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The Corroboree

Benzito

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Everything posted by Benzito

  1. I've read on the wiki, and Erowid, and searched on these forums, but can't find any *specific* info on hardening-off cactus seedlings. There's plenty of details on the germination itself, and the following months of after-care, with mistings, low light levels, etc. But nowhere can I read anything that tells me HOW to harden-off. I germinated some Loph and Trich seedlings around February this year, and kept them in a covered, sealed box, with a few millimetres of water at the bottom for about 2 months. (The box has been outdoor the whole time, so it's not a huge shock when I finally do get them hardened-off and out in the cool mountains air) Just as the frosts in my area started to end (about 1-2 months ago) I removed the cling-wrap from the box, and attached muslin over the top. I now let the cacti dry out for about 1 day between mistings (which means I spray them twice a week or so). But they've started to go a bit red/purple since it's been getting sunnier, so I've moved the boxes to a much shadier spot. They've all got little hairs/spines all over them, and are getting to a decent size (2-3cm) so I want to start to harden them off for summer. How do I do this? I wouldn't want to lose them after all this time and care! Especially considering I managed to nurture them through winter, which was obviously the worst time to be growing baby cactus. How do you guys harden off your seedlings?
  2. Benzito

    Kava in aus(in tablet form)?

    Hey everyone long time no see, I was visiting one of those big 'warehouse' style pharmacists just half an hour ago and I got really excited by something I saw on the shelf. I was a big fan of Kava before the import/sale of it was prohibited in Aus. I used to buy at least 1kg/month from my local fijian foods store. Back then my partner had some anxiety issues too(thankfully she has moved past that now) so she was also a big fan, it's much milder and safer than the benzodiazapenes doctors were trying to throw at her. Anyways, browsing the shelves at the pharmacy waiting for them to fill my script I spied Kava tablets! Wtf? The pharmaceutical companies are basically the reason it got controlled here, but they are allowed to go on merrily selling it? I'm slightly offended by that but I won't lie, I am currently sipping on a beer and enjoying an awesome sense of relaxation as 2 of those tablets get to work on my GABA system. According to the bottle it's a water extraction with each tablet containing the equiv. of 2.4g of rhizome(no aerial parts this time!) which has 60mg of Kavalactones. That's not much Kava and at the price they were, I don't plan on getting the levels of relaxation/intoxication I used to aim for when I was buying root powder by the kilo for $30. But I am loving that taste at the back of my throat. Kava I missed you. (Sorry if this is old news but as you can all tell, I'm back on the scene, and have alot of catching up to do with ethnobotanical subjects.)
  3. Very interesting thread. I know when I was arrested I went for the "I don't recall" response to a lot of their questions. I figured it's not lying if you 'don't remember' specific details and once you've spoken to a solicitor and worked out what the best version of the truth is, perhaps your memory will be a little better when you get to the court. That said, it seemed to piss the cops off. They actually started treating me like an idiot and even asked if I went to a special school. One useful thing I learnt from a friend's bad experience with the police though is not to give them anything further to search other than yourself. A mate was arrested whilst on foot with his car parked a few blocks away. They asked him how he got to the location they caught him in and he mentioned he had driven. This expands the 'crime nexus', and gives the police probable cause to search your vehicle as well because it was used in executing a criminal activity. They drove him over to his car and searched it. If he hadn't mentioned he had a vehicle nearby they never would have got the chance to search it.
  4. Benzito

    Law changes in NSW

    What BS! I'm not on Facebook, but the cactus and succulent society of NSW have a group on there. Someone needs to make them aware. Has anyone written a letter to their local MP that we could maybe copy for sending to our own local member? I'm useless at talking or writing in a professional manner.lol
  5. So, I had some Trichs at my mum's place for about 4 years being somewhat neglected. They got pot bound and they got some calloused spots from bumping into each other, etc, but they grew freakin huge. She moved house a couple of months ago and I had to cut them all up to move them. I had grand visions of setting up a cactus plantation of my apartment balcony, but it's just not feasible. These cacti need some TLC, so I'm selling them cheap. I was tempted to put them on gumtree or ebay or something, but I would rather they go to some ethnoheads who will bring them back to their former glory. You can pick them up from me in Western Sydney, or I can ship them to you with a courier(I get good rates through my work) at your cost. First on the list is T. Bridgesii cuttings. 7 of them in total, 35-45cm each, 2-2½" diameter, 3 growing tips, 4 middle sections. $15 each o.b.o. ***SOLD***
  6. People. I've still got the 2 pieces of Peruvianus and 1 piece of Pach available. Not to mention the pile of cereus P. No takers? Make me an offer, I want to see these go to a good home. edit: finally had a generous person take the scop off my hands. The rest of y'all missed out there.
  7. Thanks ID. Glad you're happy. Most of the pics didn't do them justice. They were taken indoors with crappy yellow ceiling lights and I just couldn't get good perspective to show the actual size of them. Would love to see a pic of it in a few months once it's got it's roots working away. Should plump up very nicely.
  8. I've updated the original posts to show what has been sold. The Peruvianus, Pachanoi, and Bridgesii rooted base piece are all still available. As well as the top half of the Scop. How can you not want a Scop club? It would be great for self defence!
  9. Thanks Naja. I've still got some shits growing here, don't you worry about that. These just aren't practical to keep because they are big, and multiples of what I already have. Sadly, I kind of forgot more about ethnobotany than I ever learnt thanks to alcohol and weed, but I'm past that now(after far too long) and feeling very clear headed. I have been lurking on here, but don't have much to contribute these days. All these young fellas know more than me.
  10. Whoa, frenzy of bids here! I'm jus going through my messages and working out what is sold and what isn't. I'll update the thread in a second. It's first in, best dressed, so I'm just going off message times. Andy and Naja, thanks for the kind words guys. It's nice to hear from you two again. Being on here brings back so many good memories. **UPDATE** Okay, at the moment, this is what is/isn't available: Bridge cuttings: all spoken for Peru: still available Pach: still available (Rum & Monkeys, PM me if you still want that piece) Cereus P: still available (of course) TBMs: all spoken for Bridge rooted base: still available Scop: bottom spoken for, top half still available I have kept a list of who PM'd about what, in order of their message times, so it will just go to the next person who asked if a sale falls through. I will also update this list if anything gets sold or becomes available. Thanks for the great responses people.
  11. And now the moment you have all been waiting for! The crowning piece of my collection! I'll need my beautiful assistant, Kate, to provide some uhh assistance. This Scop had to be cut in half to fit in my car. I didn't mind so much, cutting up the rest of the collection, but sawing through this bad boy brought a tear to my eye. I really wanted to keep it for myself and have an 8' tall cactus on my balcony but I realised it would just be impractical in a 3rd floor apartment. The bottom half is 80cm(not including roots) x 4½" diameter. $50 o.b.o. ***SOLD*** The top half is 90cm x 5" diameter. $70 o.b.o. ***SOLD*** Thankyou everyone for your patience, that is everything I've got for sale at the moment. Please PM me for details or to arrange a purchase. Anyone who picks up will get a special gift that can't be sent on a courier service. -Benzito
  12. Sorry for the delay, I had to eat some dinner. Hauling all these cacti around the apartment was making me hungry. Remember all those Bridge pieces in my first post? Well this is the base they were growing from. The 3 stem pieces are about 30cm x 2" diameter each, and the root ball is about 9-10" round. Poor thing really needed repotting. $45 o.b.o.
  13. Penis D. I forgot that 'A' actually had two top branching sections, this is the other one! 40cm x 15cm x 2" diameter at base. Again, no roots on this sucker. $30 o.b.o. ***SOLD***
  14. Penis C. Which was actually the top section of 'A' originally, so has no roots. This one is about 35cm x 20cm x 3" diameter at the base. $30 o.b.o. ***SOLD***
  15. Next is Penis B. This one is about 45cm tall(not including roots), 20cm wide and around 4" diameter on the base piece. $30 o.b.o. ***SOLD***
  16. Alright, shit's about to get real people. Now we're getting into the big boys. Monstrose T. Bridgesii, or the 'penis cactus' as you lay people may know it. The box this is in is 55cm x 30cm x 30cm and it pretty much fills it! Seriously, this thing is huge. I can't do it justice in a photo. $70 o.b.o. (For ease of identification/ordering, we will refer to this as Penis A) ***SOLD***
  17. Cereus Peruvianus. I don't expect anyone to want these, but you never know. Probably not worth sending on a courier, but if you're local and can pick them up they might interest you. 4" diameter, 40cm lengths, too friggin many of them. $5 each o.b.o.
  18. Yes, if you please all take your seats this will flow much more smoothly. Got some Pachanoi pieces here, now before you click the thumbnail, remember I said some of these needed TLC. These are some sad examples of cactus. They did have black spot when first cut up, but they are thoroughly dried out now and quite firm. If anyone does have problems with any of these cuttings, I will be happy to issue refunds. They may look ugly, but they are quite healthy, and I know they will be fine. These pieces are 2" diameter, 28cm & 33cm. $10 each o.b.o. ***top piece, with pup SOLD***
  19. They're coming. This is a live feed my friend. An organic process, unfolding right before your eyes.
  20. Next up on the list is a T. Peruvianus I had to cut in half. 3" diameter, bottom half is 45cm(not including roots), top half is 40cm. $20 each o.b.o. I should also mention I'm pretty sure these ID's are all correct. These are plants that came from either SAB or Herbalistics, and that is what they were sold to me as. Everything for sale here is totally calloused up and some sections are even growing roots/pups. They are ready to go in the ground people.
  21. Benzito

    birds ruining my collection, please help!

    I'm sure you could adapt this trick to plants; If you have problems with birds taking fish out of ponds you can just make a grid of fishing line above the pond. Maybe 30cm squares or so. You just put tent pegs around the pond and string fishing line between them and pull it taught. When the bird swoops down to grab a fish the vibration on the fishing line from their wings flapping seems to be enough to deter them. Actually, maybe that wouldn't work because they just graze on plants without really swooping in, but it's a nice non-intrusive bird deterrent. Food for thought, either way....
  22. Benzito

    Kava in aus(in tablet form)?

    I agree Pinion. With all the cheap airfare going around these days I am so tempted to just go for a 1 day holiday to Fiji just to buy 2kg of Kava; Fly in in the morning, buy Kava at lunchtime, fly home in the evening.
  23. Benzito

    Salvia divinorum cutting without leaves

    How is the cutting going now JCMMa? I had many Sally cuttings lose all their leaves in the past when they were still legal. The leaves would die off after removing them from the mother plant, but they would start growing new leaves not too long after roots started developing. As long as it was nice and healthy before taking the cutting it should be fine. The stored nutrients should get it through without photosynthesis. I wish we could still grow them here in Aus.
  24. Benzito

    Ants and Banisteriopsis caapi

    I no longer have my Caapi plant, but for the few years it was going well it always attracted ants. The basal secretions seem to attract them as someone else said. It ended up dying due to me moving and having an unsuitable climate(tiny apartment balcony) and not enough watering but I really think ants are not a bad thing on Caapi. I never once saw them herding other sap suckers, they were too busy enjoying the sap themselves.
  25. Benzito

    Kava in aus(in tablet form)?

    Thanks for the warm welcome back guys. I've really missed this community but I've had some addiction problems for a fair few years now and just been massively closed-off. It is 'Thompson's' from chem. warehouse. I wasn't sure about mentioning sources, I've been away for so long I didn't know if the rules had changed. Kava always seemed to be one of those things you need to "break your head" with before you get the dosages/effects right.(I think that expression refers to DMT, but meh) None of my stoner buddies ever liked it when I was using it regularly, I could never convince them it was worth trying more than once or twice. But once you get a feel for it, it is a beautiful sedative/hypnotic. I took a third pill tonight, and after a few more beers I am so much more mellow than I was off the same amount of beer last night. Maybe some people don't metabolise Kavalactones properly? I'm interested in what you said Bullit. Would you mind sending me a PM with more details? I don't think that kind of stuff needs to be openly discussed on here. edit: Mauve; if 6 beers and some Kava is the worst abuse my liver gets tonight, it's had an easy time compared to other periods in my life. I've always mixed the two. Plus, I don't think they have an alcohol warning on the bottle anyway.
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