I learnt that there were people out there who were able to see past the fact that I was 17 when I went to my first meet up.
And treated me like a peer even if they had children my age, which was a big deal for me at the time since it wasn’t a hobby shared with my regular friend circles.
i learnt how you can use the colour shades from making a chocolate milk to guide pH levels lacking measuring strips etc to get dem jars of apple cider vinegar and root bark tea ready.
I learnt that you can keep a ratty Pach cut in complete neglect for years and it’ll still grow roots. I literally just planted a 30x4-5cm cut I took moving house 4 years prior and neglected completely so it’s bents 40degree from stretching, and the tip is weird a half esten clump of pups….
Anyway its trying to pup one out after <10 days in soil and roots were starting growing just sitting under the deck so now with soil it’s taking up water aleady.
i learnt that if you’ve got asthmatic friends they appreciate a lil pinch of brug flower in spliffs as it’s a nice flavour and a bronchialdilater
Also learnt that the strength of tropanes in Brug flowers vary dramatically between flowers harvested on the same tree at different times of day so if you have to use small oral dosages for nausea etc then only use leaves as a little piece of flower one day might be perfect and the next day talking to all your disappearing friends from the same amount.
I learnt that when a subculture picks and chooses when they want to apply science and when to apply alternative theories, the result is pretty hilarious.
“I only take plant sacraments’…*5 mins later* “…Oh yeah I’ll have a drop and a cap too”
-“Didn’t you say only plant..”
“‘No they are made with organic chemistry. Besides they start from a natural plant derived precursor..’
….
*offer my tube of sunscreen whilst sitting in 35deg direct sublight*
- “oh no that shit gives you cancer”
I learnt that commercial cactus mix is absolute garbage... just improve the aeration and drainage of regular premium potting mix.
I also learnt that all anyone needs for propagation etc is premium potting mix, peat, prop sand (ideally coarse grade), perlite, and fine grade vermiculite.
Otherwise all seed or cutting mixes can be made to appropriate material type based on ratio of peat, sand etc, and any mixes with specific drainage requirements can be modified by adding in stuff for drainage or stuff for retention to the potting mix. But if you're using natives, you'll need a native mix because they can't tolerate phosphorous and leads to toxicity. If anyone wants a guide of how I make my mixes and do my seeds/cuts then I'm happy to share. It's all derived from what I learnt doing Wholesale Nursery Hort when I was 17, but the skills are still there and the stuff I learnt in bio/chem subjects at uni only strengthened a lot of my knowledge. Though none of it has any use to my job in tech these days, but never a day I regret learning those skills.