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katu

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Posts posted by katu

  1. Posted

    Hey bullit bro, the thing that got me doubting its kava is the way the new shoots are all coming off that centre stem/trunk? Whereas the kava I've seen seems to predominantly shoot from the base, if that makes any sense?? But shit I'm not the one to ask.. I know there's quite a few variants out there.

    But yeah illustro i'm sure your right mate the sassafras smell and velvety leaves lead me to say ya right. But like you said mate, a nice plant regardless. I think the Piper genus are good lookin plants all round, picked up a little P.betel for $2 from the markets just the other week.

  2. Posted

    Michael, that technique works for me mate, I try and not fix whats broken :). I also try and support where possible anyone producing any form of literature in this area, as far as I can see you guys are working for nothing or worse. Trout and the Shulgins come to mind. Finally i'm a bit old fashioned when it comes to paper vs PDF, give me a book any day!

  4. Posted

    Thanks for that Bryce, another rabbit hole for me to follow :).

    Hey Ethnoguy cheers mate. Regarding lime, I do add it to my Mexican miniatures but not my Trichocereus.sp , should I be? Regarding soil temps I used to employ the double pot method for my Trichs but have gotten a bit lazy nowadays :rolleyes:. I've gotta mate that puts a row of pots full of gravel as the front row facing the sun and double pots all his Trichocereus.sp. But yeah, what can I say i'm a lazy man... Ideally I guess you want them in the ground but we don't all have that luxury, with the rain fall I get they'd rot just at the thought of it.

  5. Posted

    Where did you source ya plant mate? Do the leaves have a "velvety" feel, crush/taste a leaf, does it have a sassafras/anise kinda smell/taste? Could you take another pic of a leaf close up top and bottom. Growth habit doesn't look right to me. I think you're right about it not being P.methysticum but maybe a more experienced member could chime in. I struggle to ID plants unless I've grown/seen them in person. :rolleyes:

  7. Posted

    Mate I do see your point regarding pine bark... That's interesting regarding the hydrophobic qualities of peat found in commercial potting mixes. I wasn't aware of that. It tends to hold water when its wet too doesn't it? Not the best choice for cactus and certainly not the best choice ethically, carbon storing, non renewable, etc. I'm beginning to get the impression all commercial potting mixes are varying degrees of crap.. even the expensive ones. I once found glass in a searles premium potting mix bought from bunnings. Not impressed :BANGHEAD2:

  9. Posted

    Mate I think the biggest problem with organic fert, especially fish emulsion is the oil content, thus hydrophobia. Not sure I agree with you on not sifting potting mix either. The common censuses seems to be that the bark composts down which can cause problems with rot. This will over time cause your mix to become acidic which is not ideal. I've always been an organic gardener in the past, not havin a go at mate over synthetic fert merely a personal preference. It's not a problem with anything other than cacti for me personally, but then there's not many plants which like having their soil dried out between waterings. I'm starting to lean towards using synthetic fert for my cactus but would like to explore other options first, hence foliar feeding. :)

  10. Posted

    When top dress with fert do you mean a slow release pellet? If so can you recommend a good one for cactus? Have only used liquid organics in the past, seasol, fish emulsion and so on. I think that's whats causing the hydrophobia to be honest, probably the fish emulsion more than anything. As far as soil media goes for my water tolerant species, ie Trichocereus, Cereus and the like lets say even parts coarse sand, 5mm gravel, perlite, and a good quality potting mix sifted for bark. I should mention the minerals are washed and sifted for fine particles. As far as getting up at midnight i'm one of these strange human beings who apparently doesn't need sleep :blink:. Up till midnight then awake by 5:00am. :BANGHEAD2:

  11. Posted

    Planted a root bound Turnera.subulata in the ground. Planted a root bound Cereus.peruvianus in the ground. White oiled different Psychotria.sp, is it just me or is Nexus prone to scale of what :uzi:. Got the last of my Psychotria leaf cuttings outta their humidity tent. Stared at my cactus patch for a while, stroking the new growth whilst humming a lullaby... :wub: Ok, i'm gonna stop before it gets weird. I should mention I did all of this whilst wearing no pants...no seriously. :P

    • Like 2

  12. Posted

    Hey franky, like I said mate my main issue is climate. I mean most people can feed and water the crap out of their Trichocereus so to speak in the hotter months. Where as the hotter months or growing season where I live is the wet season, my plants are under cover obviously but due to humidity even with a very free draining mineral potting mix it can take my plants weeks to dry out therefore causing issues with rot. Also being heavy on the minerals rather than organics in regards to potting mix there's not much nutrient in the soil to begin with. Finally due to me using organic ferts and under watering I have to suffer issues with hydrophobia so even when I do feed them I'm not sure they're getting the most out of the fertilizer.

  13. Posted

    You could well be right Bryce, and I do see what you mean by it would be a hard "prove" so to speak, in the sense of the water running down the column onto the roots. When I water any columnar I can't help but feel part of their form in an evolutionary sense is to "funnel" water down the ribs straight onto their roots if that makes sense? Only a theory through observation. I would still be interested in taking two cuttings of the same clone next growing season out of interest, as stated in my earlier post. I would love to know a bit more regarding organic nutrients being locked up so to speak. Are we talking a bacterial symbiosis so to speak?

  16. Posted · Edited by katu

    Andyamine, when foliar feeding do you cut back your regular watering schedule? The reason i'm interested in this is that I live in the tropics and as a result my soil has a lot more mineral in it than most and I tend to water less. Am essentially looking at ways of maximising my nutrient uptake without overwatering.

    Franky I do agree with you on one hand, letting the roots do what they have evolved to do. On the other hand human beings have been maximising plant growth for eons. I'm not talking g.m. or any crap like that. Some simple examples would be tipping a plant to promote more shoots or using green manure crops inbetween plantings to replenish nutrients.

    Bryce mate the theory behind foliar feeding is most cactus, def trichocereus are CAM plants or in unintelligible English crassulacean acid metabolism. In lay terms which are all I understand transpiration does not happen at the same time as photosynthesis but instead occurs at night. The plant stores carbon dioxide as malic acid, retaining until daylight returns thus minimising transpiration. So by foliar feeding at night when the pores of the plant will be open means that the plant takes it in through its skin. This technique has been used on non CAM plants with lots of success. Off topic, is there a fancy word non CAM plants :)

  19. Posted

    Michael I agree with you all points mate, we are indeed in the world of mutts nowadays as you put it and yes it's only going to get more confusing as time goes on. And yes regarding hybrids unless the person producing the said X takes a lot of care in isolating the plants from other plants flowering who knows what it is? I too agreed with Edward F Anderson regarding natural populations(great book), but even then, especially with the species which have a history of ethno botanical use, who's to say if it is a "natural" population or was cultivated by an ancient long lost peoples, chavin?? Is this what you mean regarding a "pure breed" being a mutt? Thanks.

    P.S. off topic, thank you for your booklet on the takeaway tek which I purchased through SAB, this has enabled a layman such as myself to start raising my own plants from seed. Very rewarding!

  22. Posted

    You've got some beautiful cacti their mr smith! But on the subject of taxonomy the more I look into this genera the more confused I get :unsure:. Sometimes I think with all the hybrids and stuff getting around, and as these fine gentlemen pointed out regarding the provenance or lack there of we will end up calling clones simply by what they look like- bridgesii, peru, etc. The dog analogy is a good one, in the sense of. Well is it a poodle X pommeranian. Unless you can say for certain that the two parents are pure breeds it's a mutt that is merely showing the dominant traits of it's parentage. I know quite a few people who have abandoned labelling there plants and grow them for what they are, beautiful cactus. But yes as those who know a lot more than me have stated nothing to let your head explode about. Hey Michael if that comment was aimed at me I apologise to both you and Bryce, I in no way meant to come across as rude or mean. Sorry...

  23. Posted

    Will do Dreamwalker, that would be cool regarding a member comp, i'd definitely be keen! How would one standardise it though? Same seed stock or clone. Using the same clone would obviously have more defined results but could be tricky... ie not everyone gonna an Alf or whatever.

  24. Posted

    Wow! That's pretty amazing research Dreamwalker, could essentially be a game changer for the agricultural industry. Great website too! Regarding the foliar feeding was thinking of taking say two 30cm cuts of the same clone, rooting them, and placing them side by side in the same potting mix. Treat one as per normal regarding watering/feeding and foliar feeding the other. Maybe start a grow log thread so as others could see the results. Probably wait till next spring though, getting a bit late in the season..

  25. Posted

    Read an article some time back, can't for the life of me remember where?? Regarding foliar feeding Trichocereus.sp at night while their pores are open, apparently with very good results. The grower would get up at midnight and spray his/her T.sp with seaweed & fish emulsion once or twice a week. Obviously would have to be careful regarding over watering, etc especially in the cooler months. Would like to here the opinion of some experienced growers. I myself would have reservations but then I don't really know what the f%$* i'm on about. Thanks! :)

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