One man went to sow ......my diary

[Wilk]

This morning I started my 3rd batch of seeds since November, hopefully having learned from mistakes made with the previous two efforts. This time seed from Mesa Gdn. Here's the mix. I got into big trouble for using this bowl !

Last time I used tap water and microwaved the mix in a cereal bowl and then scooped it direct into the pots. This time I emptied it into the big bowl and was surprised how relatively dry it had become in the microwave so I gave the pots a soak in boiled rainwater before sowing the seed with tweezers

Pots numbered with marker pen rather than labelled and then into bags, 2 pots in each - same genus where possible. The cat didn't look too happy!? Then upstairs to the office. I will leave them just in daylight for a couple or three days before putting them under the light. Maybe some will enjoy a cooler start??

The problem I have is that I only have capacity for 72 pots under the light and I am now full up. I need to move some of the earlier sowings on but where to? I suspect the greenhouse is a bit cold at this time of year. Would a windowsill be a good idea? I was planning to keep them in the bags for as long a possible. Here are 2 pots of matucana intertexta sown early November and some copiapoa and eriosyce sown just before Xmas.


Fun times ahead.

[Onzuka]

Well done with those seedlings, Wilk! Obviously you are well and truly addicted to growing from seeds. It's hard to imagine being in this hobby and not doing it.

Can you give me a list of what is in your seed sowing compost mix?

Steve

[majcka]

Wilk! They look great.

Keep them in as long as posible. I got mine out too soon last year and killed many of them that way.

[hoteidoc]

For whatever "mistakes" were made, the successes look great! Only thing that caught my eye, was your statement of soaking soil in boiled rainwater. What concerns me is that the point of nuking is to thoroughly saturate soil & then nuke is to "kill" ( or @ least significantly diminish) pathogens in the soil, which boiled & then soaking wouldn't do. If you were to take the bowl you show with the filled pots, add H20 (to bowl) until soil wet @ surface & then nuke, cool, add seed & bag....

[AKNicolle]

So they've been kept in bags all this time? Completely sealed?

I'm wondering if that's where I went wrong with my Lithops. Not keeping them enclosed, I mean. Very few germinated, and some of those are dying off already (sowed in early December). I only had them enclosed for a week and have been spraying them with distilled water twice daily since then. The Pleiospilos seem to be doing okay, though.

[Wilk]

The mix is 50% Tesco cat litter , 25% John Innes no 2 and 25% sharp sand . This may or may not be right but felt a bit of organic would do them good.

All the bags I have filled so far have been kept completely sealed apart from one or two which were looking a bit dry into which I dribbled a little bit of pre-boiled tap water to increase humidity. (BTW I understand lithops may not like a completely sealed environment for very long)

I don't claim to understand the comment regarding nuking in the microwave. Surely boiling rainwater has the same effect on the nasties in it as nuking has?? Maybe not. Time will tell .

What I really would like someone to tell me is where do my biggest children go in 5 weeks time when I plan to sow the next batch , windowsill or cold greenhouse and , if the latter, in or out of the bags.

[adetheproducer]

The mix for soil sounds good very similar to mine. Persoally if you boil in a pan for long enough or put it in the microwave its the same thing you add energy it gets hot and denatures any proteins ie fungi/bugs/bacteria/other plants and kills them. Alot of people sware by it personally I think a completely abiotic environment is too tempting for some nasties to populate so I have given up worrying about sterilisation.on a side note I think a bit of natural selection is good and what natural environment is sterile. I just dry my soils in pan and bag them up for later so I can always make a mix to report or sow seeds whenever I want. I have not had a go at lithops yet so keep waiting plenty of people will know more about them.

Oh yeah the older ones, a windowsill is good basically get them as much light as possible. If you want put a lamp with one of them coiled tube bulbs to top them up during the day. Let them cool at night and gradually poke holds in the baggies with a pin a couple more each day until the air inside is the same as out side then take them out and treat um like grown ups.

[Wilk]

Day 4

Signs of germination.

Neoporteria napina
Neoperteria taltalensis
Copiapoa dealbata
Echinocereus chisoensis
Arequipa longiflora

Several seeds in each, not just the odd one. Growing like grass!

[Wilk]

Day 5

Neoporteria paucicostata
Hamatocactus setispinus
Thelocactus conothelos.
Echinocereus russanthus have begun to germinate. 9 out of the batch of 23 in total.

[CactusFanDan]

All my E. taltalensis forms came up like weeds and the pots are bursting with seedlings so you should end up with plenty. Sounding/looking good so far!

[Wilk]

Day 6

Echinocactus texensis
Neoporteria reichei
Escobaria organensis
Thelocactus leucanthus
Neoporteria lindleyi .............. have begun to germinate. Maybe time for some pics soon.

[hoteidoc]

Wilk - E. texensis is a rugged little seedling! Hope you gets lots to germinate

[Wilk]

Day 7

3 horse cripplers so far. Keeping my horses in the stable.

Only one new one today - Neoporteria taltalensis (white flowered type )

Of the 8 left to germinate I have all 6 Echinocerei , Echinocactus grandis and an Escobaria.

Another Echinocactus horizontalus has popped up after 6 weeks from the earlier December sowing, 5 weeks after the only other one from the packet. A nice bonus.

[hoteidoc]

Love the E'cactus horizon, too! Gorgeous blossoms! Taking a beating this Winter -- doubt it's going to make it

[Wilk]

Day 8

Begins with an apology to the genus Echinocereus as I had forgotten the 2 pots which had germinated on days 4 and 5.

To rub it in Echinocereus Lloydii and Metornii have started today together with Echinocactus grandis.

Here is my version of a crop circle (Eriosyce) :

Finally here are my Eriosyce Sandillon sown on 22 December. Apologies for the poor depth of field. Very tall and sturdy seedlings.

Question - How long before they will take a bit of direct sunlight?