Seed Advice for a newbie

I have spent the last 2 days reading through the forum posts and have been inspired to have a go at growing some cacti from seed, could some one please advice on a type that would be easy to grow for a beginner. I am going to try growing some in takeaway containers as I like the idea of that as being easy and simple with out a huge out lay. I have a small green house that was given to me so I will be growing them in there. Thanks in advance.

try the plastic bag method thats cheaep & easy there are lots of sites that explain it in depth...i am a newie at this too and i have had good germination in my home made germination thingy that i made from a 20 litre plastic container turned upside down with a lead lamp mounted in top with fluro. i also put my old home brew warmer underneath to keep it warm. i found the good thing about it is that water pools in the rim of the lid creating a seal so that no insects get in.

Just a note to say I have my first success with seedlings coming up.

excellent!! what method did you do? i am having good germination results but am still trying to figure out postnatal care for my little infants, so i have aquired some pereskiopsis which i am going to try and propergate for grafting stock. i have begun building a hothouse as i assume that the only other way to grow these litle puppies if you do not have a north facing window (which i do not have) is to keep the sun off them and keep them humid. i think i am going to have a few fatalities while i figure this out.

there is heaps of information about germinating cacti but after germination there seems to be little information. hopefully someone can fill us in on this.

good luck eric you are only a few weeks behind me.

regards
Darren

I used take away containers, I mixed some seed raising mix with some river sand, I nuked the soil in the micro wave for 4mins then placed in the containers 2cm deep. I placed holes in the container bottoms and them bottom soaked them, then in went the seed with wich I covered with a layer of river sand. I have them in a glass house and have them on aheat bed that my father inlaw build some years back but no longer wanted it. I have been spaying dailly with water bottle sprayer. hpoefully we can work the next stage of growth out. I have several more seeds to go in now that I know my method kind of works, this time I am soaking the seeds for 24 hours. I have a few seeds that I have in bag method but no luck yet but only been about 5 days.

i am pretty sure that my seedlings are not doing very well so todasy i tried to save a couple by grafting them to pereskiopsis. the other ones i pricked out and put them in some better free draining soil. these were my first seedlings and i had no idea what i was doing when i sowed them.

it is my first attempt at grafting so if this goes well i am going to do it for a lot more. i have got a heap more seedling that have germinated now and still dont know if i can get them out of my incubator and put them in the new hothouse that i built. all up it cost me $80 to build with stuff i picked up on the side of the road on hard waste week. it is 9 metres x 2 metres made out of wood and tinted polycarbonate.

It's how long is a piece of sting time darren. it depends on exactly what species you are growing as to how they are treated. Not to mention what conditions you happen to have, your media etc etc.
there are probably almost as many techniques as there are growers out there.
I prefer to leave seedlings in their seed pots as long as i can & harden them off slowly so i use my standard potting media with some sieved media on top & keep them in ziplock bags as long as i dare.
& 1/4 strength liquid feed every 2 weeks, just watch out for algae. lime in the media helps with this
Just my 2c worth

thanks shortly

question though... when should i introduce them into my hothouse if i dont have them in zip bags. should i place the seedlings in their pots into a clear plastic tub with the lid on and let them get some natural light in relitavely low lit area. if they look like they have damping off? (and i dont even know what that looks like) should i prick them out into some free draining mix of potting mix & riversand.

also a piece of advice from me... " when grafting onto pereskiopsis and you dont realise that you have millions of little tiny spines in your fingers... try not to pick your nose as cactus spines in your proboskis are extremely unpleasent." i should have listened to my mum when she said DON'T PICK YOUR NOSE.

ROFL!! That's the best advice ever.... funny funny funny!! You made my day.

Ouch...

every time i rub my nose i get a bit emotional

Don't rub your eyes either.
'been there done that.

the grafts seem to be holding at this stage... how long would they take to die if it was a failure?

today i sowed
Echinocereus berlandieri
echinopsis arachnacantha
Echinopsis densispina
Lobivia atrovirens
parodia sanguinea
Rebutia heliosa
Rebutia minuscula
echinocactus grusinii
ariocarpus (not sure what type)
mammillaria boolii

do you think i am going a litle overboard

aren't ariocarpus really finicky to grow from seed when they're young?

Have had more seedlings sticking there heads up and all are looking good, what age are the seedlings that you are grafting? I figured I will leave mine in the take away containers for a few months before I try and transplant them. Just got some mamm booli seeds from shorty so they will be going in tomorrow, got to find a good source to buy some more seed.

Thanks for the laugh about the nose Darren

The one pot I had in a bag has done nothing so far, so I am going to stick with the take away container method.

yeah i havnt had much luck with the baggy method because my dog keeps on jumping up and grabbing them off the hot water service. however in my humidicrib germinator that i made they are going great guns.

the seedlings that i grafted were 2 months old and still very small.

i also got some seeds from shortly (thanks again shortly) and have put them in yesterday

i am thinking that the ariocarpus will be my biggest challenge yet but i am up for it and going to study up. if anyone has any hints please let me know.

my home made propergator cost me $25 but cannot remember how much my homebrew heat pad cost


the contents of my propergator

How many hours do you run the light for Darren?
Thinking of hooking up a couple of fluros in my green house.

at the moment i am running it for 14 hours but not sure if that is the correct amount of time...it seems to be working

Looking good Darren
One question, what conditions do you grow your peresk in? Despite it 'growing like a weed', mine seems to have stopped growing (over the winter) and those grafts in your propagator make me jealous!

i have started with three cuttings which i put in my hothouse and water regularly. they go bananannas in the propagator!!!

Bobblybook,
Pereskiopsis doesn't grow like a typical cactus. To thrive it needs much heat, water and nutrients. Water and feed it liberally and it should come to life.

Lewis.

Thanks. I've been doing that - they're actually looking quite healthy, they've just stopped growing. I expect them to start growing again now as the weather heats up
Didn't mean to derail the thread, continue with the seed discussion!

can anyone tell me when the best time to pick the fruit for seeds is... do you just let them go until they fall off?

It depends on exactly what species you have?
I prefer to leave the fleshy fruits until they split open or will fall at the slightest touch, that way i know the seed is fully mature.
Some species have dry fruits that are held inside the spines untill dry seed is expelled often with rain.
Either way the most important thing is that the seed is fully mature before picking.