Cacti Collecting!

[Galapoheros]

I planted a couple of hybrid tomatos but most of them were heirloom varieties. I didn't save any of my seeds this time since this years experience was mainly to see if I COULD grow them LOL. I've always been a little intimidated of vegetable gardening. My peppers on the other hand, I don't think they were hybrid varieties, but I don't think they were heirloom either... not sure really on those. I grew habanero, Hungarian hot wax, ghost pepper, super chilis and also Giant Marconi, gypsy peppers, Orange bell peppers.

Next year I will be planting almost exclusively heirloom variety tomatos and peppers with an emphasis on making sure I save seeds. But I will also be planting peas, pole beans, 2 to three squash varieties, and greens for sure. I want to have enough to start learning how to can too.

This is all of course if all goes as planned LOL

If you can grow giant macaroni, you could grow anything. You can order any heirloom seeds on the internet. I ordered any heirloom seeds yet, I have several mags that have anything in there a person could want. I tried to grow cantaloupe out here, there was only one and it was about the size of a tennis ball, tasted great but didn't last long. Yeah Louisiana would be a good place to grow things.

White tail deer "can" jump a 6 footer but will avoid it. They shouldn't jump it for food but more likely to jump it in a panic. I talked to a fence co around here about it that deals with it all the time. They can't see the top of the fence(wire) very well, the further the top is, the more they will avoid it, it's a matter of risk. It would've cost $20,000 to deer proof this place so I passed. They're more designed to shuffle around for food at a few inches in the dirt but they just aren't good at tunneling, no natural reason for it. Deer would normally not be smart enough to dig under a fence they can see through but they aren't going through bedrock anyway. Had to edit a few important words in there I left out! the macaroni thing just jk around there in case anybody is saying ..is he serious? ha!

 

[just1moreT]

no stickers but cool

These are my young seedlings Monilaria moniliformis there over 2 months old seeds where like fine pepper very small need fast draining soil pretty much just granit chippings lol

 

[Galapoheros]

Yeah those are cool, had to look them up. I've got a Stapelia about to bloom, don't know what species it is but I'm guessing it's S. gigantea, it's going to be huge.

 

[The Snark]

If you can grow giant macaroni, you could grow anything. You can order any heirloom seeds on the internet. I ordered any heirloom seeds yet, I have several mags that have anything in there a person could want. I tried to grow cantaloupe out here, there was only one and it was about the size of a tennis ball, tasted great but didn't last long. Yeah Louisiana would be a good place to grow things.

White tail deer "can" jump a 6 footer but will avoid it. They shouldn't jump it for food but more likely to jump it in a panic. I talked to a fence co around here about it that deals with it all the time. They can't see the top of the fence(wire) very well, the further the top is, the more they will avoid it, it's a matter of risk. It would've cost $20,000 to deer proof this place so I passed. They're more designed to shuffle around for food at a few inches in the dirt but they just aren't good at tunneling, no natural reason for it. Deer would normally not be smart enough to dig under a fence they can see through but they aren't going through bedrock anyway.

Deer can be stopped with an electric fence. (Non lethal and considered humane). It MUST be a quality fence charger like a Gallagher http://www.gallagherusa.com/
Now there is a trick to it. Deer will push through at ground level, going under nearly any normal fence. They will also jump a fence without giving it a thought if it's 5 foot or less. You must have 3 hot wires, but not in a normal configuration.
The first wire encountered is 8 inches high. The second wire is back from that 18 inches about 3 feet high. The third wire is above and behind the second at 4 feet high and about a foot back..
The first wire is a nose wire as they graze and an ankle wire when they look over, start testing. The second wire shocks them when testing. The uppermost wire hits when they rear back to jump or step through/over.
The thing about hot wire fences is they aren't fences to a deer. The shocks create an unjumpable barrier in their minds and if hit no matter which challenge they try, they will give up. Use of high tensile heavy gauge wire is mandatory.

This method has been tried and proven at orchards and vineyards. The backwards leaning ramp is an absolute beast for virtually any animal to get through. The real hot chargers don't give a localized shock. They smack like you've been hit in the face with a board and it's almost impossible to tell where the shock came from. The high tensile wire strung tight (100+ pounds tension) assures that an animal can't break or get tangled. It must be smooth wire, not barbed. You don't want to poke, stab or grab the animal. (I worked with a New Zealand fencing company for a half year putting myself through college. I also took a few hits from a heavy duty charger that left me dazed and confused.)

 

[Galapoheros]

Haha, I've been nailed by electric fences too, not highly charged though, I have one I used to use packed away. That's good info and will try to keep it in mind if I have a bigger operation when I move. I don't need all that here though, it's a small area and they can't go underneath the fence, it's bedrock. Also, I got lucky with the 4 trees I used to attach the fencing too, they all lean outward and I can put a few strands of wire at the top in a few minutes using a ladder if I find there is a problem. I really doubt I will have a problem but will report back if they do get in there. I did the fencing thing too when I was a teenager, I kind of liked it. Nobody liked the post hole diggers but I did, that's some good exercise there! $8 an hour in the late 70s, that was pretty good $ back then. I knew the owners well though so, ...I don't think that pay was typical.

 

[Driller64]

Update on cacti!

I planted some of those L. Williamsii seeds I got a while ago. They haven't come up yet, but then again its only been 4 days so they may have come up by now. There have been grafting attempts on my Pereskiopsis, but none of them took yet due to an infection that manifests as a rust color that apparently just materializes into existence right on the graft union. But in my most recent attempt there was much less of the rust color than there usually is so I might just have a few more things to fix in my procedure before I finally get one to take. But until my next attempt I'm just laying low for now, propagating my Pereskiopsis and trying to regrow all the seedlings I killed due to trying to graft them lol.

Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch Q using Tapatalk 2

 

[Medusa]

Yeah those are cool, had to look them up. I've got a Stapelia about to bloom, don't know what species it is but I'm guessing it's S. gigantea, it's going to be huge...

That's what it looks like...once it blooms you'll know.

 

[Galapoheros]

I have another that has bloomed countless times but I can't get seed pods from these things, is there any trick to it? Pollenation doesn't seem to be the prob, flies all over the place on them.

 

[Driller64]

Here is my saguaro cactus for anyone who is interested:



I got it for $3 at a nursery, which is odd because a saguaro that size should apparently be 20 or so years old, which makes me suspect that it is not a real saguaro. But I do have another one I sprouted myself awhile ago. It's now entering its third year and it's among one of the the first cacti I ever grew from seed. Here it is:



This photo is a little old though, so it could be a little different looking.

 

[The Snark]

That first one doesn't really look Saguaro. For that matter, neither does the second. Any idea how long it takes to develop the signature ridges running up their length?
Congrats on raising from seed.

---------- Post added 09-30-2014 at 01:25 PM ----------

I have another that has bloomed countless times but I can't get seed pods from these things, is there any trick to it? Pollenation doesn't seem to be the prob, flies all over the place on them.

I'm assuming you have the right flies that pollinate at the right time of day or night during the right weather and the correct season and so on? My dad spent over 30 years failing to get successful pollination with one little brute.

 

[Galapoheros]

That's what I'm doing, 'assuming' that I have going on what you mentioned, ..and so on. It blooms when it warm enough, Spring through Summer, hits the seasons within the seasons, flies, baby maggots crawling all over the reproductive parts saying, "well, where is it!" and I have never seen a pod even get started. So I'm hoping somebody chimes in that has had the problem and figured it out. I have a cactus in the back yard, will post a pic later, I don't know what it is. I bought it years ago, it's pretty big, maybe 2ft high.

 

[JohnDapiaoen]

Some Jade I have in the balcony

And some odd succulent with a jade hitchhiker

-JohnD.

 

[Galapoheros]

Do you ever see that bloom? The Stapelia did turn out to be gigantea, just couldn't figure out where the smell was coming from, thought it was the neighbor's cats at first. Then I remembered that plant, sho nuff, it opened up, pretty strong.



Anybody care to take a shot at IDing this cactus. It's in my back yard here in Texas, practically sure it's a US native. I bought it prob about 7 years ago.

 

[Driller64]

And now the photo you guys have all been waiting for: Lophophora williamsii seedlings!

 

[Galapoheros]

coooool I see 4-maybe 6, how many are there? I just ordered some Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus var. elephantidens seeds. Of course I had to look up the name, cut and paste that haha. I ordered 10 seeds to increase the odds of ending up with a few.

 

[Driller64]

coooool I see 4-maybe 6, how many are there? I just ordered some Ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus var. elephantidens seeds. Of course I had to look up the name, cut and paste that haha. I ordered 10 seeds to increase the odds of ending up with a few.

There are actually five, and that's how many seeds I put in there so 100% germ. rate. Good luck with the Ariocarpus seeds, they are quite easy to raise from seeds as long as you follow the proper technique.

 

[Galapoheros]

My problem hasn't been germination of Ariocarpus seeds, that's been pretty easy, it's that there is something I'm doing, or not doing that causes them to kick the bucket soon after they germinate. I can't tell if it's too much water or not enough.

 

[Driller64]

My problem hasn't been germination of Ariocarpus seeds, that's been pretty easy, it's that there is something I'm doing, or not doing that causes them to kick the bucket soon after they germinate. I can't tell if it's too much water or not enough.

Well you may be using incorrect soil. Ariocarpus soil should be a mostly mineral mixture, with little to no organic matter. Buy some oil absorbent from Pep Boys, it's cheap, and mix it 50/50 with storebought cactus mix. That's what I use. Also I would recommend buying some fungicide.

 

[Galapoheros]

I read about that too, or mineralized cat litter. I've been using stuff straight from the desert but my hunch is that it's a little too clay-like for keeping seedlings alive very well, the survival rate is low in this stuff, which is probably normal in nature though. Yeah I think I'll try that but I'm going to try the absorbent like you said instead of the cat litter, never know what's added to the cat litter, perfumes and maybe other junk. I do finally have a fissuratus that might make it, pic later.

 

[Driller64]

I read about that too, or mineralized cat litter. I've been using stuff straight from the desert but my hunch is that it's a little too clay-like for keeping seedlings alive very well, the survival rate is low in this stuff, which is probably normal in nature though. Yeah I think I'll try that but I'm going to try the absorbent like you said instead of the cat litter, never know what's added to the cat litter, perfumes and maybe other junk. I do finally have a fissuratus that might make it, pic later.

Yeeaaah there are also many diseases and parasites in outside soil that could be bad news for your seedlings. Hope you get one to grow