Planning “habitat-garden” in Indonesia
Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2022 11:03 am
After keeping cacti and succulents in pots for some time, the idea came to mind to transform our front garden into a “habitat-garden”. On purpose I mention it as being “habitat” since that what I have in mind is a little different to what is usually seen.
Despite me absolutely understanding, and seeing, the appeal of a garden in which the plants really stand out, I am more after a closer representation of how they are found in nature.
Most cacti are somewhat hidden, partially buried or tucked away between rocks or other vegetation and that’s the look that I’m after.
Now the big challenge is sorting out proper substrate to accommodate that what I have in mind.
The current garden consist of maintained vegetation so to say. It has been like this since my wife and I moved in and other than keeping it presentable we didn’t do too much about it.
Photo shows our current garden
We are living in Indonesia and ofcourse I need to be aware of what the climate is like and rain plays a big role. Depending on where you look online it averages at about 60-80 inches a year, which is a lot.
Combine that with fierce sunshine and you have a serious climate to keep in mind.
The surface area of the garden is roughly 20 by 10 ft and the plan is to dig out the garden for about 12-15 inches or so and to reuse some of the soil into the mix that I want to be using.
But..finding the right supplements in Indonesia is easier said than done. With our plants in pots and working with small amounts of soil it’s easier, but working with these large volumes is a bit of a challenge. It’s quite a serious volume we’re talking about.
After some looking online and trying to figure out what I want, I kinda stumbled across limestone. I really like the look of it and it’s the type of “substrate” that I’m after. Bonus is that I can buy it per truckload.
Photo shows what’s sold as being limestone
However, after some research online, including this forum, I found that there are some mixed opinions in regards to limestone for cacti.
The entire post above basically comes down to one question, which is what you would do in my situation?
The market for rocks isn’t as big in Indonesia as what can be found online for the US market for example so I’m a little stuck.
When it comes which cacti and succulents, it’s gonna be a mix with most likely the following species;
Mammillaria, Gymnocalycium, Notocactus, Ferocactus, Echinopsis, Echinocactus, Melocactus, Astrophytum, Opuntia, Euphorbia, Aloe, Haworthia, Agave, Gasteria and so on.
And perhaps a few others if I want to experiment with for a bit (Turbinicarpus and Lithops are two that come to mind).
A big thank you in advance for those willing to chime in
Despite me absolutely understanding, and seeing, the appeal of a garden in which the plants really stand out, I am more after a closer representation of how they are found in nature.
Most cacti are somewhat hidden, partially buried or tucked away between rocks or other vegetation and that’s the look that I’m after.
Now the big challenge is sorting out proper substrate to accommodate that what I have in mind.
The current garden consist of maintained vegetation so to say. It has been like this since my wife and I moved in and other than keeping it presentable we didn’t do too much about it.
Photo shows our current garden
We are living in Indonesia and ofcourse I need to be aware of what the climate is like and rain plays a big role. Depending on where you look online it averages at about 60-80 inches a year, which is a lot.
Combine that with fierce sunshine and you have a serious climate to keep in mind.
The surface area of the garden is roughly 20 by 10 ft and the plan is to dig out the garden for about 12-15 inches or so and to reuse some of the soil into the mix that I want to be using.
But..finding the right supplements in Indonesia is easier said than done. With our plants in pots and working with small amounts of soil it’s easier, but working with these large volumes is a bit of a challenge. It’s quite a serious volume we’re talking about.
After some looking online and trying to figure out what I want, I kinda stumbled across limestone. I really like the look of it and it’s the type of “substrate” that I’m after. Bonus is that I can buy it per truckload.
Photo shows what’s sold as being limestone
However, after some research online, including this forum, I found that there are some mixed opinions in regards to limestone for cacti.
The entire post above basically comes down to one question, which is what you would do in my situation?
The market for rocks isn’t as big in Indonesia as what can be found online for the US market for example so I’m a little stuck.
When it comes which cacti and succulents, it’s gonna be a mix with most likely the following species;
Mammillaria, Gymnocalycium, Notocactus, Ferocactus, Echinopsis, Echinocactus, Melocactus, Astrophytum, Opuntia, Euphorbia, Aloe, Haworthia, Agave, Gasteria and so on.
And perhaps a few others if I want to experiment with for a bit (Turbinicarpus and Lithops are two that come to mind).
A big thank you in advance for those willing to chime in