carlturney

This next meet is only 5 days from now. This coming Sunday. Still on? Is this a mushroom foray, or a seed/plant/cutting swap & discussion? Is this an indoor venue, or a day out in the rain and cold? Can anyone please give me further info about the exact location of Simandnada - Digger's - Herronswood? I can't find anything. Thanks a lot. Carl Turney Mobile 0427 024 735

Hi All, (1) I'm putting Sunday 20 July in my diary. There's a 50/50 chance that I will be working that day. But my plants to share will be there, even if I'm not. (2) Still no venue. So =no= one reading this thread lives in Boroondara (Kew, Balwyn, Glen Iris, Hawthorne, Camberwell, Canterbury, Surrey Hills, Ashburton)? Sigh. Another possibility... Anyone an officer of a not-for-profit organisation? I think the Councils are expecting that, but they may let an unincorporated group meet a few times "so we can get ourselves organised and registered". I'm running late for work, and WAY behind on chores, so can't throw any more time at organising it. Anyone wanna contact the Council and get more info on a cheap place on the 20th? www.boroondara.vic.gov.au Ring or text me on 0427 024 735 to coordinate. Thanks VERY much. I can front up to $50 to cover the rent/insurance/bond if needed in advance. (3) (Not that old.) "Too old to be cougar bait. Too young to die." Cheers, Carl

Hi, Wow, low response level, so far. Maybe better after we get something definite. Yes, a mushroom foray (yep, that's the official word for it) sounds great. I can identify a couple of species definitively, and leave all the rest alone. Any of you have any spare time to chase up the details of a meeting? I'm pretty busy with work, helping a family with an alcoholic, and catching up on a backlog of home office work. Cheers, Old Man Carl

Hi All, Please see the new thread I started today, titled "Melbourne Growers Group - New Venue and Next Meeting?" in the News and Notices section of the Forum. Relevant to this topic. Thanks, Carl

Hi All, Please see the new thread I started today, titled "Melbourne Growers Group - New Venue and Next Meeting?" in the News and Notices section of the Forum. Relevant to this topic. Thanks, Carl

Hi All, Sorry for the late notice... Tomorrow (Sunday) I'll be giving away (for absolutely free) 40 established potted specimens, covering 8 different species. Most are 450mm tall or less. Five are about 1 metre tall. But wait, there's more: I've got to LEAVE the meeting by 1pm. So... First come, first served. Be there as soon after 12 noon as possible. Cheers, Carl p.s. If anyone has any empty pots to give away, I =sure= could use them. Am ONLY interested in 150 to 200mm top diameter. (May be called 6-inch to 8-inch.)

Hi All, Noon, Sunday, 24 November, Tecoma Pavilion, Royal Botanic Gardens. OK. Good thing I searched this forum today (first time in ~4 months). Too bad we don't have a mailing list, to take the initiative of telling all interested members. I will do my best to be there, and =if= I am, will bring only half a ute-load of plants to share this time. (My garden runneth over, and verily I am like Mickey Mouse in The Sorcerer's Apprentice.) Will be good to see you all again. Will have to leave early, though. Another engagement. Carl p.s. It will be Sexpo Weekend then, for those who like to combine S&D&R&R.

Hi All, (1) About a year or 2 ago, I bought a packet of "Ipomoea violacea var Milky Way" from our most excellent benefactors here at SAB. It sure seemed different than the I. violaceas I've grown in the past: A more hairy plant, and the number, size, & shape of the seeds were slightly different. Now I see a Wikipedia entry that says Milky Way are I. purpurea, not I. violacea/tricolor. Anyone point me to a reference that would clear this identification up? (2) Any info anywhere on whether Milky Way seeds are more, less, or similar (in psychoactive effects) to Heavenly Blues or Pearly Gates? (3) Finally, if it =is= I.purpurea, I read a post about that being a more invasive and weedy species. So not likely to die in a typical Melbourne-type winter? By the way: Whatever species it is, I had lots of empty seed pods and no signs of seed on the ground. So the local mice (or ?) probably like it a lot. Thanks very much, Carl Melbourne

Hi All, Some ideas I've got on the subject. I don't profess to be an expert, but have had successes in a wide range of organisms (from fungi to cacti to A. phlebophylla). Your comments, corrections and criticisms to this are warmly welcome. (1) The pics from the original poster show pots with what seem to be commercial potting mix. That stuff is pretty lousy. It's essentialy undecomposed sawdust. I've been taught that the microbes breaking down the cellulose in the wood chips etc. have a greater "pull" on available nutrients than the rootlets of the plant itself. They are in competition, and without the constant presence of slow-release fertilizers, the plant will lose out. I'd use a personally-created soil mix. One that has plain dirt, loam, matured home compost, trace minerals, and 2 other important ingredients. (See 2 and 3.) (2) Acacia trees are in the same family as legumes (or something). Something akin to clover. They get their nitrogen from certain symbiotic bacteria or fungi on the surface of their rootlets. You =could= keep feeding them nitrogen in the form of fertilizers, but it's just not in their nature. I haven't tried it myself yet, but the next time I grow some acacias: I'm going to "innoculate" my soil mix (above) with a hefty portion of soil that I've taken from right at the rootlets of a large, healthy acacia tree (preferably the very same species as I'm growing). This seems to be in direct contrast to the "sterilise your soil" advice in the Marion Simmons article, above. Comments? (3) One species that intrigues me is A. phlebophylla. I noticed that is grows in stark direct sunlight. That it has cold winters. And that it is in just one place in the world, on a certain type of granit-ey soil (combined with centuries of fully-decomposed predecessors). So, I will be adding powdered granite to my soil mix (above). If I don't live near the same geology as found on Mt. Buffalo, Victoria, Australia: I will go to some stonemasons, ensure they're working with real granite, and offer to take some of their meddlesome dust/rubble from their workspaces. :-) (4) Also noticed that, in the case of phlebophylla in the wild at least, their root tips always are in contact with water, but they never thrive in constantly soggy or wet soil. i.e. Water must always be available, but down at the bottom of a preferably very tall pot -- or the tree is planted near (but not in) a year-round body of water. Any specimens I had died when their pots dried completely out. Comments? Carl Melbourne

Hi Melbourne-area Growers, Let's have the next meet on Sunday the 5th of May. 12 Noon. At the Tecoma Pavillion, Melbourne Royal Botanical Gardens. It's near RBG's Gate C, and at D1 on map 2L of the Melways. Doesn't seem to be any holiday. It will be a good time for the collection of local therapeutic fungi. Maybe a discussion on the identification of popular local plants found in the wild? Hopefully it won't be raining on the 5th (but will be on the days surrounding that date.) Cheers, Carl

Just checked the forecast at BOM: Sunday expected to be cloudy and 18. Looks like it will be a great get-together. Sabry: Yes, mushrooms in Melbourne. Different species need different microclimates and substrates, of course. Some times Mother Nature needs help from humans -- especially for certain species of fungi. Come, learn, share the knowledge.

Hi All, Wow, this coming Sunday, just a few days away. At this time, the BOM is predicting a few scattered showers for the day. Suppose we should be discrete about bringing potted plants and cuttings into the Gardens, so the staff don't have to worry about assorted negative impacts. (My bad.) Maybe it could also be the inaugural meeting of the MMM, too. (Melbourne's Mushroom Munchers) Anyone want to bring along a fresh specimen or two, for training/exhibition purposes? Cheers, Carl

Hi All, My great mate is going back to America in 2 months. We're currently living in this modern, spacious, quiet, beautiful 3-bedroom home in Bayswater (25km due East of the Melbourne CBD). I need a new house mate, to share it with. (The rental fees are great, but I can't afford it all on my own.) If you know someone looking for a new place to live, especially an ethnobotanist, please let them know about me. PLEASE DON'T REPLY TO ME VIA THIS THREAD. Direct contact is preferred. Comments you want all to see are OK. (Sadly, I don't check here nearly often enough.) According to the by laws: Must be 55+ years old. Must NOT have any pets. Thanks for your help. Regards, Carl Turney Home 03 9720 3975 Website www.boms.com.au

Hi All, Am definitely not going. The whole thing strikes me as counter-productive to the goals of legalisation via public awareness. Had a close look at the preparations over a year ago, and know of other approaches that would be much more effective. e.g. If something hasn't worked for the last 20-30 (?) years, then more of the same won't make any difference. Also, the declining media interest also seems to trigger a more confrontational and hostile "attention getting" attitude -- definitely something that will only bring NEGATIVE general public awareness. Doing something that makes the True Believers feel good has some merit, but not at the expense of marshalling resources toward the most effective law reform activities. Cheers, Carl Melbourne

Sigh, been 3 weeks, and no one over 55 seems interested in sharing this great place. Getting closer to me needing to move out and store my stuff. Maybe someone here in the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne wants a mature, progressive, clean, quiet, responsible house-mate who is very handy with a wide range of plants. Any one needing someone like me in their abode? Cheers, Carl Turney Home 03 9720 3975

I've spent more time in Melbourne than Sydney. Most of Melbourne has a superior road system (especially for the visitor or newcomer) thanks to its predominance of straight North/South and East/West streets. Thus, navigation and movement are much easier. (Sadly, it has Australia's love of changing-street-names "because that's what this suburb always called it in the old days".) Unfortunately, thanks to significant recent population growth, its roads also have become very clogged, and its drivers much worse than I recall from years ago. Note: Victoria's rulers have introduced toll ways that don't even have toll booths!!! Drivers (even tourists) have to go out of their way to pay the fee, or else face significant fines. (Don't know if NSW disrespects its drivers in a similar manner.) Why the populace didn't revolt at the time still amazes me. Seems to have only trained the rulers to abuse the populace with even more indifference to rights and convenience. Sydneys roads have always struck me as old donkey trails that were directly adopted as roads, and grown into major roads. Thank Goddess for GPS. And, of course, Melbourne =is= Australia's cultural capital. Carl

Aw shucks, Torsten. Thanks so much for the kind words. Yep, not many Senior Citizens among my major hobbies... ethnobotany, polyfidelity, world domination. Cheers, y'all.

Hi, OK. Let's have the next one on Sunday the 5th of May. 12 Noon. At the Tecoma Pavillion, Melbourne Royal Botanical Gardens. It's near RBG's Gate C, and at D1 on map 2L of the Melways. Doesn't seem to be any holiday. It will be a good time for the collection of local therapeutic fungi. Maybe a discussion on the identification of all types of popular local plants found in the wild? Hopefully it won't be raining on the 5th (but will be on the days surrounding that date.) Am starting a new thread for this event. Cheers, Carl

Hi All, "You're welcome", for all the thanks. I was just glad to share my over abundance of plants. When my life is more settled, I'd like to expand my collection of species. (1) How does the second Sunday in May (the 12th) sound for the next Melbourne meet? Please send feedback on that day's suitability. (That's Florence Nightingale's birthday, so medicinal plants that have become accepted into mainstream medicine could be the theme.) Let me know ASAP, so we can adjust the date if need be. (2) For those who didn't get my business card, my website is www.boms.com.au My contact details are there, as I rarely ever visit these forums. (And if you know any small business owners, please tell them about me. Thanks.) Cheers, Carl TEXT ONLY (drive for a living) -- 0427 024 735

Hi, I will be bringing along a lot of potted plants to share (various species), for anyone with a car or similar to take them home in. Believe it's important to spread the wealth. Looking forward to meeting new fellow growers, networking, and sharing gardening techniques. Carl Turney co-founder of EGA's predecessor (mini ethno botanica victoria)

Hi All, I've scanned through all the posts on this thread, but can't figure out WHEN and WHERE. I believe the date is confirmed as Sunday October 21st 2012 -- but what TIME of day? I believe we meet at "Gate C", but of what ADDRESS or famous venue? I'm only growing legal things, and you may not want to broadcast the above details on this forum. I also may not visit this forum again. So please contact me directly via mobile, landline, email, or snailmail. That info is on my "company" website (at the bottom of this post). If you don't know me: I co-started the predecessor to EGA in Ringwood, about 10 years ago, and attended the Ethnobotanicas up at (Torsten's and Daniel's) before that time. Cheers, Carl Turney www.boms.com.au

Hi All, Are any of you willing and able to do a bit of volunteer webmastering for a small, profession-based, drug law reform group, already registered as a not-for-profit? I don't know if they already have web pages written or not, a domain name registered or not, and/or hosting arranged or not. But I can find out, if you want to know before offering to help. They'll most likely be wanting something pretty basic. There may be a desire for members-only pages, but that's just a worst-case scenario. You can always just "flesh out" one of these 2,000 free templates... www.oswd.org If not, do you know of anyone who could and would do it? Please pass this on. Please contact me directly, off-list, for an introduction. Thanks very much, Carl Turney Mobile 0427 024 735 [email protected]

Hi All, Got one reply via the Forum. Have found a couple more Aussie drug law reform groups that could use help setting up websites. If you don't web master yourself, maybe you know someone who does. Please contact me directly, if you could. Carl Turney Mobile 0427 024 735 [email protected]

Hi Guys, Not enough volunteers yet, and some other top-calibre DLR groups need similar help. So please feel free to offer. Luwa: Great. Take note of my direct contact details, as I rarely visit the forums. Contact me when you're ready. Would also like to help folks start up a "IT Wizards for Drug Law Reform" or "Technicians for Drug Law Reform" group. There's lots of DLR groups that need better websites, higher search-engine listings, Wikipedia entries, tighter security, etc. Cheers, Carl Turney Melbourne Mobile 0427 024 735

Hi all, Hope this is in the right part of the Forum, and meets the standards. Very sorry if it's not. Regarding today's (3 Apr 2012) press release, of drug law reform (DLR) statements by a wide range of powerful celebrities on both sides of politics: True, there's a risk that no real legislative change will come of it. But much of that's because DLR organisations have not conducted themselves as efficiently and effectively as possible over the past 40 years. I see a solution to this (below), based on my recent brief employment in DLR (and a study of the current scene), my Masters in Public Policy, my Honours in Commerce, and numerous little successes in strategic and tactical management in the private and non-profit sectors. The Australian drug law reform (DLR) movement seems to suffer from some worrying patterns: -- Each organisation is noticeably lacking in some professional-level skills necessary for optimum performance (e.g. finance, lobbying, recruitment, PR, records, IT, strategy, etc.). -- Most DLR groups work in isolation from the others. i.e. There is little coordination, synchronisation, or collaboration between DLR groups. -- Too many DLR groups talk too much and/or do too little (or at least too little of what proves to be effective at altering public opinion). -- I know of no DLR groups that have viable and active chapters outside of its home state/territory. (Please advise me if you know of any.) -- I know of no DLR groups for certain key professions that would assist the movement (journalists, writers, marketers, accountants, academics, IT techies, teachers/principals, etc.) -- There are gaps and overlaps in the areas that DLR groups cover. -- No DLR groups appear to have carefully analysed all aspects of the successes of DLR in the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, etc. Instead, they just copy the decades-failed tactics of US groups, or think up things that seem logical to the uninitiated, and then suffer R&D failures. On the other hand... The DLR movement does =not= need yet another organisation saying "we're doing this better than anyone else, because of XYZ, so leave them and come join us". It also does =not= need a group trying to be the umbrella or biggest group, led by someone with a God/Goddess or King/Queen personality. So I propose a secretariat, one which works behind the scenes, never making public statements of its own, and never lobbying on its own. It provides support services to all eligible DLR groups that request them. e.g. It will help facilitate collaboration between DLR groups; will evaluate and despatch volunteers with different skills to the groups that need them at the time; will arrange an annual round-table members-only conference of DLR groups; will maintain (or direct member groups to) a repository of resources and background info (drug-related and non-profit-lobby-group related); and other support services, as decided by the member-organisations. Let's face it. The anti-DLR groups (governments, churches, political parties, etc.) are better-organised, and they're winning. I'm not ready at this time to help bring this secretariat to life. But I expect to within a few weeks or months. (The members of one well-managed DLR group, with quite enough on its hands already, has seen a preview of this. I don't expect them to divert their resources to it.) If you are a qualified, experienced, and successful (former) general manager (like me) or broad-range senior administrator, with time on your hands: I'm happy to help you take this idea off me and run with it. But otherwise: Just think about this, with an open mind, and await further announcements about it. I'm sharing this idea with you, now, for these reasons: -- Today's DLR PR announcement looks like the biggest since I returned from overseas 7 months ago. -- You may have some special skills that various DLR groups need (web site authoring, bookkeeping, graphic designing, marketing, librarianship, call centre, writing, etc.) - so consider volunteering. -- You may be the officer or member of a DLR group that would benefit from such services - so consider asking for help. -- You may be in a DLR group that is dwindling and has had no real successes, and would benefit from a friendly confidential "business audit" to help point out your weak points and strengths. -- You may know of DLR groups that didn't receive this email, and should get a copy of it - so please forward it, and CC me for the new address. -- You may find errors, overlaps, or gaps in this proposal - so discuss it in the forum (or email me, if you must). -- To let you know there ARE things DLR groups are doing noticeably poorly, and there ARE solutions to those shortcomings. Cheers, Carl Turney Belgrave, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Mobile 0427 024 735 p.s. Keenly need a job and/or clients in the Melbourne area. Specialise in management, research, analysis, writing, training, clerical, etc. Happy for part-time and casual, too. More info is on the About page of my company website: www.boms.com.au Willing to consider relocation, under certain limited circumstances. Also happy getting exercise... So have a construction-site White Card, ute, PPE, hand tools, and some building/demolition experience.