10 replies to this topic

[JJ800M]

I thought it was about time to make a topic with pictures of what is going on at my place.

I live in Scandinavia and it is winter-time right now (the frost just kicked in) so most of my growing-activities has shut down for the winter.

 

I still have my cacti-collection standing in the window (at about 60-65 degrees fahrenheit) and it will not be taken down for the winter - I just cut the watering to a minimum so they stop growing.

I don't believe in putting them in a dark-room for the winter, that aint what is happening in the nature so why do it indoors.

 

What is currently happening:

 

I have just (3-4 days ago) received a "Supa Gro Kit 100% 'B+'"-grow-kit.

Its 1200 cc (1,2 liter) of fully colonized mycelium and its heavy like a brick - heavier then i remembered the cakes from when i was growing them myself a few years ago.

The cake got birthed into the grow-bag 3 days ago (when i received it) and i can already see the first pins starting to form, so its going real quick.

I will take some pictures of it tomorrow when i got my phone charged.

 

My cacti-collection is not that big at the moment, and mainly consists of a lot (about 15-20 of them) of Pachanoi of which i got 2 different ones.

One of them has almost no spines - about 1 mm long - and the other one has about 3-4 mm long spines.

 

First a picture of how they looked after they were cut down last year.

The cuttings were used to make a brew for 2 persons, but my mate (which had been the one that had gotten me to go ahead with the project) decided to pussy out ("I'm sick"…) and threw the brew out so all of my cacti had been cut down for nothing at all - needles to say he is NOT a friend anymore.

 

One of my cats is sitting beside it - she never misses a chance to get in on a photo-opportunity:

 

And this is how they looked 2 weeks ago (after i removed 1-3 new cuttings from each of them so they can get planted in pots for themselves).

The picture is a bit blurry as it is taken from outside (through the window), the cacti is in 3,5 liter pots:

 

This is a picture of the first Pachanoi i got (with small spines)

This picture is about 2 years old, it has grown with about half a meter since that, but most of it got cut away to make the formerly mentioned brew (baaaaah):

 

Here it is again (same cactus, another cat this time!) before it got cut down last winter:

 

Here is the other kind of Pachanoi i've got (the first one was bought through a dutch webshop, this one i've gotten from a mate), this one has longer spines (3-4mm):

 

Another cutting of the same kind:

 

This is some of the new shots that i removed from them a couple of weeks ago, they will all be planted in their own pots when the spring arrives:

 

A apple-tree that i planted outside this summer, it is from a "Pink Lady"-apple.

It stopped growing when i took it inside about 1,5 month ago, but it started growing (in the bottom) again after a few weeks in the window:

 

The next couple of pictures are of various cacti/succulents that i have gotten from different places - if anyone can help with the naming then it would be very much appreciated!

 

This is my "penis"-cactus (just because of the way it has grown out):

 

These 2 were both sold as Aloe Vera, can anyone tell me if anyone of them actually is that?

First one:

 

Second One:

 

I have no idea what this is, but i like it:

 

This one goes in that category too:

 

I also just ordered a good amount of different stuff from cactus-plaza, it will arrive when the lazy dude that drives the site gets his stuff together and sends it (its 9 days since payment and it hasn't been shipped yet…).

 

So in a week or two i will have pereskiopsis for grafting, various types of Lophophora Williamsii (forma, nuevo yucatan, albiflora, texans, decipiens, palla, parras), Trichocereus Bridgesii, Trichocereus Bridgesii Monstrosus (penis cactus), Trichocereus Terscheckii, Trichocereus Peruvianus and some different grafted cacti.

 

When the cacti/cacti-grafting-fever bites, it bites hard! ;-)

I can't wait!

 

I will post new pictures as soon as there is something to show.

Have a good evening (or whatever time it is in your parts of the woods) all! :)

 

[drmcnasty]

those aloe look like century plant to me but I could be wrong

[1967FordTitus]

JJBOOM, I am freaking jealous, my friend!

[JJ800M]

Its only winter - everything is shut down and not really growing (except the B+ growing in the bathroom).

Most of you guys stock is probably sooooo much bigger and better then mine (because i live in Scandinavia, it puts a limit on what you can grow, how big you can grow it and when you can grow it), but i try to make do with what i got - there aint much else to do and i guess you guys do to. :)

 

Time for some more pictures!

 

This is a picture of the grow-kit i got in my bathroom - i have to grow it out there as its the best place (no mug on the floor, constant heating and my cats are not allowed out there).

This is 3 days ago and the pins had just started showing (can not be seen on the picture):

 

This is today, its going real fast now:

 

I am pretty impressed with these new (pre-colonized) grow-kits, i received it on the 5th and the pinning began already 3-4 days later (could see them on the 9th and on the 12th the biggest are 4 cm tall).

I want to do my own grows (which i have earlier), but as i had no spores, glasses, substrate of any kind or ANYTHING at all for it at the moment then i decided this way instead.

With one of these grow kits i can BOTH have a good amount of fresh shrooms AND as many spore-prints/syringes as i want to make in less then 2 weeks.

From there on i am going to use the prints for some mono-tubs and whatnot.

I though it was a neat and quick way to both get as many spores as i wanted for further growing and a quick supply of shrooms and so far it has not let me down.

So far I can really recommend this "Supa Gro Kits 100%" - they are on 1200 cc and should give around 800 grams of fresh mushrooms (on average).

 

I just got a mail from CactusPlaza, it says that my order has finally been sent - it only took them 2 weeks from payment...

They say it has been sent with GLS first class, but i have still not been given a GLS tracking-number which I find is a bit strange since you usually get that (and i paid for first class!).

But, as long as it arrives...

I will make a new bunch of pics when the shrooms are a bit bigger and/or the package arrives.

 

As far as i remember then my order looks something like this:

 

1 x Lophophora Williamsii (1-2 cm) grafted on Pachanoi,

1 x Lophophora Williamsii (3 cm) grafted on Pachanoi,

2 x Lophophora Williamsii (2-3 cm) grafted on Pereskiopsis,

1 x Lophophora Williamsii Caespitosa cluster (4-5 cm),

1 x Lophophora Williamsii Forma (3 cm),

1 x Lophophora Williamsii Nuevo Yucatan (1 cm),

1 x Lophophora Williamsii Albiflora (1 cm),

1 x Lophophora Williamsii Texana (1 cm),

1 x Lophophora Williamsii Decipiens (2 cm),

1 x Lophophora Williamsii Paila (1 cm),

1 x Lophophora Williamsii Parras (1 cm),

1 x Trichocerus Bridgesii cutting, 25-30 cm,

1 x Trichocerus Bridgesii Monstrosus cutting, 25-30 cm,

1 x Trichocereus Peruvianus KK 338 (6 cm),

1 x Trichocereus Terscheckii (6 cm),

2 x Pereskiopsis Porteri (Spathulata),

1 x 3-4 liter Trichocerus soil mix,

1 x 3-4 liter Lophophora soil mix,

1 x Rooting powder,

1 x Cactus and Succulent liquid fertilizer (250 ml),

16 x Cactus containers (square) 7 x 7 x 8 cm,

 

And yes - i know that in "only" ordered 16 containers for 18 new specimens...

 

It all got a bit out of order - originally i was "just" looking for a Trichocereus Bridgesii Monstrosus and a Lophophora Williamsii Caespitosa but it all went crazy when i saw cactusplaza's low prices hehe.

That will just have to do lol.

[JJ800M]

My package from CactusPlaza arrived. :)

I am very happy with it.

 

First what it looks like before unpacking - or half-way through as all of this came out of an old box from a pentium-computer that it was packaged together in:

 

My cats having fun with the packaging, it is just the best and there is a fierce battle going on about who gets to be on the inside of it (kind of the hill-style!):

 

This is how it all looks after it has been unpacked and laid nicely out on the table:

 

The top one is a Trichocereus Bridgesii that looks just as the picture on the website.

The two cacti that are beneath it is two Trichocereus Bridgesii Monstrosus, which as you can see is not in the best conditions:

They came with a hand-written note from the owner of CactusPlaza which says that this unfortunately was the last of them that he had left, and that he would send me another one for free (mint condition of course) when he has grown some more in the spring or summer.

I only ordered one of them, so i think it is a _very_ fair way of him to make up for that they aren't as good as they should be.

Now i get two specimens which doesn't look perfect, but should have no problem growing perfectly AND another specimen that looks like it ought to - I am more then pleased with the way it turned out and the owner of CactusPlaza's offer to make it good.

 

Here is a top-view of the different Lophophora Williamsii that i ordered:

 

A close-up on of the two Lophophora Williamsii's that have been grafted to Pereskiopsis, they were only supposed to be 2-3 cm big but is 4-4,5 cm - i really like the one that have split into two:

 

Lophophora Williamsii Paila, I only ordered one on 1 cm but i got one on 1,5 cm and an extra on 0,5 cm:

 

Lophophora Williamsii Albiflora, it should only be 1 cm but is 2,5 cm!

 

Lophophora Williamsii Jourdaniana on about 2 cm - This one must be a freebie as i never ordered it (i tripple-checked both my receipt and order-list, awesome! :)

 

Lophophora Williamsii Deciepiens, ordered one on 2 cm, but got this one on 3 cm:

 

Lophophora Williamsii Texana, I ordered one on 1 cm and got this one on 1,5 cm:

 

Lophophora Williamsii Nuevo Yuacatan, ordered one on 1 cm and got this on 2 cm:

 

Two Lophophora Williamsii grafted on Trichocereus Pachanoi, I ordered one on 1-2 cm and one on 3 cm - the smallest is about 3 cm and the biggest about 3,2 cm. :)

 

Lophophora Williamsii Parras, I only ordered one on 1 cm, but instead I got 3 on 1,4 cm, 1,7 cm and 1,8 cm:

 

Lophophora Williamsii Forma, it should only be 3 cm but is almost 6 cm and have already flowered quite a bit:

 

Trichocereus Peruvianus KK338, I ordered it on 6 cm but it was 10 cm when it came - they sure grow a lot in the post!

 

Pereskiopsis Porteri (Spathulata), i only ordered 2 but i got 3 - and they are 4-5 cm bigger then advertised:

 

Lophophora Williamsii Caespitosa cluster, it was only supposed to be 4-5 cm big, but as you can see then it is about 9 cm big - I don't know why but the owner made a note next to it in the order-list that came with the order which said "extra big", i certainly won't complain!

 

Trichocereus Terscheckii, I ordered one on 6 cm and got this - it is a little more then 6 cm wide and about 8 cm tall, really impressive and damn spiny.

This will hopefully keep one of my cats away from the cacti-collection, she usually takes a fiesta on top of my short-spined Trichocereus Pachanoi and I just can't stop her but this will probably do the trick!

 

One of my cats (the one that likes to sleep on top of the Pachanoi's) that thinks that this box is just the best in the world - boxes rule, yeah!

 

The light is beginning to fade in these last couple of pictures, the clock is only about 15 PM but the sun has totally disappeared by 15:30...

I can't wait until saturday when it is winter solstice (they day with the shortest amount of light) when the light starts coming back!

It can be real hard here in Scandinavia, and this aint even bad - if you get further to the north there is NO light at all in the mid of the winter (and no dark in the mid of the summer…), but this is hard enough as it is.

So the last two pictures won't be lighted as good as I would like them to be, but they it is still possible to see the cacti.

 

A picture of some of the Lophophora Williamsii that have been planted in the square containers (i LOVE square containers - they rule!) that came with the order.

I only ordered 16 containers on 7x7x8 cm, but i also got 10 smaller ones on about 5x5x6 cm which is perfect for the small peyotes:

 

The Trichocereus Peruvianus KK338, Lophophora Williamsii Forma and the three Pereskiopsis:

 

 

I have to say that CactusPlaza has blown me away!

 

Most of the Lophophora Williamsii is double as big (or more!) as i paid for, and i have gotten some that i didn't order, and with some of them i got 2 or 3 of them instead of just 1 as i ordered.

 

They _TOTALLY_ made up for the Trichocereus Bridgesii Monstrosus which wasn't as good as pictured on the site - I got 1 extra for free and I will get another one (also for free) when the spring/summer comes and he has grown some more.

That is service!

 

The two weeks waiting-time before the order was sent was totally worth it, even though I would have liked it to be shorter then it is totally made up by the good state of the cacti, the extra cacti and containers, the extra size on almost every one of them and the quick reply on every (how stupid it might have been) question I have sent their way.

 

I can only recommend them to everyone and I will certainly return to them again as a customer in the future as their selection is damn big and there are so many things from it that I would like - and the prices are more then reasonable (especially if you compare to other sites).

 

 

The shrooms from the last post have been harvested by now. :)

 

Unfortunately I had to go away for the weekend, and they should have been harvested saturday if I should have made spore-prints from them (which was the plan).

 

I came home sunday evening, and the shrooms were ready to harvest (by far lol) and had dropped their spores all over the lower shrooms, the cake and the bag they were in.

I harvested the shrooms and cleaned the worst of the spores of them (even though i don't care), then i cleaned the cake and bag and dunked the cake.

 

I just put the cake bag in the cleaned bag today (after about 30 hours of dunking) and I hope to see some action in it again soon so I can make those spore prints that I need. :)

 

The shrooms are drying as i write.

 

I forgot to take pictures of them when I came home yesterday (it was very late and I was very tired), but it wasn't a beautiful sight - they had dropped spores all over the place so it was mainly just black. :D

At least i know that these B+ has massive spore-production so the spore prints will be good.

 

I hope some of you like the pictures, feel free to ask if you got any questions! :)

[1967FordTitus]

WOW! JJ, I am speechless, almost. FREAKING GORGEOUS!

[JJ800M]

All credit goes to CactusPlaza - I was just the lucky guy with a bit of dough that was "free to be used" on my bank-account. :)

It is certainly not the last time i have used them!

[Brendo]

CactusPlaza is awesome, I'm a repeat customer. Awesome, too, is the order you received! Those Lophs are insane, definitely looking into getting a few myself.

Question, was the package opened by customs? Or is nothing checked as you're both in EU? Cactus Plaza ship from NL if I'm not mistaken.

[JJ800M]

It was not touched by customs in any way.

Which I was very pleased with as most of these kinds of cacti recently has been made illegal to posses and/or sell in my parts of the woods (formally they were only illegal from the point you made an extract with them).

Expect about 2 weeks before the package gets sent and then marvel at the awesomeness. :)

[1967FordTitus]

I wish to order many of the items you ordered JJ, but am concerned, due to my living in the United States.

[JJ800M]

The legality of the said items is the same here in Denmark (the law changed about 2 year ago), but I would just order.

If you are worried then pay by a more anonymous way then creditcard or bank-transfer (it should be possible to send the money in an envelope or another stealth way) and then you can always deny having ever ordered it IF it gets taken in customs.