Cultivation Experiment

[ice00]

hi all,

after growing about 100 different species of Mexical Pinguicula in last 4 years in more that 200 pots, I had comes to the problems of water killing most of them during the last two years (one year was with rain from May to July with low temperature, while the other was without a single rain from May to July with big temperatures).

The plants were cultivated in standard mineral mix with a flowerpot saucer with little water putted every day in it.

The problem is that with irregular flowerpot saucer surface, some pots get more water then others and else when I'm on holiday I can't know how many water a people gives to them for supply my absence.

When you have very few plants you can gives them many minutes in a day to figure their state, but with many you can gives only few seconds a day, so you cannot follow them as needed and the result is many plants that died.

I so try to think at alternative methods of cultivation when you had not to worry about water level given to them.
They have to get what they need.

One alternative was the "Pinguiculario"  when plant have water not directly at contact with topsoild as it is inside a vessel.

 

You put the water in the vessel (50% of it) and forget the plants for months.
The disadvantage is the space needed to cultivate many species with it.

Another methods that I experimented this summer is the inclined plate of volcanic Tufo.
The plated is immersed into big quantity of water (about 10 liters) but the plant get only the little quantity that from "capillarity" the Tufo present into it.

 

I put the plants for test in it and then fill to the brim of water every weeks. No problem to the plants.
The problem with this is the weight of the stuff and the fact that I cannot have too many plants of it as I have to made some holes to put the plants in (if you create many holes the plate breaks.

So, now I have elaborated a solution that is a mix of all the previous staff that I hope it can get me freedom in don't' worry about water any-more and have many plant cultivated in a very good looking package.

 

This is a render of the new pot to build.

 

It has 4 spaces for cultivate 4 different species ion the same time.
The material is transparent plexiglass stucks with silicon.

So, after building the external box, the bottom is filled by 1,5/2cm of Perlite and over it there is a plate of Tufo of 1,5/2cm that is siliconised to the sides, so no water can goes from below to upper part without passing inside the Tufo.

At the center there is then apply an hole for let water to pass from upper part to lower part.
a rhombus structure in the center become a funnel for inserting the water in the lower part.

Then 4 peaces are siliconised for dividing the 4 part of Pinguicula coltivations.
Over the Tufo, it will be put 1cm of standard mineral mix of cultivation and above a little (2mm) layer of quartz in granules to gives a better view of all the stuff.

Each pot will measure 28,4x20cm ans I will use 2mm policarbonated plate and with 1250x500 sheets I will get 4 pots, so 16 Pingucula.

 

Don't know if this methods will works but I'm feeling positive about it and I hope to have the first prototype assembled in two weeks.

[ice00]

Here the first box that is ready.

 

It contains plants and minerals:

 

Pinguicule esseriana / Quarzo Morione (Arkansas, USA)
Pinguicula spec. Tonala / Cobaltocalcite rosa (Zaire)
Pinguicula colimensis x gigantea White Flower / Piromorfite (Hunan, Cina)
Pingucula x Weser / Vanadinite rossa (Mibladen, Marocco)

 

 

[ice00]

The experiment goes very well.

 

In winter no problem (essentially very few water every month).

 

Now, water every week (a glass of water).

 

Actually I uses 6 box (6*4=24 species) and other 2 box is in the making.

 

However I go ahed and for reduce the manual time of building them, I will go to use 3D plastic printing.

 

 

 

I think they will be ready for September.

[Gaz]

Nice idea, do you still have 100 species/200 pots?  If so is this setup going to be used for your whole collection eventually or just for selected plants?  Looking forward to seeing more developments

[ice00]

Nice idea, do you still have 100 species/200 pots?  If so is this setup going to be used for your whole collection eventually or just for selected plants?  Looking forward to seeing more developments

 

hi, no actually the species that remain are around 40/45 in very few pods.

 

But as the experiments is going very good, I planned to port all to this system, so I can grow them with just give attention to them 1 day a week in Summer and 1 day a month in Winter.

 

I will have a 3D printer with a larger X/Y plane so I can create the custom pod with good space even for bigger pinguicula and maybe create pod more little for little pinguicula specie.

 

At thi point I can put the pods into a bookcase with shelves and utilize space in height, so I can still go to cultivate 100 species in the same x/y space as before when I used the common pods.

.

[Gaz]

Then you can patent your design and sell it to us all (very cheaply of course)

 

Have the plants in the pictures been established in that mix for a long time?  They look very healthy, do you use fertiliser at all?  If so what/how much?

[ice00]

Then you can patent your design and sell it to us all (very cheaply of course)

 

 

It could be convenient if the plastic come from a press stamp.

With 3D printing a pod with big dimension (like 270 x 310 x 80 mm) uses aroud 7€ of plastic filament (this is an extimated by the program) and arount 15 to 20h to finish.

 

 

Have the plants in the pictures been established in that mix for a long time?  They look very healthy, do you use fertiliser at all?  If so what/how much?

 

The photos were taken just when I insert them into the pod, maybe I can make new photo tomorrow after around 8 months of usage.

 

I never used fertilization in Pinguicula, they just catch all insects.

[ice00]

Hi,

I just print a cut-size version of the pot for only one plant species for testing the equipment.

Else, instead of my mixed mineral compost, I go to use a special fine quartz. It has a very capillarity action on water, so all the compost will be uniformly watering.

I have also not covered the empty space with perlite, but let only water being in.