Trev

Small amounts of mineral salts in the water can gradually build up in the peat from all the water evaporation, so it's a good idea to repot every few years.

I've had times in recent weeks where the site wasn't accessible to me. All the sites like http://downoruprightnow.com/status/www.cpukforum.com show cpuk as being down at the moment, but I can see it fine. I don't use googles DNS server though, I'm using FreeDNS, but if I switch to Googles DNS server and flush the DNS cache, I can still see it OK. Whois lists http://198.55.96.143 as cpuk's IP address. If the problem is the DNS server you should be able to access the site by using the IP address link above but that doesn't work for me...

Sent you a message.

Craig, I used it for years with no problems (apart from the weight of the stuff). Most people use Perlite which is ph 7-7.5

I wouldn't touch anything from Westlands, You should still be able to get J Arthur Bower's Horticultural grit, if no one closer has it then get it from these guys in Skibereen, call to check they have it in stock: http://www.deelish.ie/

The plants in my greenhouse eat the slugs

Plenty of Pinguicula lusitanica's around me in West Cork if you are ever down that way.

Hi Craig, I live in deepest West Cork, and have had Dionaea, Saracenia purpurea, Darlingtonia californica, Drosera capensis, Drosera binata, and all the native carnivores all growing outside for many years. Welcome to the forum.

Sometimes they dye it green to make it look like that.

I use an old kitchen sieve to sieve the peat for the surface of my seed trays, then I firm it down with a flat block of wood to get a nice flat even surface to sow the seeds on. If I could get that with Sphagnum I'd use it every time, as Sphagnum is a natural anti-fungal. They apparently used to use it to pack wounds to stop infection.

Steve, my seeds are not sown in cells, I transplant them into celled trays after their second winter. My first few attempts to grow VFT's from seeds got eaten by mould. The spores are in the air and rain down onto exposed surfaces, that's why if you've ever seen someone doing tissue culture they do it under a hood. I've never microwaved the peat or use fungicides. I've found if I cover the trays from above but leave gaps for ventilation around the edges I never get mould on them.

This is my seed setup: Recently sown seeds in the seed tray: Last years seedlings 2 and 3 year old seedlings:

I keep them covered from above but with gaps around the edges, that allows some ventilation, keeps the humidity high and stops the mould spores raining down on to the peat. Blocky, how do you stop them falling down through the sphagnum?

Karsty, yes we had 2 very cold winters not long after they were planted out, so it could well have slowed down their acclimatisation.

I have a 16 acre farm on boggy land, and have some typical VFT's that have been growing outside for over 10 years. The first few years they really struggled but gradually they adapted to the new conditions, after about the 5th year they did as good if not better than the ones in my greenhouse. They now flower and set seed every year without any help from me, I just go by and say hi once or twice a year.