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The Corroboree

_Cursive

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Posts posted by _Cursive

  3. Posted

    I totally agree mate! I'm lucky enough to live in an area that has 1960-1980's styled housing, where no 2 houses look the same; are orientated differently to one another; and not the same colour.

    The absolute SHIT that is being built now is a F'n joke! No land, no trees and all pastel neutral colours. F-that! Pisses me off that NZ standards are being dragged down due to BS corporations with fingers in pies; in liaison with the government.

    Did you build that house yourself? If you have more pictures I would like to see them. I like getting ideas for the future.

    • Like 2

  14. Posted · Edited by JT_NZ

    Cool posts Hook, the soil food web is way too complex to explain in a few minutes.

    As far as I'm concerned a chemical analysis is only a minor part of the picture but it's gives a good insight as to what's going on in the soil. If you get a few basics right concerning the chemistry of the soil then often the biology will sort itself out. Compost teas are great to speed up the process and maintain that biological balance.

    I was devout organic "hippie" for years until the weight of evidence became so overwhelming that I had to re-evaluate things. When I got my first refractometer (brix meter) I was able to see that the vast majority of organic produce available for sale (with a few noteable exceptions) was vastly inferior to food grown using convention chemical agriculture. A lot of organic produce available at markets will commonly show lower sugar levels than the cheap shit you get at the supermarket.

    When plants are low in sugars they typically don't assimilate minerals very well or form complete proteins, so ultimately that food has a lower nutrient value than food that tests higher on the brix scale. It's not quite that simple but the brix measurements are possibly the best way for a home gardener to get some insight into nutritional values without resorting expensive chemical analysis.

    Given the choice I'll take high quality organic produce any time, it's just finding the high quality stuff that's a problem. One of the main advantages of organic produce is the restrictions applying to chemical pesticide use. I believe if an organic grower is going state that their produce is better than they should prove it with side by analyses with food grown conventionally - and not just that generic chart you see at farmers markets that shows higher levels of nutrients based on an unknown ambiguous sample that can't be traced or proven.

    If you want something to open your eyes about ideal soils google - too much compost, and see the problems it can cause. Organic adherents will often believe that mindlessly adding compost will solve all soil problems but it is simply not the case.

    Hey Sally! I agree on what you've said, and I'm not surprised to see low Brix readings on Organic food.

    I'm not surprised as the term 'Organic' has be capitalised on and is used loosely on food stock. All foods are organic in reality.

    The food you tested the Brix meter on must have been grown in nutrient deficient soil or nutrients in the wrong ratios. A lot of people are jumping on the bandwagon, and a lot of people don't know the basics at soil levels before they start growing.

    The only reason to buy 'Organic' (Un-conventionally grown) as we all know is so you aren't taking in Pesticides/fungicides/herbicides and not eating GMO grown crops.

    There is also the problem of radioactivity with Phosphate containing fertilizers. That's a major concern for me, as in New Zealand we are the highest user of Super Phosphate for our crops/pastures.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8056596

    All those water soluble chemical fertilizers like 'Thrive' etc, anything that has Phosphorus as part of its make up, will have some radioactivity to it.

    As we all know, radiation doesn't just 'evaporate' or wash away with the rain. It will accumulate. Food stock will up-take it. Live stock will eat this when they eat the grass that was fertilized with it. We are also relying on the farmers using the right amount of ferts too. Most people think, "If a plant is sick you fertilize it more".

    Could this be part of the reason why we're seeing so much more cancer in people?

    I would also like to say that this is also a MAJOR contributing factor to why smoking gives you cancer. The trichomes of the tobacco plant 'capture' or grab hold of the fertilizer when it is aerial sprayed. It won't wash off. If you've grown tobacco at home, you know just how sticky the leaves are.

    If there's ONE reason to buy NON commercially produced food, it would be this.

  17. Posted

    CISA is an even more toxic bill than the original CISPA bill. CISA stays in line with the original objective of the CISPA bill to strengthen and legitimize the NSA's surveillance programs. But this time the bill would allow for and encourage sweeping datamining taps on Internet users for the undefined purpose of domestic "cybersecurity". The NSA would be able to share this data with police and other law enforcement agencies for domestic "cybersecurity" purposes - meaning these powers will be used against innocent citizens.

     

    http://www.cispaisback.org/

    • Like 1

  23. Posted

    Hey mate! Sounds like you're doing everything well so far. Just keep them where they are, re-adjust them if need be, and watch out for mould/green algae.
    I would use a copper spray now and again when watering. Trich's are tough, they can handle the moisture, but it would be best to let them dry out for a few days periodically to toughen them up.

    There's no real need to over think it with Trichocereus.

    All the best!

  25. Posted

    There has been a lot of replies which is awesome, I hope members keep adding there successes & failures with cross pollination.

    I thought it would be a very long shot but as they were both flowering at the same time I thought it can't hurt to try. They have both set a lot of flowers in the past & never produced seed so I am certain they are not self-fertile.

    GOOD NEWS THE TURB HAS SET SEED :o, I am not sure if this is hybrid seed or if the Copiapoa pollen has enabled the turb to self pollinate, I can't wait to grow these seeds out to find out. Here are some photos of the Turb's seed, it did come from the flower I crossed.

    attachicon.gif20140218_115952.jpg attachicon.gif20140218_120003.jpg

    attachicon.gif20140218_121427.jpg

    I will keep updating you with the results.

    Cheers

    Jox

    ...SOOOO what happened?? :D Any luck with them germinating??...

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