Ethnoob

Lucky bastard. I can't wait to see it in a few years especially if you graft it. I bet it grows up to be a beast

This may just be the most beautiful crest I've seen so far. It's already at $200+ though so not for me but definitely worth sharing the link in case one of you guys can't help yourself and want to blow a small fortune on an organic work of art with a killer name to match. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Trichocereus-Dr-Funkenstein-catus/323656029919?hash=item4b5b6716df:g:LvoAAOSwhzhcQqQi:rk:7:pf:0

Jesus, I thought that kind of security was reserved for mullies as everything eats those but that's crazy. The spikes, the taste, man they've gotta be desperate but I bet that desperation fasting they must have experienced leading up to the day they decided to eat them made for a really interesting night afterwards lol Still though what cheeky bastards. I hope your fences keep them out if you go down that route. Now that you mention it I imagine my local council would tear the plants out hey. You'd think as a society we'd be ok sacrificing one potential darwin award recipient for the greater good like the times of old where that one show off kid broke their arm trying to do a backflip on their bike being a lesson for the rest of us that were watching not to even attempt it but these days it's always safety first. Oh well, I actually have a few blocks like yours around me that the council mostly ignores. They mow what they can in case of fires but there's so much room in the middle that I'd have nothing to worry about except for wildlife like what you've experienced. With any luck it though it'll be bugs and grubs and not psychonaut deer lol

I was always taught that you shouldn't transplant any plant unless the soil is as dry as possible to minimize the chances of the heavy soil trying to fall away taking roots with it. I was told that what's underground determines the health of the plant above ground and that the signs you see on plants like a nutrient deficiency are all issues that start with the roots and the soil around them so you have to take as much care to nurture and preserve them as much as possible. I get that cacti are different to normal plants and that hitting the hard reset button for them by removing the roots and changing the soil could be beneficial in some cases but it's always going to be an option of last resort for me. Old habits die hard I guess. Stabby, stabby, transplanting cacti makes them happy! It really does suck though doesn't it. I've seen how quickly my cacti have filled their pots with roots and realized that eventually I too will have to get them all in the ground but I rent so I can't really do it here which has lead to similar creative thoughts about using public land. My first thought was putting some in the local bush blocks that are extremely unlikely to get used anytime soon as I could put hundreds out there without having them seen until they've reached monster heights but then an even better idea hit me, using the local traffic islands to turn the whole community into cactus farmers. The only problem with that is the area is filled with druggies so the second word got out they might valuable to them they'd get mass harvested almost overnight ruining everything but it would look absolutely amazing in the meantime and inspire quite a few to take up the hobby as well which might make it worthwhile to do knowing their likely fate. I really feel you with the lawn. It's a dumb flex anyway and there's so many better options for plants to grow than useless grass. Good on you for doing something constructive with the space and giving your cacti all the room they need. I hope they show their appreciation by growing into huge trees for you

I need some pereskiopsis and I'd prefer to enrich one of you than I would herbalistics which seems to be about the only readily available online source I can find for them at the moment. I need around 10 of them though the more the better really as I've just started a ton of seed. Reply here or PM me with offers if you'd prefer, either way lets make this happen. Also did you ever take a close look at the flowers from Mario? Kinda looks like a combination of a grafted loph and a fly agaric mushroom to me....Nothing suss lol

Hnnng....True Blue Peru. Probably just a bullshit name but that colour is amazing https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SAN-PEDRO-Cactus-Trichocereus-pervanus-true-blue-MASSIVE-tip-cutting-75cm-total/264146791124?hash=item3d80602ad4:g:m7gAAOSwxJ9cQaVB:rk:2:pf:1&frcectupt=true

If it's a super blue tricho or some other hype cut, especially one I don't have from my wanted list, any cut from my garden is all yours

I've read the same thing too about viral infections in cacti. Still gonna play survival of the fittest in my garden though because anything that can weather the worst of storms will sail just fine otherwise Since you're of a like mind and know that my cacti are likely infected if you ever see anything you want just send me a PM and I'll make it happen.

That's a shit hot list of genetics, you should definitely start a grow diary I'm on far less land than you, maybe 1/6th of an acre tops and most of it is on a crazy slope plus I rent which makes things difficult. That said I had to learn to miniaturize my weed garden to play a numbers game there and am taking the same approach with cacti now. Want to have a friendly race to 10k plants? I'm game

Blue loph https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/An-interesting-cactus-LW-Texana-locality-pere-graft-cactus-succulent-plant/153338118628?hash=item23b3aa01e4:g:-OEAAOSwZ2FcOsuM:rk:12:pf:0 Yellow loph https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/AUCTION-TheCactiGuys-Unique-Clone-Variegated-LW-Grafted-Cactus-Rare-Succulent/153338076378?hash=item23b3a95cda:g:tcEAAOSwrZBcOsTs:rk:14:pf:0 Normally I jizz myself over blue cacti but holy shit that variegated loph is something else

That sounds like a lovely mix of genetics some of which we share in common. Unfortunately one of them that I learned with early on (fields pach x crazy spine) were exposed to the elements too soon and got genocided as a result so I'd love to see how yours go for you. I'll definitely keep a keen eye out for them and the others like helon x dawson's pasacana that we share in common too Don't feel bad about not planting as many seeds as another person though but especially me either. I'm probably insane and tend to jump in the deep end with everything long before I'm ready choosing trial by fire over the slow and steady learning experience that's conducive to most people. Hell it's probably conducive to me too considering how often I get burned. Just look at what I said about the fields pach x crazy spine above for all the evidence you need of that lol As for future pots I'm going to take a more tame approach to how I'm treating things now with known cuts. The known cuts get their own special pots but the newbies will grow up fighting for resources in the same pots as their siblings. My idea is that there's certain traits I want to select for the first of which is growth potential (especially in the face of hardship like being grouped too close, viral infection, etc) as I want the biggest and baddest cacti there is. After a select few have proven their worth they move on to the next round of trait selection which will drastically reduce the amount of plants I end up keeping around and this will continue until I'm left with my ideal specimen for each group. I'm sure some lines will be easy to give up on while others have nearly every single plant being a keeper which will kind of suck to say the least but in the end I should end up with an army of plants that are perfect for me and the local conditions. If not it's always a numbers game and there's always more seeds

Another day, more plants added to the garden lol This time round it's another Crazy Spine, a monster Melted Wax cut and Nothink. I also mislabeled the dragon fruits which are red and not the yellow variety. You'd think I'd know better than to rely on memory by now but apparently not. Thanks a million for those @MountainGoat, you're a legend! Also since it's my thread and I can shit it up with all the pics I want to here's the start of another 17 varieties of cacti I planted today. I acquired some pots and instantly ran out which is why I've gone all BBQ tray tek on the Sharxx Blue x Bridgesii 'Ben' but in all fairness I put down 7 packs of them and needed a decent amount of space anyway. There's something like 2000 cactus seeds that have been planted in that greenhouse now so my future is looking bright indeed. It's mostly in search of blue plants but there's also tons of terscheckii and hybrids with it, lots of bridgesii's, scops, cuzcoensis, fulvianus, etc. It's really a huge mixed lot of trichos in general and a 30 pack of loph seeds for good measure as well

I recently saw a Chemical Shaman's Dick cut go for $777 and I bet this one sells for more due to the trusted nature of the seller. I reckon this will be the one that tops a grand. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Trichocereus-Echinopsis-sp-CSD-Cutting/273660589239?hash=item3fb77134b7:g:FlYAAOSwcdBcQA4P:rk:6:pf:0

Here's another Sharxx Blue that's definitely going to end in another bidding war as it's an astoundingly pretty cactus. Those blues, those spines, I'm in love https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Peruvian-Torch-Trichocereus-Echinopsis-peruvianus-Sharxx-Blue-Cutting/273660608135?hash=item3fb7717e87:g:1hEAAOSwUP5cQBJl:rk:1:pf:1&frcectupt=true

Thanks for the offer mate but I'm probably 600km or more north of you so it would be cheaper to buy a bulk pack of pots online than it would be to travel. If I'm honest I'm not keen at all at ripping a plant out of the ground and chopping it's roots off as a method of medical treatment for it. I don't doubt that a new environment would treat it well but that seems rough as. I'd be more likely to cut a cactus like a loaf of bread and try to graft/turn them into cuttings than I would that. As for my environment it's actually pretty nice except copping the arse end of hurricanes. It's technically the wet season now but the humidity is sticking to around 65% and I mostly make sure to let the pots dry out before watering them again which takes 4 days for most of them. There's been a few times like recently when it's rained for days on end or when I hit them with a cal/mag supplement that I didn't wait that long and the really small pots which dry out in a couple of day but I really try to minimise the amount of love I give them as I know that too much love tends to really fuck them over. The rocks I used are there for two reasons, first because they massively help with stability without adding moist soil up the stems which I know to poses a great danger to the plants and because they're different to the typically white pebbles you see online which always look baby poo green after a year or so. I have noticed that since using them I need to water less often so there's definitely some water retention going on but I'm pretty obsessed with my new hobby and check on them at least twice a day by lifting a couple so I'm making sure the pots are relatively light before watering them. If I'm in doubt I just wait until the next morning or night and check them again as over watering is one of my greatest concerns. To be honest I'm not sure what to make of the damage done to Eileen. The first pic is from the day it all went to shit and the second one from like 10 minutes ago Clearly it's healing and I'm glad she didn't get the chop. It seemed viral with how quickly it spread and I doubt she'll ever fully recover but as some of the other plants have seemingly caught the same shit I'm putting her back in with the rest of the family tomorrow. It's now a game of survival of the fittest and while I can weep my man tears for every loss I have given a few years I'll have an army of tough plants that will all but ignore such weak will viruses. Or so I hope, it might all go tits up and I cry for real but only time will tell lol Thanks for the replies guys, it means a lot as I'm stoked as to finally have some people to share my latest obsession with

I'm starting to think this cancer juice might actually be worth investing in

Thanks mate Another day, more plants added to the garden. This time it's Crazy Spine, Glenrowan, Lance, two AD006 Pasacanas, Peruvianaus '86 and yet another psycho0 because you can't have too many of them. Unfortunately bunnings was still completely out of small to medium sized pots (ffs fellas it's been like 3 weeks now) except for their massively expensive range which I refuse to buy and I've been unable to source cheap/free pots elsewhere in a timely manner so most ended up in the larger square pots I've been using for the already established plants. Shit happens so on with the pics.

I'm interested in blue trichos like the one in the background of the crest pic. Sharxx blue (hi @sharxx101 above me lol) peruvianus david, len, etc. come to mind. Do you have much along those lines or anything mega blue in general? edit: Just saw when this was posted and although I'm late to the party I'm still interested if you have anything available.

This cactus is absolutely gorgeous https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/trichocereus-bridgesii-Monstrose-Crest-Penis-Cactus-Very-Rare-Lw-Astrophytum/254074332751?hash=item3b2802a64f:g:DF8AAOSwcGpcPlj9:rk:1:pf:1&frcectupt=true

I can't help with the ID but I wanted to say those are some damn pretty flowers. Members like you are what make this community so great

Glad to hear that you're both really trust worthy and have lots of goodies like freaky monstrose cacti and tobacco. I'll definitely remember that for the future Turns out I was wrong about the unlabelled cacti from a previous post. I've been swamped by the generosity from the members here already so I was a tad confused as to what they were but from a process of elimination they've got to be Sir Jeans's 'Jeans' which I'm mega stoked about. If that wasn't good enough they've been met with some new family members today so here's 2x Rita, Rosei 1 and 2, an absolutely monstrous Super Pedro, a really fat Helon cut and my first two sprouts from the blue peru project which I'm happy to say are Rosei #1 x John. Except for stabbing myself a dozen or so times and running out of pots today's been a fantastic day in the garden

Thanks mate but unfortunately I'm broke for another month or so. I've already committed myself to purchasing from other people this month and have my heart set on getting a few bulk packs of seeds afterwards. If your offer is still good at the end of February though I'd love to take a look

I forgot about how strict those rules are. I remembered it mentioning not talking about increasing potency, methods of preparation, etc. but damn, my bad. Sorry folks. I read up about using milk and it looks like it might actually be quite effective at stopping the spread of tmv. It won't help the infected plants, in fact I read absolutely nothing will, but it will happily bind to the virus outside the plant and stop the spread until it gets washed off by rain or the plant has new growth that isn't protected at which point an uninfected plant is vulnerable again. Now the really shitty thing is that where I live conditions are perfect for it, it's already here and short of making my own powdered skim milk chem trails and blanketing a high percentage of Australia in every direction around me absolutely there's no slowing it down let alone stopping it. The only real choice I have is to play a numbers game looking for strong plants that can grow up in this infected environment without succumbing to it and that's not a terrible thing. I'll cry my man tears for sure every time I lose a plant but given 3-5 years of throwing down massive amounts of seeds I'll have an army of plants that laugh in the face of such dangers and from there I can start looking at them for other traits that make them worth keeping around. Survivability first, everything else second and a world of heartbreak and fun in the meantime. Should be interesting Speaking of interesting things I had some new additions to the garden today, Melted Wax and I'm pretty sure they're Crazy Spine and Nothink but they came unlabeled so I'm just waiting on confirmation before giving them a name tag. I hate thinking about how much I spent on that one melted wax cut but it was totally worth it, it's dead sexy

I read that about skim milk last night but I thought it was just the internet having a laugh. I'll definitely look into it and the other things you suggested. I'm definitely not trading plants with anyone anytime soon. If I get on top of this yeah maybe, but in the meantime keeping this bug to myself is the least I can do. Last thing I want is for it spread like crazy like what's happening in the usa. If my cacti die that would be terrible but helping to wipe the rest out would be a crime against humanity. Everyone should get to experience mescaline so if I have to bunker down and take one for the team so be it.