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Post by Apoplast on Jan 28, 2015 21:37:18 GMT -5
Good day all - Well the new unnamed tubers have arrived - 78 of them! I am excited to grow them and then key them out to identify which species they are. I am sure the bulk of them will be common species, but it's still going to be loads of fun getting to know this group of plants in more detail! In case you have wondered what 78 tubers look like in a pile, they look like this: When they arrive from the southern hemisphere (which is why they are dormant right now), they need to be adapted to our northern hemisphere seasons. They should be growing right now if they were adapted, but they are dormant because they just came from summer. It's like a 6 month jet lag! So, I tend to prep pots with damp soil mix (80% good sand, and 20% rinsed peatmoss), sprinkle a layer of dry sand on top of that so the pots look like this: Then I place the tubers onto the dry sand, and cover them with a layer of the same dry sand. I don't want them soaked because they will rot, but if they dry-out entirely, they'll become raisins and die too. It's a bit of a balancing act. So I am going to a cozy humid air sleeping bag. Normally I would put one species per pot, but for space reasons I have had to group many tubers in a single pot, which will mean I'll have to follow the stem trail down to the new tuber in the spring. A bit of added fun! To complete the process, I slide the tray under the lights and mist the surface of the sand slightly (the other half of the sleeping bag). Once they are setup, it's just a game of occasionally misting and waiting. Oh and the most important factor that no good plant grower would succeed without - Luck! Wish me luck! Thanks for looking.
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Post by Maiden on Jan 28, 2015 22:06:42 GMT -5
You will raise them all, no doubt about that ! Congrats for your new lil guys
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Post by Devon on Jan 28, 2015 22:29:38 GMT -5
Can't wait to see what pops up! I know it's too late now, but is it possible to identify plants with tubers alone?
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Post by roraima on Jan 29, 2015 18:27:24 GMT -5
I wish you great success and luck with those tubers. Should be a spectacular sight once they break dormancy.
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Post by Apoplast on Jan 29, 2015 20:42:22 GMT -5
Merci Maiden!
Thanks Roraima!
Thanks Devon! Good question. You can narrow down the species by the color of the tubers but there are several with white, or orange, or red, but it's not conclusive. Bedsides I am hoping to do it by above-ground structures, so I can better tell them apart the next time I am in SW Australia.
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Post by lloyd on Jan 29, 2015 22:14:16 GMT -5
Good luck!
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Post by byblisera on Mar 22, 2015 22:02:43 GMT -5
Getting a good selection of tubers in the "lucky dip" offering has always been a wonderful way of expanding your collection. This spring/ summer will be very enjoyable seeing what species you got. I did this a few years back and wound up with a good selection of the the not-so-common ones.
As you know your tubers first season in the N. Hemisphere will be the biggest challenge for adaption. Keep them as cool as possible and on a modified photoperiod until they go dormant in the summertime. Your new growing space should make it much easier to manage this aspect of adaption. Good luck!
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Post by Apoplast on Apr 26, 2016 20:30:37 GMT -5
Hi everyone - So, this is what I have been up to. I have been asking folks around here questions about highland species. Well, all the advice has not been in vein. I have acquired a few and have been using a spare bedroom as a grow room. Unfortunately, during the winter the walls were sweating and there was a bit of mildew growth. I had to do something. So I built a new grow room! As I posted earlier in this thread, I built a grow room for my tuberous dews. It's been fantastic. But it was clearly time for one to accommodate my growing highland species collection. With no further ado, I'll get to what amanitovirosa always likes about my posts - photos but no plants. Everything is built out of foam board insulation. Easy to work with. And I found out on my last build, the 2 inch thick stuff is sturdy enough to use as walls. So my garage looked like this for the past month (no I am not a fast builder). Of course I had to frame up the space. I chose a corner of a storage area in my basement. I had lots of stuff in there, so I needed to figure out a layout that would allow me to build a grow room and keep all of the stuff I should probably throw out. I drafted a mock up with model shelving units and all, and finally figured something out. It's going to be tight in there, but it will work. And the plants should be very happy which is what matters most. So I framed the area with a few studs to attach the foam board to. I also needed to use a thinner sheet of foam board for the ceiling to keep the humidity from entering the fiberglass batting insulation (my plan is to make this fairly vapor resistant to keep the humidity in, and reduce issues in the storage space). I then used screws with large washers to attach the boards to the studs. Plus, lots of liquid nails! The real key to my whole plan though is that I will not be air conditioning the inside of the grow room. Just the storage space around it. My concerns in the past with my A/C unit was that it also dehumidifies. Given that highland plants like fairly high humidity, that seems like a problem. So, to keep the humidity high in the grow room, while not leaving the storage room around it damp, I will blow in the cool air from the storage room and humidify the grow room. Eventually, I hope to use an Arduino to control the humidity, temperature, and the daylnegth, but for now I think the right temp and humidity will be a boon. My A/C is a dual exhaust, so I have an inlet and outlet port drilled in the side of the house, and a can fan to boost the A/C venting. Here is that setup. And finally here it is, the highland grow room of my dreams. Or at least what I can make. Here is a shot of the inside. All of the joints have been sealed with closed cell spray foam, or caulking to keep the humidity inside to avoid the mold issues that drove my plants out of the spare bedroom. And a shot back towards the door. There is a dedicated outlet on it's own breaker to service the room. I'll bring my RO line in from the adjacent room. I can fit 4 wire grow racks in there. It's not huge, but hopefully it will allow me some nice grow space to try to grow the plants I have well. Well, that's what I have been doing. Thanks for looking!
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Post by lloyd on Apr 26, 2016 21:10:20 GMT -5
I'm moving in.
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Post by keeper on Apr 26, 2016 23:30:55 GMT -5
Awesome!! Inspiring
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Post by bcmosaic on Apr 27, 2016 9:40:34 GMT -5
Great work!
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Post by Apoplast on Apr 29, 2016 19:14:34 GMT -5
Sorry for the slow reply. I've spent the last two evenings tearing down grow racks, reconstructing them, and moving plants. Nearly there. Then picts with plants! Thanks keeper and bcmosaic!! Hi Lloyd - Your timing couldn't better, I'm about to have a spare bedroom again.
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Post by Apoplast on May 24, 2016 21:07:32 GMT -5
Hi everyone - I promised a couple photos of my new highland grow room, but I've been dealing with some unexpected issues. Nothing serious, just stuff that comes with a new setup. Here it is with some racks in it. I really need a wide angle lens to capture the space, but there are a few racks in there. Okay, so that's not all that exciting. But here is one of the grow racks. It has some highland Utricularia, Cephalotus, and a bunch of Ericaceae on the bottom rack. Oh and the fern is a weed I need to pull - soon! This rack has my not yet re-setup Tincher tray with Heliamphora, and Brocchinia reducta in it, plus some other odds and ends. Below that are a bunch of highland Nepenthes, and seedling highland Nepenthes. All of the lights are 4000 lumen white LED shop lights, which are working a treat! That's all for now. I won't bore you with the details of the modifications I'm working on. I will try to post some shots of the plants doing well. You know, once I can be sure they will and the problems have been resolved. Thanks for looking!
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Post by shoggoths on May 25, 2016 11:45:41 GMT -5
This is great work Apo ! Everything is looking fine. Keep us informed of the temp and RH in there after a few weeks.
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Post by kdawg on May 25, 2016 18:25:03 GMT -5
Outstanding Apoplast! Nice work!
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