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G'morning Ben,

It is just 1 type of capillary mat available in here. The material is flannel.

The pot is not special. I use 10 cm square plastic pot. The bottom is flat and contact 100 % with the capillary mat.

After removed from a wet-box, seedlings are repotted in 5 cm square tubes.
Seedlings will be in the wet-box until the their size meet to 5 cm square tube.
Astrophytum will be 3 years and Ariocarpus will be 5 years.

I do not use fertilizer. Organic material is mixed in potting-mix.

Frank

Morning Frank,

Thanks for the info.

Just confirming, does the lid remain on the box for the entire 3 or 5 years for Asto or Ario for example? If yes, does the humidity not affect the older seedlings?

Thanks,
Ben.

G'morning Ben,

Yes, The lid is kept for 3 or 5 years.
After 1 year of germination, seedlings are repotted and returned to the wet-box.
They are kept for 3 or 5 years with the lid in total.

3 or 5 years old is still young seedlings for Astrophytum or Ariocarpus.
The growing speed of these species seedlings is normally slow but this condition will give "a reasonable speed" to them.
A humidity condition is essential for these age of seedlings.

Frank

Thanks for the advise Frank.
I’ve got a few hundred seeds I’m going to put down using your method....I can only hope I have the same success you do.

Cheers.

Hi Frank,

Just wondering what clay you use in your mix? Is there a particular type or brand that works best? Are there types or brands that should be avoided?

Thanks,
Ben.

G'day Ben,

I use clay base cat litter, sized by shifting.

There are 3 types of clay base cat litters.
1. Raw clay
2. Low temperature burnt clay
3. high temperature burnt clay

You should not use No. 1 material.
I use no. 2 material.
No. 3 is the best material.

Frank

Hi Frank,
What brand of cat litter do you use?
I don't know the difference between the brands and types.

G'morning Walker87,

I bought Woolworths clay base cat litter and used for several years some years ago.
I sifted the cat litter and used coarse material for bottom fillings of pots.
Fine parts were also sifted and removed dust and mixed in potting-mix for seedlings.

Lately the product quality was changed to raw clay and I could not fine an alternative material.
Law clay forms lumps when you watered.

I have kept a large volume of old fine part and mixed in the potting-mix for seedlings.

Frank

I think turface is fired clay ? Sold as a soil additive no idea where its sold though ?

I think turface is the best material but it is not available in Australia unfortunately.

I think Sage Horticultural in Vic sells Turface MVP....it’s not cheap though. Check their website out.

Kleensorb diatomite is a really good product, but they’ve stopped mining it here in Aus so it’s really hard to find now. If anyone knows somewhere that has this in stock, please share.

Hana,

Do you have any tricks for getting Strombocactus disciformis to germinate? I’ve tried seed from two different distributors and nothing has sprouted.

Thanks!

G'morning MelMet,

I do not have any special tricks. I also experienced similar problems.
As shown on the photo, seeds were sown over a tissue paper.
This method is used by Japanese professional nurseries and it seems working well.

Frank

Very interesting approach, Frank! I’ll have to buy some more seeds, and tissue paper, and give it a try! Thanks for your help.

Morning Frank,

Im wondering if you get algae growth in your wet boxes?

I’ve been using a wet box setup similar to yours and have just started to see some algae forming on the capillary mat and bottom of the box.

Do you think a fungicide could be added to the water without harming the seedlings. Is there a fungicide you recommend, or can you suggest another way to eliminate or control the algae, or is the algae not an issue at all and can be left alone?

Thanks,
Ben.