peterb's 2012

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A. Dean Stock
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Post by A. Dean Stock »

Your great-great grandchildren might see the equivalent of $10.00 genetics testing but that will not happen in your lifetime!! Just the reagents and pipets,etc. would be way more than that.
Dean
Albert Dean Stock,Ph.D.
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Peterthecactusguy
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Post by Peterthecactusguy »

Yes, Dean, that is what I worried about. I dont even want to know how much it costs today.

BTW Sorry PeterB we sorta hijacked your members posting. I will stop now :P
Here's to you, all you insidious creatures of green..er I mean cacti.
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RichR
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Re: peterb's 2012

Post by RichR »

peterb wrote:I also have a huge amount of repotting to do come "spring" (usually about mid-February here).

Already looking forward to a great new year of growing!

peterb
Peter, what kind of temperatures do you wait for before you start repotting?

Also, is your Echinocereus carmenensis the same as E. viridiflorus v. carmenensis?
peterb
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Post by peterb »

Yes, I think carmenensis is considered by many to be just a regional form of viridiflorus, along with all the other crazy ones combined there in recent years.

I wait for warm days and still very cold nights, but generally past the likelihood of freezing. I have to risk going early on the burst growers like pedios and Scleros and Escobaria, or they will have a very short growing season indeed and then will just sit there until October. So generally days are 70F or warmer and nights can still be in the 40s.

peterb
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peterb
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Post by peterb »

whoa! near record turn around on the Mesa Garden order, with the package already shipped today. Of course, I'll be gone this weekend....

peterb
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RichR
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Post by RichR »

Excellent. Hope you'll post pictures when you're able.
peterb
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Post by peterb »

The package from MG was mailed to my old address, but they caught it going back and now it will arrive Monday. I got the propagator set up for a single tray this year, a modest sowing of about 40 small pots.

Image
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The bulbs are labeled as "1750 lumens" each, and I like the fluorescent bulbs as they don't generate too much heat. I use a heating pad directly under the pots. The lights are only to get the small plants to about 5 weeks or so, then I gradually introduce them to direct sun, outside, no cover.

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RichR
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Post by RichR »

Peter: nice, simple setup. I'm using 4-40 watt full spectrum fluorescents about 8" above the soil surface.

What germination temps are you striving for with the heating pad? I'm not using one, and the temp in my propagator is around 26C. Think I'll need it warmer? (This is my first attempt at seed-growing.)
peterb
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Post by peterb »

I shoot for near 80 in the chamber during the day and cycle the mat off overnight for cooler temps. If you are at about 80 you should be fine. I don't know if having warm days and cooler nights helps with all germination but it does seem to help with Echinocereus, so I just do it with all the pots.

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iann
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Post by iann »

Many Echinocereus seem to do well at cooler temperatures, but many other cacti like it warm. Not sure about the weird Baja Echinocereus, possibly warmer is better for some of them too.

I've been running mine up to about 80F in the day and down to about 65F at night, but I'm gradually increasing the temperature range now to see if it triggers off any more seeds. 85F right now and I'm about to open it up and stuff a few more pots in, so it will cool off. The max-min show just over 60F from last night,
--ian
peterb
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Post by peterb »

Ian, did you sow a lot?

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promethean_spark
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adjustments

Post by promethean_spark »

Changing the amount of time the lights are on will also trigger some to germinate. This fall I went from 12hrs on to 18 as it got cold and some additional seed popped within a few days.
iann
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Post by iann »

peterb wrote:Ian, did you sow a lot?

peterb
Not so far. About a dozen cacti and some other succulents. I'm still waiting on most of my seeds to arrive.
--ian
peterb
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Post by peterb »

Yes, I have the lights on a timer to run from 6 am to 11 pm. I have found 17 hours or so to be good. Another funny thing that can happen sometimes is if the tray gets an hour or so of sun every day, a few more seedlings will come up.

peterb
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peterb
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Post by peterb »

The few new plants from MG arrived today along with the seeds.

One of my favorite Echinofossulocactus (zacatecasensis)

Image

A couple of tiny but healthy Escobaria duncanii, bigger than I have ever been able to get them from seed:

SB 909:

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SB1635 (came with the remains of a dried fruit with three seeds in it, bonus!):

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Trying Mammillaria albicans again, from Dolores BCS (the one last summer fried):

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Cool looking Echinocereus carmenensis:

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Equally cool and very odd Escobaria vivipara bisbeeana fa. sonorensis. I'll be intersted to see flowers.

Image

can't wait to sow.

peterb
Last edited by peterb on Fri Mar 16, 2012 3:16 am, edited 2 times in total.
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