Devon.B Posted January 23, 2014 Report Share Posted January 23, 2014 I wonder if you could cut a bowl in half, or hire someone to do it. I don't know much about cutting glass though so I have no idea if that's even possible, haha. If you did find one where it could be separated into two halves, would you still want the opening on the top for air flow as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odysseus Posted January 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2014 (edited) Yeah been seriously considering that myself. Or getting a plastic goldfish bowl that I cut. Maybe some candy dish would work out.... I would want the top to have airflow. I would put a plexiglass lid on top though between the light and the bowl. Last time it was just a small circular cut plexiglass lid and I think I had a drilled in hole in it too. Edited January 24, 2014 by Odysseus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon.B Posted January 24, 2014 Report Share Posted January 24, 2014 A plastic goldfish bowl would probably make more sense now that you mention it. Maybe you could even attach a hinge on one side to keep the top half from sliding off, or something similar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odysseus Posted January 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2014 I like the idea of a hinge! I think on the way home from work tonight I am going to look at local petstores to see what options I have that could maybe work. As you seem interested in the project, I will keep updating this thread as I work on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon.B Posted January 24, 2014 Report Share Posted January 24, 2014 Looking froward to updates. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odysseus Posted January 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2014 UPDATE: Long story, short: My wife wasn't very keen on the costs so I settled on something cheap from a secondhand thrift store to get me what I need. Originally was debating between a 12inch $24 and 16inch $40 Bubble ball vase, but like I said, price was a bit high and wife trumped me. So I settled on this cookie jar, which is still plenty of space for the gemmae to grow into nice Pygmy Drosera and am stoked that it has a big enough mouth to allow me access to the plants if I make the soil line 2/3 up the jar. Add a plexiglass cover to hold in humidity and separate the dry heat of the lamp from the plants and I am ready to go! Please don't mind the water droplets, I gave it a good rinse before I put it in the dishwasher to really sanitize it from any contaminants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odysseus Posted January 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2014 Oh, and the plastic Goldfish bowls were $8 and no guarantee that I could get the top to settle back on after cutting it in half. So getting this cookie jar for $2 was pretty perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoLongFairWell Posted January 25, 2014 Report Share Posted January 25, 2014 I just got some pygmies from Dieter and planted the gemmae up yesterday. Man that's a tedious job. I can't imagine what it must be like for people with loads of them to have to deal with harvesting and replanting all that gemmae. It would send me cross eyed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odysseus Posted January 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2014 Haha yeah! I bet a year from now when I am removing gemmae off these dozen or so plants, I will be feeling it. And feeling glad I went with something with a large mouth. So Richard, how did you set up your pygmies? Did you put the gemmae on the soil with the smooth side face up or the growth point? What soil mixdid you use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoLongFairWell Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 I used a 50/50 mix of peat and perlite. They were already starting to root when they arrived so I laid them with the root on the surface of the soil and mist them once or twice a day. I'm growing them in styrofoam cups as they're small but still deep, also the styrofoam is insulating against excess cold and excess heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon.B Posted January 26, 2014 Report Share Posted January 26, 2014 (edited) Well that solves the access problem too! Less work and I think it will look just as nice. Edited January 27, 2014 by Devon.B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odysseus Posted January 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 Thanks, Devon, I think so too. I just may need to house fewer in there to keep things neat. Then put the rest of the gemmae in cups like Richard did, the insulation sounds nice. Richard, I do like your point about the cups being a good pot to insulate them. Although, I think in my jar, I will do something with more sand as that worked last time, and looks nicer than 50 peat 50 perlite. I just can't recall my old mix ration or if it was all sand or maybe mixed with peat and a top layer of 100% sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odysseus Posted January 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 My medium is 2 parts sand one part peat. Who needs to remember when I wrote it down. Think I will go with precisely that again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoLongFairWell Posted January 27, 2014 Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 I admit sand is much nicer looking than perlite but my problem here in Ireland is that I can't get good horticultural sand, it's all like dust. And when I went to a local aggregate providers every sample of stuff they gave me, although excellent size, had lime in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odysseus Posted January 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2014 Oh that's horrible! I never thought something like horticultural sand would be rare to get somewhere. Although, I admit I am glad that my soil mix is different than yours not out of my own mistaken idea for what would be good, but that you just don't have access to good horticultural sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johanovich Posted January 28, 2014 Report Share Posted January 28, 2014 I admit sand is much nicer looking than perlite but my problem here in Ireland is that I can't get good horticultural sand, it's all like dust. And when I went to a local aggregate providers every sample of stuff they gave me, although excellent size, had lime in. You can also use fragmented glass instead of sand. It's sold in some stores as filter material for pools. I've used it both as a topping, to prevent moss and other stuff from growing, and as part of the media itself. In addition it also looks nice as a topping and provides some extra glitter between the plants themselves. It's basically the same as sand, being almost pure silica. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odysseus Posted January 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2014 Johan, that is an interesting suggestion. Do you have any pictures showing your use of this and any links to the exact product that you recommend? Obviously, something with a proven track record of not being harmful or bringing anything unwanted to the growing medium like minerals would be better to look into. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johanovich Posted January 30, 2014 Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 (edited) Johan, that is an interesting suggestion. Do you have any pictures showing your use of this and any links to the exact product that you recommend? Obviously, something with a proven track record of not being harmful or bringing anything unwanted to the growing medium like minerals would be better to look into. Thanks! Here are a few pictures of the glass used as a topping for some D. scorpioides gemmae that have just started growing. I tested it in growing medium pretty much in the same way as sand and it worked perfectly, but as sand is cheaper I'll probably only use glass as topping in the future. Here are a few pictures of the glass used in the medium from last summer (with Drosera binata, D. capensis, D. intermedia, D. rotundifolia and a D. aliceae cutting) The D. aliceae cutting in newly mixed medium And the same cutting after a few weeks. It had been standing outside during the summer so some seeds and other stuff got blown into the pot. I have no idea where you could buy this in the USA, I buy it in a local shop but you could probably find it in some shops with stuff for swimming pools. Edited January 30, 2014 by Johanovich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odysseus Posted January 30, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2014 Those pics are proof enough for me, I like it! I wonder where I would find it, certainly somewhere has it, I just hope I can find fragmented glass that is as clean and problem free as yours apparently has been. Thanks for sharing the pics! Appreciate you linking those here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odysseus Posted January 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 UPDATE: This week I have been getting gemmae from generous friends and potting them up in 2-inch square pots and my Pygmy jar. Nothing is visible, more than green gemmae, but here is an update: Pygmy Jar 2 parts sand 1 part peat The toothpicks are for my own use remembering where I want to spread the gemmae out and where I HAVE already planted some. As soon as I plant the last three I will remove them. Here is a view from above with the layout plan: I have already placed the D. roseana, D. pygmae 'green flower' and the D. pulchella 'pink flower' gemmae. Close-up of the D. pulchella gemmae The other gemmae is smaller and tough to see against the sand/peat mix. I will be getting my D. dichrosepala, D. scorpiodes and nitidula x pulchella from Cook's Carnivores tomorrow and I will be updating this with one more pic then. Stay tuned! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatchGreyes Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 Ooh nice! I may copy this at some point. I look forward to seeing how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon.B Posted January 31, 2014 Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 Nice selection of pygmies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odysseus Posted January 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2014 Thanks, Guys! I am very excited to see how things go too. Last time, after only 2 months most plants were large and enjoying the space. So shouldn't be long before we see the progress. The nitidula x pulchella and dichrosepala are coming as near flowering plants, so at least there will be something of note to look at in there by tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odysseus Posted February 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 UPDATE: The D. scorpiodes and D. dichrosepala didn't make the travel and arrived dead, but there were some gemmae on each plant that I potted up. I am getting replacement plants soon, thankfully the online seller is honoring that! So appreciative! But here is an update as of last night, February 3rd: Sort of "close-up" shot of some gemmae growth: (I will need to get my camera out for some macro shots.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odysseus Posted February 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 Going to need to add a pipe in there after all so that I can water from the bottom up. Having the water table lower will help with the moss and algae. Last time I had a big, kind of ugly looking pipe in the bowl to help apply the water down low and thought I didn't want it this time, but something will need to be put in. Maybe in the middle where the future scorpiodes will hide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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