What did you do in the yard today??

Much the same as other threads such as this, I want to start a perpetual thread where members can share with everyone what they are currently doing with their Cacti or in the yard.

I will start things off!

Today I cleaned up my garage and organised my the plants in my indoor light setup. I also watered the plants in the garage and checked on the recent grafts I have been doing, I have grafted numerous Lophophora, Carnegia and Ariocarpus. I also fertilised the rear lawn.

What did you do today ?

Put some loph seedlings under the sprinklers and checked my grafts. They look like they have accepted so far. Cleaned the leaves off my plants and cursed the tree above my garden multiple times. Pulled some weeds. Heading back out when it cools down to do some watering.

Yep that's the idea sneaky good work I want to try and continue the thread for at least a few months if we can. I think it's a good way to share what your doing with others.

Well for me, I am planting some seed, I have astro,s, mammillaria,and Gymno to sow out. The weather is good in Townsville to get all seed out and transfer all seedling into trays. Ha Ha should be sorting seeds not on the computer!!

Good work jk, it's a pain to transfer seedlings but well worth the reward once they pump out some new growth.

Today I planted some seed, a bunch of really nice Trichocereus hybrids, can't wait for these badboys to grow :)More info on my blog soon.

I also noticed a few teeth marks on a couple of my Asterias plants, so I put out some rat bait, Tomcat II, the red waxy blocks, if anyone has rat problems these are the best. They are the best not because of the active ingredient but because they taste nice so the rats actually eat it, just be really careful with domestic animals or natives this stuff will kill anything. I always have rat issues because next door has a bird aviary, dammit.

I have had rat problems as well, I do the same. I believe I have trouble because I live rural and every year one will come in do so much damage before the poison takes afect. Hate them!!

I had sex with Cacti yesterday !! Okay well, actually I was pollinating them with a paintbrush LOL  

Moved some stuff around in the greenhouse as the Sun is getting hotter, took a few pics etc...

Good to see you Nava

Yeah I'm in the same boat jk, I HATE them... rats that is they have a particular like for Asterias.

Today I potted up some recent grafts I have been doing. I grafted this lot onto Trichocereus cuttings that had no roots, once I know the graft has taken I pot them up into a soil mix. If the graft is unsuccessful, I take a fine slice off both and re-graft it.

Today i rearrange my garden and put all my prized cacti (lophs  ) under some shade cloth. It's getting very hot up here and unfortunately some of my mamms are starting to show yellowing and sun stress.  

Gotta get of my ass and build that damn shade sail.

Shade sails are awesome for your cacti sneaky, just make sure you build it strong, wind caused enormous stresses on the posts. Use to use gal steel posts 100x100 and at least 3mm thick I used 4mm. My sail is solid as a rock !! We've had 130kph winds and it's still standing

Total DIY cost was 800 all inclusive for a square 5m x 5m sail. If you want some pointers drop me a PM.

Got a box full of cuttings and neglectlings from a mate. Includes some rare specimens as well as pereskiopsis, mammillaria, myrtillocactus, peruvianus, lophophora and a couple of others. And a water chestnut clump as an added bonus. Pretty wet day here so hoping for a finer day tomorrow to get time in the garden to organise some things ready for the newcomers and get around to potting a plant or two which still awaits it's time at the potting zone. Always a good day when I get new cacti.  

relocating a heap of potplants as the hot weather approaches. dug out a garden bed so I can park my car in a new spot and use the old spot for - you guessed it - a new cacti garden! nicely protected from the harsh westerly sun. got rain on a few times but not deterred by the inconvenient droplets.

Potted up some excellent Tricho cuttings today. Thank you very much to the person who supplied them. Checked my grafts today. I think most have accepted but I'm not to sure yet. I will be potting them into some sand tomorrow until roots have developed.

Collected water from my rain buckets (about 20 cm last night!) and checked on everything that was out in the rain.

I checked on all my seedlings growing in my growing boxes, all's going well.

Collected seed pods off my Astrophytum Asterias/ Astro AsCaps, Ariocarpus Agavoides and put them in to tiny plastic pockets for later.

Cut up a heap of pereskiopsis and potted it for rooting then grafting.

Grafted a Ferobegoina and Thelobegoina on Pereskiopsis, i hope they will be successful, will post some photos if successful  

Also enjoyed the rain under the greenhouse as well as a few bundy and cokes!!!

Today I watched the rain water my cacti

Same up here. First good rain for the season. Just need some sunlight then let the growth explosion begin.

Checked yesterday's hail damage which we did not need. Not too bad but my new peruvianus copped one right on the head. Potted up a box and a half of cuttings from the other week and lined up what to do on my gardening day which is usually Wednesday.

Rain, rain go away
So my cacti can grow a little today.

It's been raining for three days straight now. I'm really starting to worry about my poor lophies.

Hey Sneaky,

its been raining heaps as well down in Sydney, my back yard has all the runoff from the house behind, so my backyard and green house is like a mini river!!
I need to do some drainage to divert all the water, doesn't help that all my guttering is over 40 years old and full of holes!!!

Do you keep your Lophies outside? i keep mine inside in a sealed greenhouse and water them from the base so i get to see all the fluffy tufts!!! how are yours?

Made my first return of an unfortunate to Bunnings as advised on another thread (cheers). Swapped the carcass for a Mamm. celsianus. Also got given a baby Echinocactus grusonii by someone. Out all day and still can't keep away from the spikey ones.

@Rickyscactus. I keep my lophs outside where i live. 300 days of the year are mostly desert dry. Its only the next three months that always get me stressing. I am about to acquire the house my plants are living at so I will finally be able to build a proper dry green house. So far they have done really well but the only issue, apart from the rain, is those god damn ants keep eating all my loph fruits. When the new green house is up they will be going on some custom built benches with oil traps under the bench posts.

The rain has finally stopped here in Sydney, but for how long ?

We have got a ridiculous amount of rain over the last week or so, I hope it drys up a bit and my cacti get their growth on.

This morning I did so many grafts I got high on the isopropyl fumes and floated away.......this arvo I am sowing more veggies with the kids.