_e_

nice exp. salvi, keep us posted... and good luck!

i have worked with foil because it is easy to work with, cheap, easily available, and because commonly i 'hang' the walls which means that a piece of foil becomes your main building block, which is easily moldable, light weight, and durable. I have not noticed any hot spots or burns, but generally i dont work with too much light, and have good air flow and space... I know its definately not ideal, but it is easy and effective.. Im not sure what mylar is??? but i doubt u could get anything cheaper then foil??? i get 50m by 1.5m foil rolls for under 50$. [ 01. May 2005, 10:24: Message edited by: min(E)rval ]

Id have to agree with planthelper, the 600w light is way too close to those plants, to combat this u can hang the light from its side and provide a reflective surface all the way aroudn your grow 'box'... The reflective surface could be foil (rhino wrap) or the 95% reflective plastic called panda wrap.. Both have thier pros and cons, rhino wrap is relativelyu inexpensive but only has around a 70% reflection rate (depending on grade) and is heat transferring, whereas panda wrap has awesome reflection, no heat transfer, but is pretty damn expensive... Try laying the reflective material underneath the plants as well on all sides and above, this way u can cath any 'lost' light, as well as bounce it around a bit to counteract the 'sideways' projection of the light.... The more light hungry plants are put closer to the light source, and the less light hungry more sensitive plants further away...You can stop the burning effect somewhat by constructing a clear plastic/perspex wall just infront of the first line of light hungry plants.. By doing this you would also have created a humidity trap in parts, although no matter how airtight u try once there is airflow it will not be enough to maintain upwards of 65-70% humidity... With your set up id strongly encourage having the air flow from underneath the bench (in) and above the ligth (out)... this way u such the harsh hot dry air out the top and introduce cool room temperature (somewhat moist) air from below ... In the case of cacti it would be the other way around... hope this made sense i just woke up peace and good luck ***E*** [ 01. May 2005, 03:04: Message edited by: min(E)rval ]

hit us with a link, im extremely interested in anyone elses experience.. whilst i have no photos i have had amaizing results from grafts and older buttons inside under lights. cheers ***E***

quote: The links say the fungi forms dormant conidia in winter and breaks out after warmth and high humidit with o/head watering -i wonder if there is any way you could disrupt the natural cycle enough to stop it reproducing or even kill it? Through unnatural means, u could: expose the infected specimen to high heat, intense light and extended light hours, low humidity, no winter, a prolonged warm dry dark period.... and so forth... It would be interesting to know more about the life cycle of this fungi and isolate exactly what componant of its existance is vulnerable..It could be something as simple as anti-dandruff shampoo a-la evolution :D It would be awesome if we could develop a treatment that meant that infected specimens could be resurrected prior to introducing them to the colection, thus stopping plagues... just because no ones done it yet doesnt mean its not possible...And what better place for cacti to manifest yet another defence mechanism

yeah ive not had any luck with irradication.. definately slowed it down through heat and dryness and prolonged artificial light. however in the end it is still active on the plants no matter what i do (just to lesser degrees).. EDIT: Something i have wondered and speculated about is the roll of surface gravel providing a contact point for moisture and the base of the plant.. All of my inflicted plants had quite a deal of gravel as a top layer in their pots...Does anyone know if this could provide an environment for moisture to cling to, and if so would removal of the gravel stop moisture contacting the plant directly and also allow for the soil to dry out faster? [ 30. April 2005, 06:05: Message edited by: min(E)rval ]

something ive found is that air flow and humidity is hard in such a situation as u will probably have a diverse array of plants with diverse needs. To combat this i would create mini biomes/ mesospheres... i.e bunch all the plants together that require the same light intensity and humidity and have them all contained within some plastic, like a mini greenhouse... Make sure u have a heat source to run during the dark cycle if the area is susceptible to fluctuations in temperature (especially if it gets cold during the night) Some tropicals will suffer no matter what lioght regime ur running if they dont have the right temperature gradient/constant... Mostly, id say u will have success because u are experimenting. I have built about 5 different grow spaces in the past year... Of them, my last one is going to be the 'mecca', ive pulled it down and re-shaped it about 3 times, and now it is starting to take good form.. The best way to succeed is to listen to your plants, spend time in the space with the plants to suss out whats going on, and never be afraid to use ur imagination and creativity to come up with a wacky solution to whatever problem arises.... As winter approaches im sure many in the community are thinking along the same lines.. good luck ppl, and remember to consult your local hydroshop.. Even tho their knowledge of plants is limited, their knowledge of plant growth technology is exceptional and very adaptable to our interests. peace ***E***

yep, you can often spot em a mile away... there's no way an undercover cop is going to look less dodgy then a dodgy drug dealer in my opinion... Everytime i have seen one trying to bust people, they look a hell of a lot nastier and darker then anyone i would ever associate with... Having seen many at free and public events, trying to blend in and look casual whilst still 'sussing' everythin thats going on, I find they try to attatch themsleves to groups, somewhere on the fringe, whilst still sussing everything out thats going on around them.. I think the more you see of them the less effective their so called 'camouflage' is... I remember a friend was extremely intoxicated one night and was pursued from room to room of a pub by a dodgy looking character who kept askign him to score drugs for him.. The funny thing is, that as this guy had been pestering my mate, he had to tell him he was a cop before he could actually get him to get drugs for him... It was pretty funny, my mate finally gave in to the dodgy bastard pestering and said "yeah ok mate, what do you want", the guy then replied "i want some speed or e, and im a police officer" Well he must have thought my mate was more trashed then he actually was... He heard this, looked at the guy, and said "well fuck off then you scumbag".... They just dont give up, even if it means being that desperate and low...In fact i can imagine that having someone in uniform at such an event would be a lot more effective at deterring drug dealers... I think preying on drug users rather then dealers is a waste of tax payers money, and any cop who spends his time skimming the bottom of the bucket so to speak, isnt doing the public any kind of service. They create a very unpleasent and dodgy vibe, the same vibe that seedy dodgy drug dealers create... And busting someone for a stick of weed seems to me to be absolutely ludicrous, especially given the context.. Wouldnt their time be better spent looking for people supplying 15yr old girls with alcohol??? 2b- when i was 15 living in the burbs and such thigns interested and entertained me, we used to get great smoke and amphetamines from a local detective... He even let people who he knew come to his house to buy them, and we knew that the drugs were coming from the local stations drug bin... He was more dodgy then any drug dealer ive ever met, and was also inclined to allow sexual favours from young girls for payment... A while after we grew up and grew out of such things, we heard from the person who used to frequent his household that he was robbed at gunpoint and subsequently transferred to another state... (apparently the local bikees didnt like the fact that not only was the local constabulary busting them and taking away their drugs, but they were selling it back to one of their kids ) [ 30. April 2005, 03:50: Message edited by: min(E)rval ]

yeah this is awesome, i hope it means the Basin is back as a venue.. it is possibly my favourite venue.. sorry, it is DEFINATELY my favourite venue.. and due to some unthoughtfull promoters was out of bounds for a while due to an illegal party and no responsibility with rubbish.. This is a big step forward for our scene.. nice1 p.p.s, this also means we could quite easily secure some pristine areas for ethno confrencing if we had a doof during the night hey apothecary, plenty on most weekends, some in clubs, but best outdoors... Ive been to a heap of parties around sydney, but i still reckon central coast/hunter valley has the best atmosphere and scenery... Some of those colo parties had a very gritty vibe... check www.australiens.net and the 'whats on' section. For anyone interested there is a great outdoor party on up at Mt sugarloaf this weekend with Psyboriginal playing, and the usual suspects.. should be a lot of fun, the last one sure was.. (if only i didnt have uni commitments id be there with my psy eyes on)

here we go... EDIT: no need for two pics now is there [ 30. April 2005, 08:32: Message edited by: min(E)rval ]

i believe this is a party that is occurring in Nrth NSW on the 3rd of june (i think).. it is also the first outdoor party a certain member of the ethnobotanical community will be djing at... looks awesome, Siaqua are top guys and play some very original and very fresh music... And hired goonz always impress. peace ***E***

heheh lmfao... and exactly how did u stumble accross this beauty?? I remember a little while ago there was an advert for some kind of alcohol that had a scantly clad beauty inhaling brugmansia flowers from their perch.... I wonder whether she felt like she was 'flying' after this photo shoot? There is a fair bit of 'contact' in some of these photos... nice find EDIT: number 13 is my new pc background... its the most appealing one to me [ 29. April 2005, 03:23: Message edited by: min(E)rval ]

absolutely nothing!!! I have come to grips with the fact that i will never see my babies again, and that we were violated... now i just have to get back to some kind of head state that allows for new people to be welcome in our house, and i need to get over my anger and insecurity.... This was a kick in the guts whilst we were down for the count, we have had a lot of bad shit happen to us in the past 8 mths, one after the after... some pretty scary and heavy shit, as well as some downright unluckiness... I suppose we are just trying to find some flow in amongst all the crap that keeps beating against us... This theft just showed me that there was more to come, and not to try too hard to plant my feet in the ground just yet... There must be a message in amongst all of this, i suppose when we have healed we can try to understand... until then we are just focusing on 'being' which has been hard of late. peace all and thanx for your support, ***E***

http://www.mushroomjohn.com/exoticforays1.htm

wow!!!! what an awesome site! What an awesome way to live lucky bugger!

yeah last night was real shitty...tlk about restless sleep lol, there wasnt a dog bark, shoe scuff, house movement or banging water pipe that i didnt ultra perceive as something it wasnt.... And theres no way id get a dog living here.. It would be cruel, we have a tiny yard that is fully concreted... I think we are going to run some bell lines EDIT: (OOPS DID I SAY BELL LINES??? what i meant to say was 'GLASS' lines ) and bring anything that is of worth inside into a grow room.... cheers for your thoughts guys. peace ***E*** [ 27. April 2005, 03:32: Message edited by: min(E)rval ]

T- the plants stolenw ere from different genetic source then those with the black death... they had not shown any signs of disease, however were added to the collection 3 weeks after the initial 'plague' had been quarantined... The reason for me not wanting to accept donations is that i dont feel turning this situation into a plee for charity is quite what i was looking for by sharing the experience witht he online community.. As i said i will be happy to offer somethign in return for any contributions... Here is the only pic i could find displaying the source and variety of the bulk of the specimens in question.. The blueing isnt that obvious, however if u go to the gallery and enlarge it you should be able to see the blue/green colour...This colour/blueing intensified the longer the specimen was kept dry.. As it had been dry for about 2.5months it had taken on a considerably attractive blue frosting... The thing that made me think the people in question were a little 'ethno-enlightened' was that there were plenty of cacti sitting out the back and they only took the ones of special interest... They took the biggest and most 'sacred' that were there.. It must have taken a discerning eye to know that the T.bridgesii var monstrose were more 'interesting' then the other cacti and succulents aroud the place. :mad: And that they took the tiny lophs over other smaller T.peruvianus and T.pachanoi that were left. T-this doesnt mean it is someone that is a part of THIS community, more someone who has done their homework, or hungout with myself for a while Peace ***E*** [ 24. April 2005, 03:09: Message edited by: min(E)rval ]

Strangebrew- These were the plants that weren't infected with black death i.e they were newer and bigger and healthier then the other plants that were effected by black death... The ones that had disease were inside under lights, and the others were outside.. There were some of the diseased specimens outside however the perps decided that they werent worth stealing and left them behind. Hebrew- thanx mate, ill prob grab a couple of the grow tips i gave u back, as i have none of that strain left...cheers p.s strangebrew- there is absolutely no visibility from adjacent land or the street where my cacti live... it is right under my back verandah where they get half full sun, half filtered sun, and are protected from rain.... ***E*** [ 23. April 2005, 11:51: Message edited by: min(E)rval ]

me and my friends have gotten together and are racking our brains tonight..at present i cannot think of anyone in direct contact with me and my household who culd have done this..we are very trusting, open and generous people. that said we have only been living here for 2 months, and had made an open decision when we didi to make sure it was a positive growing and nurturing environ.. whilstour energyhasnt been 100% due to lots of other stuff, id still say we havent associated with. nor shared any energy with, people whom are 'suss' or 'dodgy'. This may just be a 'friend of a friend', however i will make sure i keep my eyes and mind open to any other scenario. Id say the reward should encourage anyone, who didint feel motivated beforehand (i.e they are not direct friends, just people who know about the situation) to come forward... Obviously these people arent trustworthy, and if this is the case, they will have big mouths and friends who have even bigger mouths thanx anywho, if i do know who it was then it will be painfull.. but i will accept it.

thanx jack, but i cant accept.. id like to replace what has been taken, but at this stage i think i need to make a pro-active step to replacing them by offerring trades... if people feel they would like to help then offerr me a trade, but i cant let this become a charity situation.. its extremely nice and encouraging that people liek yourself and hebrew have offered some specimens free of charge... ITs what makes this community so special.. but right now i think i need to focus on positivity.. and positivity means making my collection bigger and better then ever-through through my own means... My girlfriend has just returned home from work and is in tears at the news.. I got her into ethnobotany and cacti when we were in melbourne, thats where i sourced these cacti from... When we were there we met an amaizing cacti head with an impressive collection (check the gallery)..That is where we obtained the lophs, the only ones in my immediate collection... Then there was the harvest, witnessed by anyone who was following the triptamind thread over at ea.net.. All of the grow tips that we sourced during this harvest are currently in other peoples possession, the few specimens we chose to keep were stolen in this raid...The worst thing is that the one and only cacti that my girlfriend has ever attatched herself to, the one and only specimen she said 'was hers' has been stolen. It was so rewardign for me to see her grow into ethnobotany, so rewarding for me to see her start to understand and respect these plants, even more rewarding when she decided that she wanted to have plants of her own in the collection..now the blue beast that she had chosen from the motherplant is gone. This might be a load of tempremental nostalgic bs for some.. but u can read a lot into this case study.. cheers for your support people, ***E*** [ 23. April 2005, 08:07: Message edited by: min(E)rval ]

hey thanx for the support guys, it is evident from the communications ove had with people that 99% of the ethno community rock....its just the 1% that drags us down I hypothesize that it was 2 people with a car because: Due to the size and nature of the specimens taken, they were ripped from the pots (leaving 3/4 their rootball behind) as they were way too big and heavy to carry. This means that there was only one trip on and off the premesis in which they took as much as they could carry... If there were two trips they would have taken the lot, and tried to take the pots... There was way too many specimens taken for one person to carry... the biggest one would have been an effort on its own. There is no way all these babies were taken away on foot.. Anyhow, for now i hope that the specimens themselves are ok... i can tell they have been hurt as most of them no longer have a root ball (its in my pots), and that the person who took them did not have intent to eat them.. If they were taken to be eaten then im sure that the karma of this act will be more then enough to deterr these people from ever stealing again... I will now keep my collection inside under lights. Whilst this is not ideal, i feel that it is the only way ic an progress. Once someone has violated you thismuch, whats stopping them doing it again and worse? peace to all ***E*** And thanks to all who have shown support...

i wish i had photos to show people but i dont...These babies were big and bewdifull, the blueing and thickness of the pedros would be enough to make any cacti nut cream their jeans...but alas i can not afford a digital camera.. just for those in the know, this was doen by 2 people, who had a car.... the size of the specimens meant that they had to be pulled out of the pots in order to carry them, and even then ther would have needed to be 2 people to carry the amount that was taken.

yeah no insurance here... im just a student with no income... the lophs were 5 years old not 15....but the pedros were all huge and chunky... its more the fact that i cared and nurtured for these thigns, and anyone knowing me who has been at my house knows i am a generous and trusting person... this sux.. REWARD NOW AVAILABLE of ($300 value, even more value to ethnobots)!!!!(for anyone who has any information regarding where who or what) And no i havent been to the police, this would be pointless and karma is my own personal favourite method of retribution... [ 23. April 2005, 05:44: Message edited by: min(E)rval ]

i think the most heartbreaking thing about this is that it is obviously someone i know and trust..They have only taken the 'prize' specimens, i.e those of most worth, no disease, mast sacred and significant... I just cant believe ive had someone of such merit in my house!! Add to that list of stolen cacti 2 T.bridgesii var monstrose... I really hope karma sorts this shit out. Does this mean i have to have my entire collection under lock and key from now on??? obviously large noisy gates arent enough... fuck this sux. peace to all (except scum bags...) ***E***

how long was that??? good stuff if u stuck to it...