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Post by dvg on Feb 20, 2009 20:01:35 GMT -5
:DLOL. ;D Yeah I was reading about a guy who would go outside and round up ants. He'd crush these into a paste and apply it to Nep seedlings, seedlings so small they were not making pitchers yet. He'd then lightly mist his Nep seedlings to get their digestive juices flowing. He claimed that the true little leaves were carnivorous and could digest and absorb the food. Of interest to me was that he claimed that by feeding the seedling's leaves with the insect paste, that he essentially was able to skip months of their normally slow growth period. Instead of ants, I have substituted flightless fruit flies.
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Post by vraev on Feb 20, 2009 22:05:41 GMT -5
wow! lol! sounds hard to believe though...I mean if it went into the pitchers, thats fine...but are leaves really able to uptake all those minerals ?? Pretty cool. Almost like amphibian skins.
ANyways....seriously though.... is coffee really that effective? You must have some pics from before the treatment and if the plants are looking better...what do u mean looking better? Faster growth, thicker leaves? like that? I really want to give my rajah a B12 shot. I think its doing the same thing as Rick's rajah. I remember he said he fertilizes it. I guess N.rajah does need a good dose of nutrients in order to do well. I am sure there is something missing in my culture which it needs. I am hoping using a fertilizer...or if that coffee recipe can do the trick...it would be just great.
thanks,
V
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Post by dvg on Feb 26, 2009 12:07:49 GMT -5
V, I looked in the archives for a shot of some Neps that had recently had the coffee treatment. I came up with a shot of from left to right of N. macrophylla, N. villosa and N. rajah. I potted these plants up on May 17, 2008, shortly after I had received them from CZ Plants, who in turn get their plants from Borneo Exotics. Since I've had these plants since last May, they have gone through their adjustment phase, and are now starting to grow quite well, well for slow growing plants. They were coffee fed on January 18, 2009 and this pic was shot on Feb. 5, 2009. All plants are growing in 5" pots. All of these plants shown were coffee fed with organic Colombian fresh ground coffee beans.
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Post by vraev on Feb 27, 2009 3:15:13 GMT -5
Wow! Those are looking really amazing. I notice your rajah doing the same thing as mine. But the macrophylla and villosa are looking really great. Especially at a 5 inch pot....those are HUUUUUUGE plants. WOW! I am still considering about the brand of coffee to try. I am still waiting to go home to my parents. They sometimes have coffee beans over which they crush and make fresh coffee. I might steal a fistful of them and see if i can get something from them.
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Post by dvg on Feb 27, 2009 10:21:44 GMT -5
Thanks V. Yeah the rajah is sensitive to changes in it's environment. I took the humidity hood off a while back. The rajah quickly put out two leaves, but much smaller leaves. Hopefully now it will adjust nicely to it's new set of growing conditions. At least it is making little pitchers for me. Patience.........
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Post by dvg on Feb 27, 2009 10:32:50 GMT -5
V, I was thinking, if you wanted used coffee, maybe you could talk to someone in the cafeteria by you. They might be able to give you some left over old coffee for your experiment. How is your scale removal coming along...hopefully you can get those critters to move on to another venue....in the sky.
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Post by vraev on Mar 1, 2009 18:07:12 GMT -5
Yeah! rajah resents any change in its conditions. Just as expected for a member of the royal family. . Well...I thought about the second hand coffee .. but I don't want any sugar or any additives that they add. Rather, I prefer to make it myself so I know what I put in there. Scale removal is looking ok. *fingers crossed*. The adult scale numbers have definitely gone down. I am seeing some other issues though....glabrata leaves are showing some red spots in the leaf tissue and some bite marks like shapes. I can't see any moving insects apart from very very very very small black insects that JUMP on contact with 2 white dots at the back of their abdomen. I checked and these might be a specific springtail species. But...I am still wary and hoping my plants to come back.
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Post by dvg on Mar 1, 2009 20:52:11 GMT -5
Hey V, good to hear you are getting a handle on the scale. Just keep at it and they will get the hint that the welcome mat has been yanked out from under them. Eventually they'll leave and you will be rid of them.
Those little dark bugs probably are springtails. You could check by dropping them in water. Springtails can sit on the water's surface and even spring off of it. If those were thrips, they wouldn't do too well in the water. I remember when I first started growing cacti from seed, back in '04. I had little dark insects, or so I thought, running in and around my cacti seedlings. I was sure they were thrips and was using different non-toxic/chemical means to try and eradicate them. In the end it turns out they are just a species of springtail.
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Post by vraev on Mar 1, 2009 22:10:07 GMT -5
yeah! it looks something like this: its a globular springtail species. I can't say exactly....The one thing I clearly notice is the dots....but the head...I cna't see it....I can't even see its legs..but the thing is insanely small. It is waaaay smaller than a period at the end of the sentence and very hard to see. But i do clearly notice those two white dots at the rear of its abdomen. It does jump on contact though which is a relief for me which is a good sign that it is a springtail.
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Post by dvg on Mar 1, 2009 22:26:18 GMT -5
Wow, that thing is insane lookin'! I've never seen that before. It has the head of an ant. Doesn't look like an insect...no thorax, that I can see anyway.. Nor an aracanid...only six legs. If it is a springtail, it will have a furcula, a jumping apparatus, that it can cock under it's abdomen, to launch itself like a catapult. But these seem really small to even be looking for those. How long have you noticed these? Those two spots are very distinctive...hope it isn't a mite, but I don't know of any mites that can jump like that. Maybe ellsie will know what it is.
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Post by vraev on Mar 1, 2009 23:40:25 GMT -5
This is more like how the ones on my plants look: They are insanely small. As I said....they are as small as dust specks. Its just that...if you keep your eye on it continuously...THEY MOVE. Then I used a small 3x or 10x magnifying glass on them and saw the two WHITE dots. I couldn't make out the head...but it was jet black as well and exactly like that in relation to the size of the body. i cannot see legs. But I did see a family. A big one had even more smaller little dust particles following it. I was worried if it was mites. But when I actually tested one big one: I took it out...tried to touch it with the foreceps....it jumped onto my finger. When I tried again..it jumped again somwehere. lol! I was instantly relieved that it was showing characteristics of a springtail. this is a more representative picture of the one which i saw: black head...total black...and 2 distinct white spots: link: flickr.com/photos/7535699@N03/2589401676/in/photostream/Allacma(Trochopilosa) purpurescens- Springtail But even this is not 100%. I cannot see any antennae. In the pic the antennae are pretty big and seem identifiable. But I can't see any of that. I did catch one and put a piece of scotch tape on it. I need to try looking at it under a microscope or a better lens to make more of it. I am 80% sure that it is among the GLOBULAR SPRINGTAILS.
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Post by dvg on Mar 1, 2009 23:56:58 GMT -5
V, if you could coax one or two of those critters onto a white sheet of paper, you could then transfer them to a small dish of water. If they can handle being in water, and don't seem to be flailing, then it's a very good chance those are springtails, although by their jumping abilities alone, you have made a strong case for them being Collembola.
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Post by vraev on Mar 2, 2009 3:36:45 GMT -5
Yeah! But it is hard to find these things. They are all over my neps. I almost crapped myself when I saw dust like insects moving on my hamata's growth point. The problem is they are hard to find and catch. I got a couple Using the spider mite technique......tapping the leaves over paper. I might try it out .....but I Am in the market fir a nice microscope.....so that should make it clearer.
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Post by dvg on Mar 2, 2009 9:07:36 GMT -5
Sounds good, V. Speaking of hamata, when are you going to show us all a close up of that bad boy's big ol' teeth.
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Post by ellsie on Mar 2, 2009 9:23:34 GMT -5
Hey Vraev, From the sounds of it, you might have found the globular springtail "Sminthurinus bimaculatus". Some springtail species could cause damage to plants by chewing on the stems and roots of healthy seedlings. Usually, these plants are found in overly wet and acidic soils (=typical CP environment!! ) You could try knocking the springtails down by misting areas of concern (especially where they occur in large populations) with some dishwashing soap in water (~1%). If you notice that your springtail poplutaion is increasing, chances are the soil from your plants are overly wet. Just don't overwater, and allowing your soil to dry out a bit will usually eliminate them. Also, steps taken to improve ventilation are the best long term solutions. Remove any wet, decaying leaves or other organic matter will eliminate breeding sites. Hope this helps!
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