Jump to content

What the best soil mix


bigphil1984

Recommended Posts

Many years ago, when I started growing cactus seeds, I used a similar system, although it was in a SW facing conservatory, here in SE England. I found the levels of algae irritating, and there was a certain amount of mortality associated with the dampness and humidity.
In recent times, I just use a fine soil mix, close to what I can discover about their native soil, sow the seeds on the surface, and cover them with very fine grit (1 - 2mm, sifted from sand) just enough to make the soil invisible. Then I stand the pot in water, and leave it in an appropriate spot in the conservatory. I only do this in the warm months of the year, spring and early summer being best. I keep the pot topped up with water until most/all seeds have germinated.
I've found using this method I get between zero and almost zero algae growth, and no mortalities from humidity. Germination has always been good.
This was for seeds up to Astrophytum size.
Karsty.
Hi karsty, yes alge is anoying. I put a fine sprinkle of silica sand on top of seeds like the pic. Phil95d4474326040f4e543afc602a6e4337.jpg

Sent from my SM-A300FU using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would like to hear the other's experience from different locations, but from my own experience, I ventilate all seed germination containers with two 4mm holes in the lids, for larger containers I make four holes.
I get less algae, the germinated plants grow better, and humidity still stays high, with a misting every couple of days to keep the soil moisture up.
This applies to all seeds I germinate, from Crassula all the way to Drosera with anything imaginable inbetween.
Hi juanP, there was already these holes/flaps in the lid! would you put more in?2d2ba364d6aed74a1bf71d7f1c325c78.jpg

Sent from my SM-A300FU using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, bigphil1984 said:

Gaz there doesn't seem to be much activity on cactus world forum, and my threads it says there posted but not there and says I've got no posts in profile? lol

Sent from my SM-A300FU using Tapatalk
 

Hi Phil, you have some answers over on the BCSS forum,  Cactus World is something different and these days I think it's as you say pretty quiet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Try it as it is and see how it goes.
Try aiming that you have to spray the soil once a week from drying out with air circulation. Not sure what temperatures and humidity you're dealing with compared to here?
This is my temp and humidity under light. The sun's out today but don't really want to put it out in it, I don't want to change the steady temps and humidity.d55d1f57826185e7f574a1fcd066db45.jpg

Sent from my SM-A300FU using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, bigphil1984 said:

This is my temp and humidity under light. The sun's out today but don't really want to put it out in it, I don't want to change the steady temps and humidity.d55d1f57826185e7f574a1fcd066db45.jpg

Sent from my SM-A300FU using Tapatalk
 

Looks good, give the container a shot as it is now with the breather holes and see what happens over the next week or two.

From my experience, start off with small quantities of seeds, like 5 to 10, and first see what works and what doesn't in your conditions. Once you get better and better germination rates increase the amount you plant. No use loosing everything you have with initial experiments.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looks good, give the container a shot as it is now with the breather holes and see what happens over the next week or two.
From my experience, start off with small quantities of seeds, like 5 to 10, and first see what works and what doesn't in your conditions. Once you get better and better germination rates increase the amount you plant. No use loosing everything you have with initial experiments.
Thanks JuanP, I'll leave it as is then and see what happens, I did manage to fit 20 seeds in there spread an inch apart, still got about 33 left[emoji38] lol Do you think th at them to holes are enough?

Sent from my SM-A300FU using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, bigphil1984 said:

Thanks JuanP, I'll leave it as is then and see what happens, I did manage to fit 20 seeds in there spread an inch apart, still got about 33 leftemoji38.png lol Do you think th at them to holes are enough?

Sent from my SM-A300FU using Tapatalk
 

I only make two much smaller holes in my container lids, but also leave mibe outside in fairly high temperatures with a good amount of direct sunlight each day, so larger holes may make mine dry out too fast. The containers I leave partially open for seedlings to acclimatise need a good spray down every couple of days, and have much less humidity building up.

Just practise patience with these, as with all things growing from seed.

Many cacti will take many months to reach a few mm in size, all depending on species of course, and the cacti I grow are being almost forgotten while I spend more time on my fast growing seeds. I'll check on the normal plants daily or so, and the cacti like once a week to make sure they still have moist soil.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I only make two much smaller holes in my container lids, but also leave mibe outside in fairly high temperatures with a good amount of direct sunlight each day, so larger holes may make mine dry out too fast. The containers I leave partially open for seedlings to acclimatise need a good spray down every couple of days, and have much less humidity building up.
Just practise patience with these, as with all things growing from seed.
Many cacti will take many months to reach a few mm in size, all depending on species of course, and the cacti I grow are being almost forgotten while I spend more time on my fast growing seeds. I'll check on the normal plants daily or so, and the cacti like once a week to make sure they still have moist soil.
Thanks the advice juanP, I'll keep you all updated how I get on [emoji6]

Sent from my SM-A300FU using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, bigphil1984 said:

This is my temp and humidity under light. The sun's out today but don't really want to put it out in it, I don't want to change the steady temps and humidity.d55d1f57826185e7f574a1fcd066db45.jpg

Sent from my SM-A300FU using Tapatalk
 

Hey bigphil, If I were you I honestly would not try to keep a steady temperature/humidity. Cacti need cool nights for their metabolism to work (it's called crassulacean acid metabolism, CAM for short), so you will probably get a better result with higher day temps and lower night temps. I would need to live several lifetimes to know it for sure, but I really don't believe humidity aids germination. You can literally leave the pots standing in water while they germinate, leaving the tops open, or very open if you want the temp to go up (It's easier to leave the pots standing in water with taller pots, so the area where the seeds are stays moist, but not too saturated). If it was me I would leave the pots where they get the sun during the day and can cool down at night. I would probably leave the lid on but askew, to help the temp go up in the day without raising the humidity too much.

Edited by Karsty
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey bigphil, If I were you I honestly would not try to keep a steady temperature/humidity. Cacti need cool nights for their metabolism to work (it's call crassulacean acid metabolism, CAM for short), so you will probably get a better result with higher day temps and lower night temps. I would need to live several lifetimes to know it for sure, but I really don't believe humidity aids germination. You can literally leave the pots standing in water while they germinate, leaving the tops open, or very open if you want the temp to go up (It's easier to leave the pots standing in water with taller pots, so the area where the seeds are stays moist, but not too saturated). If it was me I would leave the pots where they get the sun during the day and can cool down at night. I would probably leave the lid on but askew, to help the temp go up in the day without raising the humidity too much.
Hi karsty, I might just knock the light off on a night and on through the day then since weather here is not so good most of the time lol. I've been shaking off the condensation on the lid, the person I got them off on ebay says to do so once a day, to keep from been to humid so seeds don't rot.

Sent from my SM-A300FU using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey bigphil, If I were you I honestly would not try to keep a steady temperature/humidity. Cacti need cool nights for their metabolism to work (it's called crassulacean acid metabolism, CAM for short), so you will probably get a better result with higher day temps and lower night temps. I would need to live several lifetimes to know it for sure, but I really don't believe humidity aids germination. You can literally leave the pots standing in water while they germinate, leaving the tops open, or very open if you want the temp to go up (It's easier to leave the pots standing in water with taller pots, so the area where the seeds are stays moist, but not too saturated). If it was me I would leave the pots where they get the sun during the day and can cool down at night. I would probably leave the lid on but askew, to help the temp go up in the day without raising the humidity too much.
Hi karsty, I've been looking up that (cam) stuff really interesting. I've put my light on a timer 16/8 [emoji6]

Sent from my SM-A300FU using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, bigphil1984 said:

Hi karsty, I might just knock the light off on a night and on through the day then since weather here is not so good most of the time lol. I've been shaking off the condensation on the lid, the person I got them off on ebay says to do so once a day, to keep from been to humid so seeds don't rot.

Sent from my SM-A300FU using Tapatalk
 

What is that container? Looks like something to cook chicken in the microwave??

The condensation itself doesn't affect humidity, knocking it off will have a neutral effect. The only thing that will affect the humidity is the ventilation.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What is that container? Looks like something to cook chicken in the microwave??
The condensation itself doesn't affect humidity, knocking it off will have a neutral effect. The only thing that will affect the humidity is the ventilation.
 
It was what I got my chicken in from store too keep it warm lol, don't worry it's been sterilised [emoji6]. I've got vents open on top, so should be ok, I hope [emoji38]27e3121283d3fcd332d6271ea1331557.jpg

Sent from my SM-A300FU using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, bigphil1984 said:

Hi karsty, I've been looking up that (cam) stuff really interesting. I've put my light on a timer 16/8 emoji6.png

Sent from my SM-A300FU using Tapatalk
 

We learnt the pathways for photosynthesis in A level biology, and it was so complex I had zero hope of memorising it! So when it gets even more complex, it is truly mind boggling!!!

I think it works best when day and night are roughly equal.... subject for further research    

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We learnt the pathways for photosynthesis in A level biology, and it was so complex I had zero hope of memorising it! So when it gets even more complex, it is truly mind boggling!!!
I think it works best when day and night are roughly equal.... subject for further research    emoji_u1f635.png
So say 12/12 hour light cycles then?

Sent from my SM-A300FU using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Day/night length ... Well, I don't know enough about it, I am only repeating what I have read, and also it is true that nearer the equator day and night are always more equal in length. The point being that the night needs to be long enough for that phase of CAM to fully finish.

There are lots of different experiences out there I know...... my only concern is a method where drops of water could fall on seedlings and just sit there on them for a long time is going to give mouldy and damping off problems. The basic point being, the only area significant for the seed is that exact spot where it is sitting. If there is moisture, and temperature (and light?), that's the only point for the seed, no need for humidity (except maybe in the first vertical 1 or 2mm, hence the layer of grit) - that is in the atmosphere above the seed and once germination has happened those little roots quickly take in moisture and turn the seedling the right way up, and hey presto, you have a tiny little new xerophyte :biggrin:  Temperature can be raised through the soil using a heating mat or heated propagator tray.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...