴ said:

     

     Darklight, are you the one we can thank for being able to grow our fave Acacia? (phleb)

     

     

    Nup, not down to me at all. I had a few years of having a good crack at aseptic culture, as did a well known TC local who had similar luck. Another young fella took the population pressure off the phlebs by identifying other easy to cultivate Australian acacias with a similar profile- so there was no longer a need to hunt the phlebs specifically in the wild. Then a third young fella found a rhizobium inoculant which promotes survival past the critical time point where most of the people cultivating it were experiencing progressive dieback which was ultimately fatal.

     

    Point being this project is a community effort. Not deliberately, but it didn't happen in isolation. And some outcomes ( like the reduced population pressure from wild harvesting ) were unanticipated and secondary to other research. And a good many people posted and shared results both formally and informally which allowed patterns to emerge and be followed. Lots of things didn't work- until a few did.

     

    I'm not 100% confident the species is out of the woods yet ( har har ) but it's looking to be in better shape wrt numbers and cultivation than it was 20 years ago. Keep an eye on it, research where you can, and understand that collective direct community input has the capacity to trump government grant applications for actually making things happen

    • Like 1

  8. Posted

    Quote

    6x Aseptic cultures of an Acacia (for tissue culture) incl 100ml tubes & 30ml media – Priceless – Darklight

     

    Just confirming- those aseptic Acacia in tissue culture are Acacia obtusifolia.

     

    Dunno about priceless, they're as valuable as you make them :) Practice your deflasking, run simple tissue culture experiments on 'em, mutate the hell out of em, do what you like

    • Like 1

  9. Posted

    On 11/13/2017 at 4:41 AM, ☽Ţ ҉ĥϋηϠ₡яღ☯ॐ€ðяئॐ♡Pϟiℓℴϟℴ said:

    Is sulphur very wideley used or maybe considered alternative? if applicable - that one to the list too.

     

     

    I used sulphur burners on a timer with good efficacy in commercial planthouses. It's not 100% but it did reduce the amount of spraying I needed to do by 80%. Sulphur gas is toxic tho, you need to be sure once your closed room is treated the gas vents safely somewhere no-one is going to breathe it ( ie- innocent bystanders ) , and vented entirely before you enter the room.

     

    There may be species sensitive to the topical application of sulphur- I never worked with any. Over time ( a decade ) it may degrade some metals, like plant stands, slightly

     

    The presence of residual sulphur on plants may negatively impact some experiments, but so will a lot of other sprays ( residual fungicides and embryo work in some species is anecdotally one of these ). For TC parent explants everything is washed off prior to culture anyhow so that's not an issue here

     

    Look, nothing beats good planning, cleanliness and getting onto things quickly before pathogens go exponential ( which happens over about 36 hrs under optimal conditions for the pathogen )

     

    It sounds too simple to be true and is often ignored. I did TAFE chemcert recertifications a number of times and they did emphasise this heavily as a preferred solution to pest management and they were spot on. Once I started Integrated Pest Management strategies my spraying times went to about 20% of previous

     

    A crowded plant space with a dirty floor, a clogged drain, poor airflow and overly nutritious propagation mix for your species is a bug buffet, and much of your effort will need to be redirected into sorting out pest problems.

     

    Also: Trichoderma. I know I rave about that shit, but the plant immune response is ( empirically ) worth it for me. At least I know which pathogen I'm fighting off at sterilisation time too.

     

    Double sided yellow sticky tape over anything which touches the floors or leads onto the benches. Like this:

     

    https://bugsforbugs.com.au/product/sticky-traps/

     

    The yellow attracts some bugs, and the sticky prevents them climbing. Easy to manually inspect, if you see a bunch of bugs adhering to the trap, you have an entry point for them. Work out where it is and close the loophole. Inspect the plants for signs of infestation ( if the tape gets overloaded it will lose it's stickiness and become a ladder for more bugs )

     

    Keep your plants from touching the walls or floors when using these, and wrap tape around any power leads which could let bugs walk onto your babies ( easy to miss if you are running heat mats )

    • Like 1

  10. Posted

    On 11/24/2017 at 9:17 PM, shonman said:

    i would really like to hurry up and get a disinfected culture into micropropagation tech ASAP.

    but, of course, it must be free of pests, and vigorous...

    also, I dislike cutting the new growth, when the plant needs more leaves!

     

    That's the spirit!

     

    And yeah, that last bit sucks. It's hard to resist that temptation I know, but in the long run it's sooooo much better for both your work and the plant.

     

    Taking parent material from weak plants rarely results in a win for either of you

     

    Hey I can't remember, but were you initiating new cultures into 1/2 strength media with low sugar? Always a good start, low ( 50% or less ) sugar doesn't feed contaminants anywhere near as much as full strength. Gives your species time to recover.

     

    I've always believed explants retain some residual immune system after excision ( this is just a belief- I've never looked deeply into whole-plant immune response ). I've seen a few species carry residual contamination for yeeeeeeears without effect as long as there is PPM in the media- and have that contam re-emerge a decade later in the absence of PPM ( positive controls were in place, so yes, it's a thing ). PPM is a biotstat- not a biocide.

     

    I no longer always run batches of media with PPM, it's exxy. And while I was working this out I did lose batches of plants, so I got cautious and decided PPM needed to go into everything. Then I isolated the compulsory PPM requirements to a few species only, and also always keep a few of every species in PPM in case of equipment or operator error.

    • Like 2

  11. Posted

    Experiment abandoned.

     

    I can get a kilo of Trich ferts for about $60, and if I aliquot it under sterile conditions that'll last for 2-3 years

     

    I don't need the bacto elements in the commercial blends, previous experiences with different commercial fungal/bacto blends have shown some deleterious consequences under some weather conditions with my target species ( long story snipped ).

     

    Have worked successfully with Trich nutes in these species previously- a fungal blend is overall better but I never did comparisons at a level to determine which one- I just know that without the Trich added to ferts the results were much poorer and I have the dead plants to prove it. The Trich is the constant

     

    Is gunna be quicker to get $60 together than it is to work out whether the home Trich LC mix is set back/ viable due to shock when diltued into non-sterile working strength solution, and whether that solution is producing comparable outcomes wrt plant growth

     

    Plus I'd need to buy the Trich nutes anyhow to run as a positive control

    • Like 1

  12. Posted

    So glad to hear tickets news, this is gunna be a corker. So excited.

     

    Thank you to the whole EGA team for your level of professionalism and commitment to the event. I'm seriously impressed by the amount of work, passion and consideration going into this.

     

    If you're sitting on the fence about a ticket like Ronny said I reckon you'd be insane to miss this. Something for everyone, every level of knowledge and interest in the fields. Everyone.

    • Like 4

  13. Posted

    1 hour ago, trucha said:

    There is no peyote farming involved in sacrament production for legal users of peyote in the USA or Mexico.

    All peyote is presently wild harvested.

     

    Thanks heaps for the clarification, it def adds weight and meaning to the numbers

     

    And thank you again for all your excellent, quality, long-term dedication to the species and issues around them. Brilliant.

    • Like 1

  14. Posted

    5 hours ago, Crop said:

     I use Psudomonas for similar results.

     

    Nice- must try that sometime

     

    5 hours ago, Crop said:

    I haven't used Trichoderma before but, being a fungus, your plan on upscaling in a sterile liquid sounds like the right way to go. I assume the malt is because you plan on giving the trich a chance to colonise before spraying?

     

    I'm prolly not thinking this through properly, but I figure the commercial products w encapsulation directly penetrate leaf surface- once sprayed on they germinate. I have no idea if this is accurate.

     

    Spraying live unprotected log phase colonies onto plants even in low light might not be as effective as the light shock, sudden exposure to air etc. could kill them

     

    Might work straight into soil tho. Hmmmm...

     

     

    4 hours ago, Crop said:

    One possable, simple experiment could be cups of nutrient solution in a controled enviroment, with the only variable between cups being the concentration and preperation of the trichoderma. Float a single Lemna minor in each cup and count how much it multaplies over a week or 2. This will give you a baseline on if Trichs effect plant growth in isolation. More important will be how it reacts with other organisms in your garden. for this you could culture several dishes of your local slime mold and see what it takes to kill it. Maybe you need to add another strain that can handle the cold so you don't need to keep reaplying?

     

    Duckweed... nice idea, thank you! That way I can avoid all those tedious petri dishes and centrifuging and resuspension and optical density measurements and just go straight to the guts of it- ie does it give visible growth results

     

    I don't mind re-application as that way I can be certain that precious plants will be OK, especially if I can make an ongoing supply for practically nothing. So competitor organisms aren't an issue

     

    Positive control will be commercial blend treatment. Negative controls will be untreated Duckweed, and the fert blend minus the Trichoderma. Space limitations mean the number of repeats per variable will be limited to 2-3 and I don't want to be running more than 10-15 duckweed containers for more than 2 months.

     

    Dammit I'll need to randomise their placement to make sure that light differences aren't fudging results :/

     

    Hmmm, won't have time to do this before EGA.

     

    Still open to other improvements or teks while we're thinking about it

     

    Thanks heaps Crop!

  15. Posted

    On 12/5/2016 at 0:45 AM, Ex-Cess'es said:

    I've had no such experience so I can not offer any advice ,

    but I would love to know what the addition of trich to fertiliser and your garden in turn is good for ie perceived benefits . Just interested as I've never heard of such a thing , all though my knowledge runs thin but I'm learning or attempting to anyway 

     

     

    Trich and other microfungal/ bacterial components have, for me, increased yield and decreased disease in a few species.

     

    Also used them for increasing strike rate with unknown success- I don't have a controlled climate seedling house so am at the mercy of the elements which tend to be a bigger factor overall

     

    I've used a few commercial Trich blends with great success but it's getting exxy. There have been a range of other components from Azotobacter to fucked-if-I-can-remember-I-lost-the-labels. Trich is by far my favourite ingredient and has been the constant.

     

    Bunch of mechanisms, many of which I don't understand.

     

    A couple which stand out in my specific experience are:

    • I have a species with a strong tendency to die of fungal disease when stressed. When I foliar fertilise regularly with a Trich blend, the mortality rate for this species drops to almost 0%. Just an hypothesis, but I'm figuring the parts of the plant prone to environmental fungal infection are asymtomatic if infected with Trichoderma.
    • The effect wears off if I fail to fertilise for a month or so- it's not a one-off treatment, there are competitor organisms ( I've got a locally isolated slime mould in-vitro which has the most fascinating battles with Trichoderma- when it's cool the Trich takes over the substrate and the slime mould retreats or is eaten- when it warms up the Trich is eaten and the slime mould grows super rapidly- fascinating to watch, happens over hours ). My tentative conclusion is the Trich in the soil succumbs to the slime mould and similar at low temps, allowing the local bloody pestilence to attack my plants if overwhelming amounts of Trich isn't re-introduced regularly
    • Trich apparently evokes a mild stress response in plants, just enough to make them grow in response. No references, just something I've read

    Then there's the whole microfungi nutrient breakdown, saving plant roots some work in accessing them

     

    I would totally recommend trying this on at least some of your species- just a sample, no more than 30% of your stock on any species so you have some left if they don't like it

    • Like 2

  16. Posted

    Anyone?

     

    Orbital shaker is on, I can easily run a scale-up on what I have, maybe make 100ml using malt extract + some sterile liquid fert components so it's not as much of a shock to the culture when I dilute it with non-sterile liquid nutes to spray

     

    Or does Trich need to be added as encapsulated spores ( ie commercial preparation ) directly into liquid nutes cos it only works as a foliar spray that way- throwing log phase sterile cultures into a non-sterile mix could potentially shock em to death?

     

    I can't even imagine an experiment around this which would be facile and robust

  17. Posted

    41 minutes ago, Gimli said:

     

    I have no problems with losing either tree to be honest.

     

    If anything, I should grow one up the massive fucking jacaranda tree out the front. Sick of that dropping its purple flowers all over my driveway every year

     

    Yeah kill the fucken thing. I like the flowers but if they go into yr gutters the tank water tastes foul

     

    Time lapse video it, it'll be like Megashark vs Giant Squid

     

    I have to trim the vine here every few weeks, but it's just used a hedge. If I left it the thing will grow up a tree and make a dash for the powerlines in six weeks during the growing season

     

    Not sure if it'd do that where you are, depends on how much water it can get

    • Like 1

  18. Posted

    13 hours ago, RonnySimulacrum said:

    We will be announcing this all tomorrow with the full list of Panels that will take place over the weekend

     

    Seriously brilliant work Ronny and crew.

     

    Outside the lab I am so completely flummoxed by anything more complex than the construction of a toasted sammidge.

     

    You all putting this together for the community is so absolutely brilliant I can't even...

     

    :worship:

    • Like 2

  20. Posted

    Most of the things you've ever wondered about can be turned into an experiment so you can get results and stop wondering...

     

    Hell yes. Even if your results are inconclusive you get to rule out a bunch of stuff and know where you stand with regards to progress. Every step is a step forward.

     

    You often do not need as many of the shiny toys as you think- the best thing you bring is attitude, reliability, accuracy, resilience and resourcefulness. Most people have these. Framing your question so it produces valid data is the next step.

     

     

    You may have noticed that both Darklight and myself focus a lot on fun.

     

    I think that's because, for many of us, science is such a social process. It's fun, joyous, revealing, sharing, infuriating, frustrating and above all it's creative. I never learned about those aspects in school ( I was kicked out of HS science for asking too many questions and stayed away til my early 30s )

     

    Yep. Creative. Who'da thunk? I find the varying levels of experiment design, planning and execution similar in interplay to a Bach fugue- yes, the structure is important, but it's the contrapuntal nature of the different aspects of the process and the precision you bring to the work which evokes beauty and joy.

     

    Good science readily lends itself to networking, meeting more weird people with similar-but-different viewpoints on so many things who will teach you so much about your field and your worldview.

     

    I hear great research ideas every other day. Followed closely by all the reasons why that person isn't doing them.

     

    Yep me too. Those convos are so sad. Too many people underestimate their own talent and ability to contribute.

     

    Citizen-science projects like Fungimap and Atlas of Living Australia are prime examples of the scientific method being socially productive and fun- as well as making valuable contributions to scientific knowledge

     

  21. Posted

    Seriously, youse all need to come to EGA. I do not use the word need lightly in this instance.

     

    90% of the people who would be reminding you why you need to come are fully immersed in actually setting it up. Drowning in it almost, just so you will have a deadset brilliant time

     

    I've been on the very outer edges of the org team and I have seen so much legendary epicness coming to the event- so many brilliant presenters and things and food and.... just you wait!

     

     

     

    • Like 1

  22. Posted · Edited by Darklight
    Add paragraph breaks

    Ethnobotanical Research 101- starting from scratch

     

    Torsten and I are running a workshop on Laboratory Experiment Design at EGA 2017

     

    We want to share our love of citizen-science. To convince you all to partake in the formal, logical process that can answer so many of the phytochemical/ ethnotoanical questions you've asked over the years. Wonder no more! Act!

     

    Workshop's for beginners and wrinkly old lab-hands alike. Anyone, literally- anyone can design a simple, robust protocol which gives solid results and contributes to the sum of human knowledge. Those of you with extensive practical experience in experiment design are very welcome to share the ( sometimes bitter yet hilarious in hindsight ) fruit of your work with us huddled masses.

     

    It's not rocket surgery. Lab experiment design is a simple checklist, a bit of planning, some thorough checking and the resilience to simultaneously accept and critique the data as it falls.

     

    Carn, we all talk about experiments we'd like to see done. Or exceptions to established practices we've seen work. Shared variants or refinements of new teks.  Wanted to know why. Or wondered why the hell something didn't work out after we ( mostly ) followed the instructions.

     

    Workshop's interactive. Which means we need your input. Some of which can start here on the forums- reply with some pointers about your experiences or plans.

     

    During the workshop we'll welcome your thoughts, interjections, inspirations. Keep 'em coming, keep it moving

     

    Workshop's practice-based. Inasmuch as we're pointing at issues around design of theoretical experiments involving the legendary ethnobotanical Dragibus curiosa. Not sure what kind of experiment yet. Help us decide. A simple germination experiment?  Optimal fertiliser requirements?  The virtues of rhizobial inoulation? A cost/benefit comparison of propagation practices? Testing storage parameters for volatile compounds in the dry product?  Determining genetic markers for drought tolerance?  We'll settle the best questions on the day

     

    It'll be lighthearted. There *will* be lollies. Like all good laboratory-grade successes, some of them may be thrown at you, randomly. Some you must earn. Fate favours the prepared, apparently.

     

    It's serious business, experiment design-but that's no excuse not to have fun

     

    Bring your questions, your experience, your weird attitudes and your sense of humour.

    • Like 4

  25. Posted · Edited by Darklight
    I shouldn't post before my second coffee

    Brugmansia. Always Brugmansia. Plant a few different cultivars.

     

    Not only do they attract heeeeeaps of bees, but when it's a drizzly day and the foraging's hard work your bees will still work the flowers, hanging out underneath them like umbrellas, waiting for it to be dry enough to fly back to the hive

     

    The resultant honey is not hallucinogenic, at least IME

    • Like 1
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