Cactus seed soil battle! | Episode 8: 36 week update | Soil differences are becoming obvious...

[@nathanielvargas3863]

I really appreciate these videos. They’re very informative and have saved me from wasting a lot time with my own seedlings.

[@cookiescacti]

I'm so glad you find these videos helpful, Nathaniel! It makes making and posting them really worthwhile.

[@janisnix4227]

Thanks, Jenny, for this series! I enjoy watching it and have learned a lot about starting seeds. Keep it up!

[@cookiescacti]

I'm so glad you enjoy this series, Janis! It's very encouraging to read messages like this and it's so much fun for us to watch these grow up together and see how the soils do.

[@billgolightly7203]

You have done well sticking with this exercise. Good information. Regards to Cookie.

[@cookiescacti]

Thank you, Bill! It's fun to watch them grow up with you all. 💚

[@SweetetKiss5]

Great video! They look sooo much bigger! Loved the song and the “My Goodness!” at the end lol.

[@cookiescacti]

Hehehehe, the end is so much fun 😊 I really appreciate the message, Maria!

[@anitajarone1193]

Hey Jenny!!!Hope u r doing Well & every1 else around here!! Just like i was following along during ur "Lazy way" by sowing MY 1st set of seeds, i ALSO have now put together a whole smorgasbord of ingredients making my OWN challenge. Not necessarily NEARLY as detailed as urs with ur liftle Power Point going on, and keeping all ur Stats! Nope, i dont have the patience for all that and Im only sharing it with myself!! Altho i wanted to share a few key points i have learned so far so we ALL can learn how to succussfully sow cacti seeds and enjoy it as much as possible w/o having to deal with thungs like the ol' dreaded fungas! The pests! The flies! Dieing off!! Etc, etc, etc. So i have learned 1) More organic Definately seems to help with their growth AND with fungi issues. I ALSO added like a bonsai mix to a few of mine with lava rock, akadama & green zeolite. Oh man, that green zeolite it good stuff!! But thats for other reasons (LOADS of trace minerals goood for cactus) & for another day lol and and yeah, my babies are bigger, and they just SEEM happier?? Maybe thats wishful thinking. The pots where i had more organic (about 55%) , i just had to take a mini spoon & toothpick and hand picked out allll the green and BLACK slimy fungas! Lost about a galf a pot of babies bc of this too 😢 But u know the one that had the very very most fungas, the one that had the die off, also had,,,,wait for it,,,,,,,,,,,,VERMICCULITE❗❗❗ I believe that stuff can be very good for plants like House plants. But i thought bc i was sowing babies and so they wont dey out too often, i added about 20-25% in their pots and i will NEVER do that again! Coincidence??? So one of my questions to u is, How the heck do u keep the fungas away?? U do good job not getting any. I wonder if its the air?? Bc i keep mine in bags longer than u would keep urs in domes. But not this time!!! 8 weeks and i gradually aclimated them to the air. I will still keep them in the baggies but will keep them open like 80% just to have a covering of some sort. My other MAIN prob was my germination rate!! Out of ALL my pots i barely got about 20% germinated! I really think that is from the actual seeds, they just wernt very viable. I got about 8 species from a guy on etsy & another 3 from a private grower, i wont mention names. So maybe they were old? Duds? One pot of Corypantha-i forget - only had ONE little seedling hatch!! But hes about 4 TIMES AS BIG AS THE Others in the otger pots!!!! I guess cuz he has plenty of room and u unlimited water supply?? So heres my 2nd question 2 u. Where do u get all ur seeds?? Do u have a seller or someone u can refer me to?? Or ANYONE on here, pls!!! I need a reputable, good, honest person i can go to time & time again cuz I am about to start MORE seeds & I already was thinking about it but u officialized it 4 me, i wanna grow a mix of hybrid myrostigmas!!! Those r too sexy for their shirts❗😂 That look great! I understand alot of ur seeds must be from self pollinating, right?? I dont keep 2 of everything altho i would LOVE to. I dont have the space yet. So if its allowed w/o breaking any you tube rules, i would be most appreciative if u could hook me up or get with me via text, email or IG, again, if thats allowed, i need someone with a variety of seeds that dont cost an arm and a leg like copiapoas do lol, i aint got it like that, unfortunately. I was looking on ebay & some want 19.99 for 10 seeds!! WHAaaaaT!?? For Seeds?? ive read b4 that fhe average germination rate for cacti out IN HABITAT is only 30%! So 19.99 & i would get MAYBE 3 seedlings?? Maybe!!?? And its mostly from China. So yeah, when u get a moment pls, cuz i know u stay as busy busy as a bee 🐝, pls answer my 2 main questions, about the fungas & seeds, Again, or ANY1 READING THIS!!! I would surely Thank ya!!! I could set yall up with a cpl of packs for yourselves perhaps!!! So u take good care Jenny!!! Give cookie loves from me❗❗❗ Keep up the great cactus work and Thx, as always, for helping to gain additional knowledge, encourging me & making me smile. We ALL need more of that, i imagine. Sincerely,Anita 🌵✌️😊

[@cookiescacti]

Hello Anita! First, that is so cool that you are growing cactus from seed and running your own experiments! Love the plant spirit! With regards to mold and algae, I deal with it all the time, it seems to be unavoidable for me. I don't sanitize anything, so that could be one reason. Some folks microwave their soil but I'm not willing to do that. I've recently started spraying hydrogen peroxide on the top dressing while sowing but I don't know if it helps much. For cactus that aren't as sensitive to coming out of the dome earlier, one way to deal with fungus is to just start taking them out of the high humidity environment and allowing them to start drying out. I've tried spraying fungicide like physan 20 but I don't know if it helps that much either. Some folks use hydrogen peroxide, some use cinnamon. Neither seem to work that great for me. Basically I don't have a tried and true way of dealing with it. Sometimes it just leads to a lot of loss, so be it. With regards to seeds, I buy the majority of my seeds from Mesa Garden. Rob Romero is a great seed seller on Etsy under the shop Three Deserts. Adam Baker on www.bakersuccs.com sells Astrophytum seeds from his own plants. Otherwise all my Astrophytum hybrid seeds come from my own plants now. Yes, you need two plants to pollinate since they are self-sterile. It can be a worthy investment if you're down for it. I'm not set up for seedling seeds but now you're giving me the idea that maybe I should do a seed giveaway... Hmmmm ideas....

[@ChopsticksDIYGarden]

That was a fascinating video. Thanks for sharing!

[@cookiescacti]

I'm glad you found it interesting! What a journey to learn together.

[@SUPERSUDS]

I mentioned you and your helpful videos in my latest video :) they have been very helpful to me! I am growing ariocarpus confuscus from seed

[@cookiescacti]

Woohoooo! I'm so glad these videos are helpful. We're all learning together. Appreciate the love!

[@niteman555]

A lot of the wild ariocarpus that they find over on Crime Pays But Botany Doesn't tend to grow hidden in the shade of a rock or shrub, so it could very well be that the shade cloth helps

[@cookiescacti]

That makes sense. There's definitely a clear difference this round of growing. The interesting part now will be to see how long they prefer staying in that environment.

[@JamesEndo1]

Trial looking good! The plants look 👍 ❤🎉 Love the hybrids, you are a good bee!😅 Astros easier than Arios by far! Seems like Mike's and Camanchaca ready to transplant Astros! You need a pointer! Keep up the great videos!

[@cookiescacti]

I hope the seedlings can put up with the squeeze until the end! Great idea on using a pointer! Why didn't I think of that??

[@JamesEndo1]

​@cookiescacti laser or chopstick will be cool!🤣 NO worries on the squeeze, you will make it. I have many cacti seedlings falling out of pot before I transplanted. 😂 Wonder if more fertilizer will help slow pokes? Stay cool!

[@cookiescacti]

Cactus seedling bouquet! The best kind of bouquet. I've already incorporated your pointer suggestion in a video I'll be releasing this weekend 😁. Also I have a feeling the fert will help the slow pokes. I swear even the diluted solution is making a difference.

[@JamesEndoSanJoseCARealEstate1]

@@cookiescacti Great!!! They all look mostly good, just some are looking better!!! Looking forward to the next release!!!

[@CactusCaffeine]

Do you find it harder to grow Ariocarpus seedlings? Mine germinated well but after a few months, many of them started dying one by one. I don’t know what they want or don’t want. Astrophytum seem to be less of a diva.

[@cookiescacti]

Oh yes, I find it much more difficult to grow Ariocarpus than Astrophytum. I've tried Ariocarpus sooooo many times and have failed soooooo many times. I've had batches where all the Ario seedlings died. I've had batches that lived for a year and then massively died off out of nowhere. I still haven't figured them out! But now that I can get seeds from my own plants, there's no reason not to keep trying. The batch in this video is the best I have ever had, but I don't know if they will just decide to massively die at some point.

[@CactusCaffeine]

@@cookiescacti I see. I’ve only sown a few of them and now I have even less left. Lol! Im waiting for them to grow some more and maybe graft what is left: 🤞🏼 Thanks Jenny! Hello to cutie Cookie. 🐈

[@cookiescacti]

Graft is a great idea! Let me know if you ever want more Ario seeds to try, I have plenty to share.

[@andersnrregren9087]

I started my seedlings about same time as yours but i left them outside in the "frost free" greenhouse and i did not use the bags or lids it worked fine but after the frost got some the slugs got in and eat most of them in one night, but my seedlings are tiny but are starting to grow now

[@cookiescacti]

I've tried starting and growing seedlings outdoors in my shade house. They grow soooo much slower than indoors. It's probably much more like nature growing outdoors. But I only have so many decades left of growing, no time to lose! 😁😂😪

[@thatcrazyhindu]

I assume the rob romero mix is so small because it is about 60+% inorganic and they need way more nutrients, the drainage probably keeps them healthy which is why they have good germination rate. I personally use sifted fox farm ocean forest and my cacti seem to love the nutrients, probably why the lophopro mix works so well too

[@cookiescacti]

Very very likely. Excellent observation. The premiums all have a good amount of organic matter. I've always been curious about fox farm soils. Do you add inorganics to the mix?

[@niteman555]

If there's mycorrhizae coming into play, then that could very well explain the much better growth. I can't imagine the native soils for these plants are particularly high in Nitrogen, but the mycorrhizae are saprotrophs that will break down organic matter and then trade their host plants Nitrogen for sugar. Not unlike how a graft

[@cookiescacti]

Could be. Wish there was a way to find out easily.

[@niteman555]

@@cookiescacti you could try an experiment where you innoculate two different samples, one with a fully mineral substrate and one more organic. In theory, the cactus planted in the fully mineral substrate would grow more slowly

[@cookiescacti]

@@niteman555 what does innoculate mean in this context?

[@niteman555]

@@cookiescacti To add a sample of the growing medium that has mycorhizzae to the test subjects. From there, the fungi will either feed off the dead organic matter in one test sample, or nothing at all in the fully mineral sample

[@cookiescacti]

@@niteman555 ahhhhh gotcha. Thanks for explaining.