Novice growers experiences

[AlanW]

Hi there, I thought I would share with my experiences as a first time seed grower. I'm sure you've heard it all before but it might amuse some of you.
I bought seed of Echinofosulocactus zacatecasensis on eBay. I was keen to start & thought I would follow a video I had seen on YouTube where a guy just threw some mix in a tray & sowed the seeds, watered them in, covered them with glass & put them in a warm place.
I followed the method, used a 75% sharpsand/25% soil mix , put them in a sealed bag & put them in a warm spot. I was delighted when about 4 days later I got a 60% germination. They grew steadily to about 2mm in diameter. After a further 2 weeks I examined them 1 morning & found that were covered in mould -in fact they had disappeared!

I decided to try again. I bought seeds again of E. zacatecasensis & Rebutia leucanthema. I microwaved a 75%/25% mix, sowed the seeds, watered them with boiled water & sealed them in a bag. I sowed them on May 1 & took photos of them today. The Echinofosulocactus are 3mm diameter & the Rebutia are about 2-3mm high.
Would you think progress is normal?
Thanks guys-sorry to be long winded

E.zacat.

20170529_105538-819x461.jpg (60.85 KiB) Viewed 1443 times

[greenknight]

They're doing great.

[AlanW]

Thanks Spence. How long should I leave them in the bag?

[Wilk]

You can leave them in the bag for months. My only reservation about your method so far is that you say you used 75% sharp sand. It doesn't look particularly like sharp sand but, if it is, my experience is that the sand tends to hold moisture such that when the seedlings get fairly mature and go from needing loads of moisture/humidity to exactly the opposite, it can cause poor root development.

Good luck. Stick in.

[AlanW]

Thanks Wilk- I'll watch out for that

[kuni1234567]

I have grown cactus and succulents for decades and wanted to grow some seedlings. I am growing Pediocactus knowltonii, Pseudolithos miguirtinus and planted some Echinomastus johnsonii seeds. I consider myself a novice when growing cactus seedlings, but have grown palms and cycads from seeds.

[ElieEstephane]

Sand tends to hold too much moisture in spring or the shade or overcast days and gets extremely hot in the sun. Worst case scenario, it will either rot thr seedlings or fry them. However some sand is good to prevent clumping.