It pays off.

[mikethecactusguy]

Hi All. I know I have not been updating very frequently and I will start back up again. The collection grew from the original 100 plants to now over 1300 plants. A new expanded growing area is in the works for January. A nice surprise was the visit by the Coachella Valley Horticultural Society 2 weeks ago to my house and gardens. That lead to an invitation to be a guest speaker at the January meeting. They were impressed with how I have adapted to growing conditions faced by others here in the desert and asked me to talk about my humble beginnings. I was visited again by 4 members that specialize in growing mammillarias and were eager to learn how I was able to get mine to thrive like they have. I've also be asked to explain the differences in growing in clay over plastic pots and the difference between high fire and low fire pots. They were also fascinated with my watering methods and routines. Its going to be fun and a nice ego boost.
Mike M

[LateBloomer]

Cool. post the video of your presentation here so everyone can watch

[Steve Johnson]

Hi All. I know I have not been updating very frequently and I will start back up again. The collection grew from the original 100 plants to now over 1300 plants. A new expanded growing area is in the works for January. A nice surprise was the visit by the Coachella Valley Horticultural Society 2 weeks ago to my house and gardens. That lead to an invitation to be a guest speaker at the January meeting. They were impressed with how I have adapted to growing conditions faced by others here in the desert and asked me to talk about my humble beginnings. I was visited again by 4 members that specialize in growing mammillarias and were eager to learn how I was able to get mine to thrive like they have. I've also be asked to explain the differences in growing in clay over plastic pots and the difference between high fire and low fire pots. They were also fascinated with my watering methods and routines. Its going to be fun and a nice ego boost.
Mike M

Hi Mike,

That's excellent -- something I learned on the forum back in 2012 is that local conditions rule, and I'm glad you'll be able to teach what you've learned to other growers in your areas. Just wanted to point something out...

I've been to a fair number of meetings held at my local cactus clubs, and whenever growing practices came up, I noticed that fertilizers were overlooked in the conversation. Given how important they are to the growing quality of our cacti, you might want to bring this up at your January meeting. Since you're getting good results from the fert you use, sharing the details with the folks at the meeting could be helpful in case their ferts aren't the best for their cacti. Something else that needs to be mentioned -- fert dosage (amount going into your watering solution) and frequency (how often you fertilize when you water). From what I can tell in your photos, you aren't over-fertilizing your plants, so the dosage and frequency of your fert applications would be another helpful part of your presentation in January.

[mikethecactusguy]

Thank you Steve.. Very good point..
Mike M