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Cactus seed soil battle! | Episode 5: 22 Week Update - Grow, grow, grow!
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- čas přidán 13. 04. 2024
- Oops, I lost track of time and now we're at the 22 week update for these Astrophytum and Ariocarpus that we grew from seed in our cactus soil experiment. Going forward we'll focus on seedling growth progress rather than numbers - unless we see some significant die off which we will note.
In this video, the seedlings in tray #1 are 22 weeks old and the seedlings in tray #2 are 12 weeks old. Tray #2 is funny because I can't make any conclusions on the results - it's all over the place!
I also cannot believe how fast time is passing... I mean we're approaching 6 months on tray #1 already! This just means that if you're reading this video description, go grow some cactus from seed! And if you're already growing cactus from seed, go grow even more!
Details on the soils in tray #1 are described in Episode 1 here: • Cactus seed soil battl...
Details on the soils in tray #2 are described in Episode 3 here: • Cactus seed soil battl...
Cactus Seed Soil Battle playlist: • Cactus Seed Soil Battle
Mesa Garden's video featuring Rob Romero and his soil mix: • Soil update and Sowing...
Connect with me on Instagram: / cookiescacti
Some of the growing supplies used for this experiment:
2.5" nursery pots:
www.greenhousemegastore.com/c...
1020 Trays without holes:
www.greenhousemegastore.com/c...
Tall clear dome for 1020 tray:
www.greenhousemegastore.com/c...
Disclosure: The links to Amazon are affiliate links, which means that I earn from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate. There is no additional cost to you. I encourage shopping around as always.
Grow light without dimmer: SPIDER FARMER SF1000D (this is the one I use)
amzn.to/3OSPR6c (paid link)
Grow light with dimmer: SPIDER FARMER SF1000
amzn.to/3STyRyJ (paid link)
Succulent tools & transplanting kit
amzn.to/3XQZrup (paid link)
Plant labels
1000 count: amzn.to/41nUSdc (paid link)
200 count: amzn.to/3to3MLl (paid link)
I am sure that I would not have the patience for conducting your soil tests. And, I am still sure that Cookie is fortunate to know you. Good luck with the effort to both of you. Peace.
It's funny because I'm clearly running out of patience for the soil experiment as time goes on! At least we got the data while my attention span could still focus. Hopefully it's still fun for you all to see how the seedlings progress regardless if this is the most uncontrolled and inconclusive experiment ever.
Thank you so much for your comments about Cookie. I often question myself on all the medical care I give to her but I swear it doesn't phase her one bit, all the stress is on me. She's just happy with any extra snacks that she gets.
I'm not surprised with the ECC and lophopro differences. ECC has much less organic matter, I also expects that lophopro can hold more water. Theoretically, more decomposing organics + more water = more available nutrients. It would be nice to know if the manufacturers added any fertiliser to their mixes.
One thing that I've learned over the years is, when you put several pots with different mixes into a single tray and water them together, each mix gets a different amount of water. The effect is neglectable if the mixes are similar, but in your experiment the mixes are vastly different. Even if you try to mitigate those differences by watering to the full saturation, evaporation rate still would be different for each one. At this point I would rather separate each substrate type, put them into individual mini-trays or food containers and water accordingly to the needs of the particular soil mix. As the pots used to be under a dome, that wasn't that much of an issue, but they are not covered anymore. At some point the experiment might change from testing how cacti seedlings behave in different mixes into testing how they behave in different hydration levels. It's still an early stage, so that quick fix should minimize an error.
Ah ha! This is a great observation and I'm so glad you took the time to share it here. And this really says that the experiment has become how each soil performs given similar care (or perhaps similar neglect). This is an interesting thought because what's really happening is that I'm finding a soil that perhaps is best suited to my lazy way of growing cactus from seed. Which means that other individuals may get completely different results from me, which is absolutely fascinating...
I'm amazed at your patience with growing seedlings....I have enough trouble waiting for actual plants to show signs of growth...😅😅
When I first started growing cactus from seed I swear I was checking on the seedlings every 5 minutes, willing them to grow faster. Time felt so slow. But then I grew more seedlings, and more, and more, and then that constant checking went away and now I forget about the seedlings and time ends up feeling like it passes too fast. It's funny how that works!
Baby cactuses are looking so cute. I have some groups of babies sawn back in october 2023, as well as little older than those groups. They are so pretty. My pre-k cactuses.
Ha! I love that term "Pre-K cactuses"!
I just ordered new grow lights and wayyy to many cacti seeds :O your series inspired me to try seeds again! Best regards from Denmark 💕
Yessssss! Then my work here is done 😁 Happy growing, my cactus friend!
I was just thinking about the series and I checked CZcams to find that you just uploaded a new video, lol
Thank you
I love that this series is in your thoughts! That absolutely warms my heart.... and it makes keeping this series going completely worth it!
Light intensity is probably a factor for some of the differences between the edges and the center of the tray OR the plants on the edges get more water due to condensation.
My bet is that it's a combination of both. It makes me wonder now about pot placement! I swear this experiment just created more questions than answers! I just started another tray of Astrophytum seeds, no pots, just soil straight in the tray and sprinkled Astro seeds all over. It will be so obvious any type of patterns regard to how the seedlings grow with regards to location in the tray.
Sometimes a slow growth if preferable. It will give the plants a natural, less bloated look. Thats why some species look more flat in habitat and more rounded in pots. Take peyote as a common example.
This is the exact points that I had been wanting to make,... I prefer the more natural look!
This will be super interesting to see how different the plants will look in the slow growing vs. fast growing soil mediums.
I've heard that maintaining a water pH level of around 6.0 is ideal. You can lower the pH by adding a bit of white vinegar to the water. I'm planning to try seeding next spring.
I've been using rainwater to water these guys. But yes, I have heard for a long time from multiple growers about acidifying water, which I do. I buy white vinegar from my local grocery store and add it to my tap water.
Those bugs are springtails. Annoying but harmless if not beneficial.
Excellent! I'm leaving them be. Do you know if they hang around forever? Or is it the moist environment that they prefer?
Jenny, at this point in the experiment do you have a favorite soil mix that you would use in the future for your best seeds?
Ohh this is such a good question and a difficult one to answer. I feel like this set of experiments ended up creating more questions than providing answers. So far I've been leaning towards Uni-Gro. It seems to be fairly consistent and even seems to do well straight out of the bag. Otherwise, tray #2 is showing Miracle-Gro cut with inorganics is doing well so far too, so....
In my own growing outside of these experiments, I've started using several mixes just for the heck of it. I tried 50/50 Uni-gro and pumice. Another tray I mixed Uni-gro, pumice, and red lava rock. A third tray I tried Uni-gro, Miracle Gro, pumice and the left over Bonsai mix. So it's all over the place! I don't think I've quite found my mix yet... give me a few more years. In my latest plantings, it includes other genus besides Astrophytum and Ariocarpus, so even more uncharted territory.
The one thing I can say with a bit more certainty is that the two premium soils are too expensive to be practical for me. However, there is an exception - if I were to try growing notoriously difficult plants where even the seeds are super expensive, then I may consider trying the premiums again.
Someone recently suggested that I bottom water crassula jade cuttings..it supposedly forces roots to grow deeper in search of water....🤔🤔
I can see that as being true! I got traumatized by bottom watering a tray of Copiapoa seedlings two years ago - it did not go well, sigh, and since then my response to the trauma has been top watering lol.