I just bought some seeds

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Shane
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Joined: Thu Sep 21, 2017 5:55 pm
Location: Los Angeles, CA (zone 10b)

I just bought some seeds

Post by Shane »

I bought some seed from Phoenix Desert Nursery last week, and they arrived yesterday. I'm so excited! I got a variety of seeds. Some to challenge myself. Some to grow new (to me) kinds of cacti. Some to get more experience growing from seed (like Rhipsalis; I've never seed grown epiphytic cacti). Some just because I wanted that kind of cactus. Stenocereus to use as a graft stock. And a few seldom cultivated species to make my collection a bit more interesting

Here's what I got:
Ariocarpus mix
Browningia candelaris
Cipocereus minensis
Cleistocactus (Bolivicereus) samaipatanus
Cochemiea pondii
Corryocactus squarrosus (Erdisia sqarrosa)
Echinocereus mix
Gymnocalycium mix (small species)
Leuchtenbergia principis
(Sub)Matucana madisoniorum 'Asterium'
Melocactus mix
Oreocereus mix
Rhipsalis mix
Stenocactus (Echinofossulocactus) mix
Stenocereus pruinosus

Additionally, Aiko is kindly sending me:
Turbinicarpus valdezianus v. albiflorus
[And non-cactus succulents]
Anacampseros arachnoides
Bowiea volubilis
Delosperma sp

So I have a lot of sowing ahead of me :D I'm going to start with the easier ones, then do some research and plant the harder ones. I've never grown (non-cactus) succulents from seed, and I'm excited about that. I'm going to start some threads to follow my progress. If anyone has any tips or comments about any of these species, don't hesitate to reply
Los Angeles, California (USA)
Zone 10b (yearly minimum temperature 1-5° C)

Fishhook cacti are like cats, they only like to be petted in one direction
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RichR
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Location: Austin, TX / Zone 8b
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Re: I just bought some seeds

Post by RichR »

Shane, I've had mostly good germination from their seeds. Some gymno seeds haven't done well, but I could say the same about the same species from other seed vendors. PDN ships seeds out pretty quickly, too. Most impressively, I got Strombocactus and Turbinicarpus seed from there that have germinated well. I use a mostly mineral seedling mix (pumice, decomposed granite, lava sand, calcined clay) with a bit of coco coir mixed in, and a thin (1/4") layer of 1 mm screened pumice on top. I put my soil mixes in the microwave for 3-4 minutes (dry) to sterilize, and I typically use a Physan 20 spray on the seeds to disinfect them before putting them in the bags. I use the ziploc method and keep pots under moderately strong CFL bulbs. Good luck to you. I look forward to hearing about your progress.
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Shane
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Location: Los Angeles, CA (zone 10b)

Re: I just bought some seeds

Post by Shane »

Interesting you microwave your soil dry. I always do mine wet. How hot do you think it gets? I do about 190F, which mostly works though one time might have failed to remove fungal spores (it lets through algae too sometimes, but I'm not that bothered by that). I've been considering a higher temp to really make sure it's completely sterile
Los Angeles, California (USA)
Zone 10b (yearly minimum temperature 1-5° C)

Fishhook cacti are like cats, they only like to be petted in one direction
DaveW
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Joined: Thu Dec 20, 2012 2:36 pm
Location: Nottingham, England/UK

Re: I just bought some seeds

Post by DaveW »

I understood microwaves worked on vibrating the water molecules to heat them up, therefore stopped working as soon as the soil was dry? You can dry soil in a microwave but I believe it has to be moist in the first place and stops as soon as dry. According to this quote from the web you can also damage your microwave putting completely dry material in it:-

"A microwave uses a magnetron tube to create the electromagnetic radio waves (better known as microwaves) that cook your food. These waves cause the water molecules within food to vibrate, which creates friction in the food that then turns to heat.
When a microwave runs without anything inside, or if an item contains no water molecules, the microwaves in the machine will be redirected into the magnetron. When the magnetron begins to absorb as many microwaves as it produces, it can be damaged.

If you're not sure if your microwave has been damaged, you can test it by putting a microwave-safe container with water inside and then running it for a minute. If the water isn't hot, the microwave has been damaged. If the microwave still heats, it hasn't been damaged and can still be used safely. Never microwave dry foods that contain little to no water as the lack of moisture is similar to running the microwave dry. Also, never put metal in the microwave as the metal reflects and scatters the radio waves, creating a charge that will, in turn, create its own radio waves that will then interfere with the original waves."


See these links for sterilising soil:-

https://pioneerthinking.com/use-your-mi ... ouseplants

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden ... g-soil.htm
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RichR
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Location: Austin, TX / Zone 8b
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Re: I just bought some seeds

Post by RichR »

I get hotter temperatures, up to 300F. I assume this would kill more pathogens than heating to boiling point only. It has not damaged the MW and I've been doing it for years. Nothing has caught fire either. Maybe there is enough moisture my soil mix to prevent damaging the MW.
keith
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Location: S. CA USA

Re: I just bought some seeds

Post by keith »

When a microwave runs without anything inside, or if an item contains no water molecules, the microwaves in the machine will be redirected into the magnetron. When the magnetron begins to absorb as many microwaves as it produces, it can be damaged. "

yep. I would say reflected to the magnetron instead of redirected but I use to work with microwaves ( not the ovens ) and we had all kinds of fancy words like return loss and VSWR for the physics of it. An isolator would solve this problem but I bet they don't install them in retail microwave ovens.

I use a wet sponge in the oven when heating anything on the dry side. Long time ago I microwaved soil I don't bother anymore too lazy i guess. And you better make sure the soil is wet !!

magnetron is a crazy invention I think used in WW2 to track incoming aircraft with RADAR and then sent from England to MIT in America as the war outcome looked dicy. so microwave ovens used to be called radar ranges. 2 Ghz I think around there to vibrate water almost same frequency as most cell phones. They can be made for all different high frequencies. Narrow band.
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