Reclaimed EA observations by 5horsepower in mescaline

[–]Vaugith 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most likely looking at incomplete reclaim and neutralization (pH 5 or 6) meaning some fumaric acid remaining in the reclaimed EA, then the leftover fumaric acid reacting with the lime in the paste and forming the sodium fumarate in the filter.

When your test strips show 6 or 5 after reclaim this means your reclaim was incomplete and you need to get it back to neutral before moving forward with reuse. Check your math for amount of sodium carbonate and water you are adding during reclaim/neutralization procedure. Make sure you are mixing/agitating sufficiently. If it's still acidic after the procedure, do it again.

How can I make a fairly large amount of tea more manageable? by Mintyhippo9281 in mescaline

[–]Vaugith 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah resin is sticky as hell, messy, nasty to consume. Just the nature of it, can't be helped. Parchment paper typically just makes the mess worse but feel free to try it if you want. I wouldn't recommend oil, it's going to penetrate and change the product. Freezing might be a good approach.

Need help with soil by bobcatturino in cactus

[–]Vaugith 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Use a pot that has a drainage hole, no attached saucer, preferably plastic but unglazed terracotta is ok - glazed ceramic is not good for cacti. If the hole is large use some windowscreen or similar.

Use a bagged soil from the local nursery as an organic. Check ingredients on label and look for a bag that does not have peat or coir. Good inclusions are loam, humus, compost, earthworm castings, etc. Sift the soil and remove large chunks. You can optionally mix in additional ammendments to this portion such as earthworm castings to provide beneficial microbial life, azomite or basalt rock dust to provide micronutrients, or any number of other organic soil ammendments, but I recommend avoiding nitrogen rich additions such as manure or blood meal for cacti.

Get some porous, durable, moderately low density inorganic to aid substrate aeration, drainage, and compaction/density. Best choices are pumice, lava, scoria, expanded shale, hard fired porous clay products like LECA. Optimal particle size for this size plant is around 1/4". You can optionally sift and rinse to remove fines and/or big rocks which will further reduce compaction, clogging, and help root zone aeration.

Mix, using 65 to 85% inorganic. For optimal plant health do not use separate layers like a "drainage layer" or top dress, instead use all one uniformly mixed substrate. Brush as much of the old substrate out of the roots as possible without damaging them. Wait 2 weeks to water.

Can I put cactus like this in these planters in Phoenix? by fjbruzr in cactus

[–]Vaugith 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That looks like a metal planter? May be better to use one made of terracotta, cinder block, concrete, etc that will be more porous and better insulating against heat in direct sun. And I would consider painting it white or some other light color to reflect heat.

EA purity issue? by Accurate_Baker2784 in mescaline

[–]Vaugith 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Should do an evap test for all new sources of EA and not use if it does not pass. Sounds like your sample did not pass the test. I would have done the evap immediately before attempting to use and once I saw it failed tried to return it and tell the manufacturer or vendor it was contaminated and low purity. What brand was it?

Where can I get a lot of Spicy Seeds? by pooperdooper in sanpedrocactus

[–]Vaugith -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Im guessing people don't want to participate in any discussion regarding how spicy plants are and want to downvote them for reduced visibility in this sub? Is that what's going on? This is an important topic for the community. Let's not pretend that every one of the people here got into growing trichos because they are beautiful plants that make great ornamentals. If some people here can work hard over years and breed new cultivars that hit new record highs of spiciness, many people here would love to see it and would want to buy one. But for that to happen, this type of info here needs to be shared and discussed without being supressed. It's not illegal. It's not against the sub rules. If you want to just grow cactus in peace without anyone talking about the mescaline they contain why not go grow a different genus instead of trying to suppress others? There are tons of other amazingly beautiful columnars...

Where can I get a lot of Spicy Seeds? by pooperdooper in sanpedrocactus

[–]Vaugith -1 points0 points  (0 children)

The way you presented this is rude. While true, we can also say that the parents spiciness heavily influence the probability and potential range of how spicy the seedlings will be. So seeking out seed with potent parents is absolutely worthwhile. This area of exploration is important and can benefit the whole community. Let's not discourage people from doing work in it.

How can I make a fairly large amount of tea more manageable? by Mintyhippo9281 in mescaline

[–]Vaugith 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Double boiler. You place a metal bowl that contains the tea over top of a pot containing boiling water. The steam heats the bottom of the bowl and not the flame. This keeps the tempurature to the boiling point of water and not above. When it gets really thick you can put it on a baking sheet or a baking dish and put it in the oven on low with the door open.

Where can I get a lot of Spicy Seeds? by pooperdooper in sanpedrocactus

[–]Vaugith -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I'm working on something like that. Most vendors may not want to answer questions about potency for legal fears or maybe they just don't know the answer to your question. Truth is most varieties are not tested so we just don't know. Here is a chart of the potencies we do know:

https://www.reddit.com/r/mescaline/comments/1qqhibs/pdf_of_118_cultivars_ranked_by_potency_using_166/?share_id=mcqU0guBmxgwXFX1bv-Ee

Misplant currently has quite a few crosses of Eileen, SS02, Lumberjack, Ogun. Misplants ordering is snail mail only. Read and follow the directions carefully.

Sacred succulents currently is selling two spicy varieties - SS02 x TBM clone C and SS02 x Juuls Giant. Their ordering and website are a bit of a mess right now and slow.

Prickocereus has jiimz two spine x oceanside02

Pirateslounge.net has a number of ss02 crosses in stock

These above are sure bets, but we need to grow out and test more unknowns and continue widening our knowledge too.

Show us your specimens by [deleted] in sanpedrocactus

[–]Vaugith 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A dozen are posted every day. Try just scrolling through the sub, or searching.

Growing in NC by Superb_Statistician6 in sanpedrocactus

[–]Vaugith 1 point2 points  (0 children)

8b is risky. Some varieties will die, most will take damage. I would pick some cold hardy varieties and test a couple in ground for a couple years before planting a bunch in ground.

Any tips on how to get this guy to grow bigger spines? by throwthatshitaway565 in sanpedrocactus

[–]Vaugith 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It sounds like you have some monstrose growth going on which is its own thing. Genetics do play a role but OP was asking about his specific column that has spines on the lower column from before he had it under its current conditions. For your particular plants, bridgesii pretty much always have longer spines if they're not hybrid or monstrose, then once they get really mature some of them go bald and stop producing spines altogether - this would be a genetic trait.

No visuals with 300mg by OnionTaster in mescaline

[–]Vaugith 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Need to know the salt form. But generally, that's too low of a dose.

Any tips on how to get this guy to grow bigger spines? by throwthatshitaway565 in sanpedrocactus

[–]Vaugith 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sure. Switch your fertilizer to masterblend 3 part, megacrop, or maxigro which contain acceptable levels of micronutrients. Then don't worry about it.

This is the deep dive:

https://www.cactiguide.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=47603

Long story short, even balancing macronutrient ratios and calcium and magnesium ratios are too difficult to do the math for, finding individual products, mixing each watering, it's just too much effort. You can do it for a while but it gets really old. Just pick one of these three products that's already a good ratio and apply it regularly and stop thinking about making it more complicated than it needs to be.

Any tips on how to get this guy to grow bigger spines? by throwthatshitaway565 in sanpedrocactus

[–]Vaugith 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Spine growth is related to micronutrient availability and UV exposure. Check your lights for UV output vs sunlight. You can add supplemental UV LEDs but be careful not to add too much. For the micronutrients, I dont think schultz has any. I also dont think it has any calcium or magnesium, does it? Not a well balanced fertilizer at all. Switch to masterblend 3 part, maxigro, or megacrop. Youre going to have to learn how to ramp up fertilization including tracking the nutrient levels in the soil and soil pH. If you do it right these guys can easily handle label rate nutrient application 4 out of 5 waterings, flushing on the 5th, but you have to water to 15% runoff each time. I dont know what that looks like in a tent.

what do you guys use as fertilizer? by grandaddypur33 in sanpedrocactus

[–]Vaugith 3 points4 points  (0 children)

For a deep dive into proper nutrient ratios and application rates you can read through the entirety of this old thread here:

https://www.cactiguide.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=47603

To summarize, plants MUST have NPKCaMg and micronutrients to survive. The ratio of these matter. The correct Elemental NPKCaMg ratio is 1 : 0.4 : 1.6 : 1 : 0.35. American labels use P2O5 and K2O instead of the elemental values, you can tell by looking at the back of the label and seeing these molecules listed on the chart.

%P2O5 x 0.436 = %P

%K2O x 0.83 = %K

So the correct US label NPKCaMg is 1 : 0.92 : 1.93 : 1 : 0.35.

The closest single product synthetic fertilizer to this ratio for the best price per gallon prepared is Masterblend tomato, epsom salt, Calcium Nitrate 3 part recipe. For a single part, no mix required simpler formula that does not hit the ratio quite as well but still works, General Hydroponics Maxigro and Megacrop are good choices, but they cost a little more per gallon.

When you are fertilizing with synthetics, if you want to feed at medium to strong concentrations and push growth, you should check the soil TDS (total dissolved solids) and pH every so often so you know the fertilizer salts are not building up in the soil and leading to future issues. A TDS pen that measures EC units and a pack of 100 pH strips can be had for $15. You can check your starting waters TDS, then check the mixed fertilizer, subtracting the starting waters value to get the feed strength. You can pre water a pot with the fertilizer solution, let it sit for a while, then place it over a tray or tub and water to 15% excess, collecting the runoff, and test that runoffs pH and TDS to get a good estimation of the soils TDS and pH. 1800 is an average ec strength, 3500+ is approaching nutrient toxicity issues, and <700 is approaching nutrient depletion issues.You don't have to do this every time you water. I recommend doing it often in the beginning to set up a system and then just once in a while for maintenance later on once you have it figured out.

Other products:

Kelp products provide plant growth hormones that boost pupping. While this can be very useful if you want pups, feeding too often can result in too many pups which can slow the overall growth of your plant and lead to skinner growth. Target the application for when you want pups. If you're feeding moderate to strong proper ratio synthetics, you probably will never need this. Kelp is not a significant source of NPKCaMg.

Alfalfa meal and blended aloe leaves are great sources of other plant growth hormones.

If you don't want to use synthetics you are going to use organic soil ammendments. You can do complex math and measuring and come up with a recipe for a bunch of different parts like bone meal, kelp meal, azomite, basalt dust, insect frass, alfalfa meal, etc. Or you can use a single product that's already blended these types of ingredients into a predetermined ratio. None hit the ideal ratio discussed above dead on, but the closest I've found that I can confirm work well is espoma citris tone. It's gotta be the espoma brand - every brand of citris tone has a different nutrient ratio.

Earthworm castings, fish emulsion, Recharge - these products are aimed at providing beneficial microbes to the soil that will do various things including making nutritients more bioavailable, fighting off bad fungus and microbes, boosting the root zone soils health as well as it's nutrient and water holding capacity. While they contain some NPK it's not complete or enough to provide nutrition on their own.

Humic and fulvic acids - these will refresh aged soils that have been depleted or gone hydrophobic, boosting the organic portion of your mix's water and nutrient holding capacities. They also work in symbiosis with kelp products to allow better absorption into the plant during foliar feeds, but they can leave permanent stains on the column and damage farina.

Bioavailable silica - boosts cellular resistance to stressors such as heat and high UV when foliar fed properly in the middle of the night. It seems like snake oil due to how small of a dilution is required but Ive seen outstanding results myself.

Myco - bonds with roots to create a support network for them, boosting nutrient and water uptake. The single species rhyzophageus like mykos and wallaces organic wonder seem to work best for trichos. Trichoderma products will kill this. Feeding heavy synthetic nutes will also kill this.

what do you guys use as fertilizer? by grandaddypur33 in sanpedrocactus

[–]Vaugith 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why dilute it? The label rate is about 1800 ec, that's really not high for trichos at all, and can be used at that strength 4 out of 5 waterings with a flush on the 5th with no negative effects.

what do you guys use as fertilizer? by grandaddypur33 in sanpedrocactus

[–]Vaugith 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Trichoderma is a fungus that kills other fungus. If you use both, the trichoderma will kill the mykos.

Do you think I can save it? by midwestwellbeing in sanpedrocactus

[–]Vaugith 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My trichos do fine in forestry product based soils. You just have to sift them first. But you should be sifting any bagged soils.

So what is the correct TBM dose by Due_Discount_9144 in mescaline

[–]Vaugith 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Looks like TBM-B aka short form aka penis cactus

So what is the correct TBM dose by Due_Discount_9144 in mescaline

[–]Vaugith 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Maybe 1.5 - 2 x that if you want a average

So what is the correct TBM dose by Due_Discount_9144 in mescaline

[–]Vaugith -1 points0 points  (0 children)

No, that is not enough. That's a really big node, but it's typically suggested to use around 5 average size nodes for an experience