poisonshroom

Looks like a Pachycereus of some kind

PGRs? what do you mean by that? I hadnt thought of ebay TBH - even though thats where I ordered the prickly pear seeds

Wasnt Fukushima going to be decommissioned in a few months anyway? As far as Im aware newer nuclear power plants are much safer than the one in fukushima. Also, Japan isnt the best place to build something like that - its very prone to earthquakes and tsunamis (tsunami being a japanese word). Nuclear power isnt necessarily safe, but neither is coal power (accidents, pollution, dust etc), and in terms of sustainability nuclear power is better than coal - uranium mines are much smaller and less destructive than coal mines, once a plant is built its cheaper to run, and produces less greenhouse emissions (although CO2 has recently been detected in nuclear plant emissions, its still obviously lower than burning coal, and of course water vapor is still produced - water being a greenhouse gas). Personally Im for nuclear power, but i think there are (potentially) better and safer ways to produce energy (especially for Australia) EDIT: geothermal looks promising, but not as sustainable as people think

Alcohol should be fine for cacti (iv wiped a bigish PC pach down with metho to try and kill what look like baby scale or mealies) not sure about other plants though. Id say try water first, but if you use alcohol you can always make a tar that you can dissolve in water (at varying concentrations to test), and that should keep for a while too if you store it right. EDIT: even if the alcohol tar doesnt dissolve in the water, by shaking it you could make a suspension (like with liquid ferts that settle during storage)

Archea (sp?) suggested the potassium nitrate (stump killer) the other day in my thread about germinating opuntia seeds. Definitely sounds interesting. I often include seasol in my water that i soak seeds in - not sure if it improves germination, but it cant be bad (unless there are bad bacteria in there)

Exactly - just look at the lifestyles mainstream musicians (all celebrities really) live - if it was really all about the music, they wouldnt be driving their masaratis to their hollywood mansions every night. Dont get me started on DRM and itunes You cant even put your music on another, itunes doesnt even let you put your music on a new computer if you have an ipod/iphone/iwhatever. pretty soon people will have to pay more if they let their friends listen to music on their ipod lol Edit: speaking of vinyl, Smashing Pumpkins' new album is free download (no DRM - same with NIN free download stuff) as they release each song, but every 4 songs they release a vinyl EP on coloured vinyl, with a cd, and the first one came with a "hand carved obelisk" - it was 60$ for that I bought it (because i thought the concept was fairly original and they are awesome), but I know what you mean buying CDs records and cassettes with the handmade covers... its like your buying someones art work instead of their mansion and usually actually goes towards making the music and the live performances

You can get epsom salts (bath salts) from the supermarket. Its usually with salt and the other spices. or you can get it from bunnings, but its sold as magnesium sulfate

Bump Still looking Im mainly after the GA-3 as I have some Opuntia and Duboisia Hopwoodii seeds on the way, and I know Herbalistics sells GA-3 and Duboisia Myoporoids seed, but Id rather trade for these items then make a $20 order + postage if Im only really after $8 worth of stuff

Ahh fair enough. Might be worth testing though - maybe it has something to do with activated charcoal absorbing something from the seeds (although that would be mainly for seeds with inbuilt germination inhibitors rather than just old seed)

Wow!! that is ridiculous - makes you wonder who the criminals really are I understand that music costs money to make, but these copyright laws really are out of control. I like what some bands are doing (eg Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead etc) where they release music for free download then sell CDs of the music or in the case of radiohead, pay what you feel the music is worth to download, then just the normal price for a CD, that way people who are real fans can have something physical and support their favourite bands. It also takes power out of the hands of the record companies and gives it back to the actual artist (the ones who are making millions of dollars for the record companies in the first place)

Thats really interesting - Iv never hear of that... where did you read that? It would be good if someone here knew or proposed a mechanism for how that would work. As for whether it actually works I dont know, Id also like to hear more about this

Oh ok... sounds interesting, might try it some time. Making it myself sounds a little dangerous (I know a decent amount about chemistry, but not enough to attempt something like that ). I think id stick to buying it.

Potassium nitrate hey? where would one acquire some of that?

I think im only going to have 10, so im going to save half in the fridge or freezer (cold stratification), and use a few techniques on the other half. Iv been meaning to get some GA-3 to use for some duboisia hopwoodii seeds, but thatll have to wait (gotta wait a few weeks for the seeds to get here from the US), so in the mean time i hope i can get a variety of opinions so i can figure out the best few different methods to try

Hmm thanks for the replies If only i had a machine i could put the seeds into to simulate a bird eating them then shitting them out again lol Iv heard of seeds taking as much as 9 years to germinate :S

Hey everyone I ordered some Opuntia macrocentra (purple prickly pear) seeds yesterday, and I was just wondering if anyone has any experience growing this species from seed or in general? Iv heard that Opuntia sp. can be a bit difficult to germinate and Iv read a few methods that supposedly have fairly mixed results, so does anyone have a good technique that they have used on this or other opuntia sp?

If theres still some left id be happy to take a packet off your hands pm'ed

Hey everyone - just looking for a couple of things Gibberellic acid Duboisia Myoporoides or hybrid seed or plants (seed may be better) Rauvolfia Serpantina seeds or plants Pm for my trade list =]

It should at least have a sort of papery feel over where it was cut. Rooting hormone may help it root faster, but if it isnt calloused properly then its likely to rot (even with the hormones) or at least take longer to root.

Iv used gotu kola on and off for a while and i noticed it was a decent pick me up when i was a cleaner (when i needed it). Not as noticeable as somethings, but it seemed to help Also it grows like a weed, so you would always have a supply

Sceletium might be a good one (im a big fan of this herb by the way - i reccommend it regularly), its stimulating then relaxing and with more regular use the effects are more pronounced Also you can order it from australian vendors

Ha yea - if only we were in columbia or you order the decocanised tea

I agree with what the others said - pilocereus. as well as the ribs the very intense blue colouration is a good indication (even though certain trichs can be quite bluish) They are nice looking and fast growing though, so no loss. You definitely can find trichs at bunnings, so dont stop looking =]

The home made compost may be the culprit - do you use the same mix for anything else? If it isnt prepared right it may be burning the roots of your plant. For one of mine I use just seasol and powerfeed, and my bigger one (see my gallery) I use both (less concentrated powerfeed though) and a hydroponic fert called I think Green dream or something, and use the lowest concentration specified for use in soil/non-hydroponic mediums and it seems to grow several new sets of leaves every couple of days and is branching like crazy. Good idea taking it inside for winter too - Id say if the temps get too close to around 15*c then its time for it to come inside, or get one of those little portable greenhouses from bunnings and maybe consider where it will stay a bit warmer (high ground in a dense area of the garden or close to the house/a solid wall). Having said all that Im far from an expert - mine arent all that much bigger than yours and probably arent much older, and the climate here is pretty ideal, but this has happened to both of mine and Id say even if yours loses most or even all of its leaves, as long as it doesnt get attacked by fungus and you keep it warm it will bounce back