Bongchitis

Hi All, I have tried repeatadly to grow grafted and ungrafted cacti at work but the light levels are sooooo crap that everything I have tried so far has died or etoliated to the point of rediculous.......so I am going to try a terrarium. A quick UTFSE provided many mushroom posts but I will not tempt fate (at work) and I was kind of hoping that some of you guys had some experience with Aussie natives.....or at least hardy and easily grown ones. I would also love to have a flowering plant in there but I haven't actually seen a terrarium with flowers in it. Anybody got any ideas...........better still, any specimens? Happy to swap $$$ or cacti. Thanks everyone and cheers..............Bongchitis

Yeah thanks guys, Gerbil >>> Yeah the same light issues would arise but I guess having some kind of rainforest plant that fit the light/humidity profile is what I am thinking of. Shroomy >>> Aren't terrariums cool any more? Thanks for the offer of seeds but they are pretty easy to come by, I didn't think of coleus at all. Phosgene >>> I like the lily and lychen and fern ideas. Thankyou for the species names, it gives me a great start. I really thought I could get a cacti to grow on my desk, short of having a compact fluro in a lamp hovering inches above the cacti, I have tried just about everything. My company are OHS mad so personal electrical devices are not really permitted. First I tried a baby scop that just etoliated and fell over, then a pedro that suffered my wrath after a hard day with the boss, then 2 forms of Rebutia grafted to opuntia......the opuntia rejected them after 3 months inside.....and then a basic Echinopsis hybrid that is sort of sickly. I am hesitant to try a loph in case someone recognises it. Thanks again peeps but if there are any other ideas then send them through. I love this joint!

...a small piece of lead travelling very quickly.....well, it works for cats!

My grandfather had a shit load of Cereus Validus (sp?) that as a noob I thought were pedro. That was some years ago now but I still have the original cutting which has 4 ribs. The only reason I am keeping it is that my pop got badly burnt.............They don't fuck around at the crematorium!

Phos, If you don't specifically want this variant but you want to graft, then I have a large-ish opuntia that is a great grafting stock. Super growth, long-ish and fat pads.....not to dis similar to what you want. PM me if interested.

PM'd

Hey Glenn, Your climate/location states Arid. I was about to say up your humidity even before I saw your location. I have had the same problem trying to grow Pv in SW Sydney (but I didn't really try too hard to rectify)....but I think this was my problem. Cheers...........Bongchitis

Hey CT, The roots seem to form when the plant is cranking growth wise and is not quite getting enough water....so it looks for it! I have had a couple of heathy plants do this, almost seems they are growing too well for the roots to keep up...or they need a bigger pot (my problem i think).... just comes down to available water I believe as the pic of the beauty above does look a tad dehydrated....... not to mention the 2 killer pups draining the 'rooting' pup dry! Cheers................Bongchitis

p.m'ed

Definitely still some interest FM. I don't have a great deal of practical skills yet to ask relevant Q's though so keenly following updates as meads are my goal in the not too distant future.... but here are some noob Q's for you. When you speak of the character of your Pineapple mead, do you mean complexity of flavours? I would imagine that it would be quite sweet and fruity but is your issue that it does not show flavour elements beyond the above? Have you (or coin) brewed beer and used other ethno's instead of hops to flavour and bitter the beer? Alot of the ethnos I have tasted are really bitter but have interesting flavour profiles behind that bitterness. Do you recommend any from a purely flavour standpoint? Keep the updates coming, I'm sure there are a few others following the progress. Cheers and thanks.............Bongchitis

Yeah dry ice is a specialty item.....I have never seen it available in NSW outside BOC and similar suppliers and I work in an Ice Cream factory and have used the stuff for years!....its dangerous shit! Dent pulling, that is kind of cool, pun intended....but you would think it would flatten creases. Also when CO2 mixes with water it forms carbonic acid which is a weak acid but may impact on paint on top of the thermal issues. Ace, The dry ice bomb is great, 1.25 L PET bottle half full of water, drop in a few pellets of dry ice, put lid on tight, RUN! It was one of the best sounding explosions that my neighbors had the displeasure of hearing and my young sons loved it! My underpants did not!

Hey all, I tried to do this with a M.Geometricans. Chopped it and it shot out 3 pups which I have grafted an Echinopsis Hybrid on one, A pachanoi on another (which I will chop to graft a crest or loph to) and the third pup I will have something similarly slow growing like a Rebutia etc. Pics are in Frankencactus thread in cacti forum from 3 months ago. Photos not up to date now but you get the idea. Cheers............Bongchitis

I second that! Thanks Gerbil.

Hi All, I was just doing a seed clean up the other day and realised I had some extras: ~30 Melocactus bahiensis seeds ~20 Chocolate Habenero seeds ~20 Pimiento Capsicum seeds 2 Rooted peres cuts 2 crested cylindro-opuntia cuts that may or may not have roots (cryptic enough for you?) PM me if interested or want more info. All seeds are fresh. Cheers..............Bongchitis

bumpity bump!

Wow that loph tree is tops! I reckon we mights see a few of those in a couple of years, it has certainly tweaked my interest. One thing that continually pisses me off with peres grafts is the fluid oozing out of the cut area and pushing the graft off or gathering and drying to the point where it is crusty etc. I have left them longer and longer periods without watering to no avail. I must have to wait longer and dry out the stock even more. It is just something I struggle with that other grafting noobs may encounter.

Spud, Looked into this a little previously. Not sure if it fits into the 'accelerated' portion but in terms of retention........Baroque music has been proven to change brainwaves such that you are relaxed but aware and can thus absorb and remember alot more than if you had not been listening. Baroque does not automatically mean classical though, it refers more to the speed or frequency of beat ie. 4/4 time 5/8....I can't remember off hand but I know MC Hammers, Can't touch this actually falls into the baroque catagory.....hahahaha.

I think alot of guys who brew Mead use Champagne yeast. I think it was more of a flavour thing more than anything else....If you have enough fermentables, you will have enough alcohol regardless of yeast. Some of the home brew forums, perhaps even the Nook, may indicate particular strains of yeast to use with spiced Mead, honestly though with all the extracts et al it is going to be plenty flavoursome to overcome all but the worst yeast funk....and after 2, WHO CARES!

Great work, I guess someone has done it before somewhere but it is a great idea. "Spiced Mead" certainly does throw up some interesting conotations. Keep us updated with flavour and effects, Thanks. Cheers....................Bongchitis

Paradox, Anti rot tech..........well I just leave the cuts to callous in a dry area with partial sun and plenty of air flow. After a week I have stood them up so that the cut section is downward facing and within a few weeks the roots start to appear. Once the roots show themselves then plant as normal. Some of the issues I have had in rooting cuttings have been post planting but pre root growth so if the roots are already there then it should be sweet........has been for me. btw, the orange funk you speak of has been spoken about before and I have had it a couple of times with fresh cut logs. I sterilised my cacti knife and cut a couple of centimetres off that end and re-callous, no worries. Cheers..............Bongchitis

I soak myself in sugary milk and bash my head with stainless steel pipes. R & D in Ice Cream.

...and it's my birthday the next day (I forgot, the older you get the less important/memorable) and my family are throwing a party so I am pulling out too.

Thanks bob-bob! VVVVVGets 'fist sized' Cereus Sp. Monstrose cut, ~3g sceleteum powder and ~3 teaspoons Afghani??? poppy seeds (really tiny seeds)VVVVV

....and me too!

........me either mate!