Hello from Bakersfield California

Slizarus

Slizarus

Good day people :) My name is James and I'm starting to grow peppers for the first time, my Glog is here: http://thehotpepper.com/topic/47627-rookie-superhot-socal-glog/
 
I'm coming off of a hiatus with Gardening since I've had to do a lot of moving the past several years (I'm college age, that's life) but now I'm renting a home, and for the price I'm paying, I'm going to do lots of gardening as recompense :D
 
I'm a Biology major, my specialties are Mycology, Entomology, and Herpetology (Mushrooms, Bugs, and Reptiles/Amphibians) I hope to someday soon start Mushroom Farming, it's just that Bakersfield is really too hot to do it on a reasonable scale without being pricy or out of the way. I'm waiting on it, thankfully Peppers love the heat :)
 
I've lived around the world, and I'm sorry to say that most of the time I spent in other countries was spent eating American style food, I didn't really start branching out until I got out of my teens.
 
Peppers have never been high on my love list, but there's something about growing them that's so exciting to me, I really love using peppers to supplement my dishes, I'm really looking forward to being a chile head with my girlfriend.
 
Not to mention that considering my attention to the health of food nowadays, Peppers are amazingly nutrient dense and I would be a fool not to eat them :)
 
Thank you for your time, I hope to do more than lurking around, the forum seems real friendly, I like plant forums (I'm a huuuuuge lover of Carnivorous plants and used to frequent their forums) looking forward to meeting you guys and girls.
 
Welcome from CT!
 
Bio student, hmm? Etymology and Mycology in particular. We have much to talk about.
 
Edit: CPs also? Good, I need some help with Nepenthes and Drosera.
 
Edit 2: I can help with the mushroom farming. Grew some when I lived in CA, though it was in SF. Seeing as you're college age, I don't know what sort of house you've got, but use a basement if you have one, cupboard if you don't. Use whatever you're growing the mushrooms in, and put it to the side. Wrap some ice cubes in a towel, and put it in a plastic tray on the other side, and as they melt and evaporate there will be humidity and lower tempuratures by a good few degrees in there. Obviously check with a thermometer for a few days before growing, but I'm pretty sure you know more about the specifics than I do. I've gotten pretty decent yields using that method, and substituted ice for cold water if it makes it too cold. Hope this helped.
 
:welcome:  from sunny South Florida!  :woohoo:
 
cruzzfish said:
Welcome from CT!
 
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Hm, Ice, huh? Didn't think about that before, that could help with Oyster mushrooms assuredly.
 
What problems are you having with your sundews and pitchers? I'm sure you're giving them distilled water.. most neps prefer a barky soil, basically orchid mix, comes highly recommended from the Bay Area Carnivorous Plant Society.. and sundews? What species? Definitely a variable Genus. My favorites are D. binata dichtoma and D. Regia (I had one once, it was so cool) but I've grown a plethora of Sundews from Capensis to Scorpioides. Just, never planted a tuberous sundew.
 
@Everyone else
 
Thank you! Danke Schoen! (I only know Deutsch, not Dutch :()
 
I do a lot of research on Mushrooms, if someone has a question I'd be happy to answer it or find a resource that does :) 
 
Thank you all for a spicy welcome :)
 
Slizarus said:
 
Hm, Ice, huh? Didn't think about that before, that could help with Oyster mushrooms assuredly.
 
What problems are you having with your sundews and pitchers? I'm sure you're giving them distilled water.. most neps prefer a barky soil, basically orchid mix, comes highly recommended from the Bay Area Carnivorous Plant Society.. and sundews? What species? Definitely a variable Genus. My favorites are D. binata dichtoma and D. Regia (I had one once, it was so cool) but I've grown a plethora of Sundews from Capensis to Scorpioides. Just, never planted a tuberous sundew.
 
@Everyone else
 
Thank you! Danke Schoen! (I only know Deutsch, not Dutch :()
 
I do a lot of research on Mushrooms, if someone has a question I'd be happy to answer it or find a resource that does :)
 
Thank you all for a spicy welcome :)
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Problems with the neps and sundews are more that there are 2-3 little buddy plants on each. they've started fighting over space, but knowing how slowly they grow I don't feel like I should try to split them up. I've got 3 ventricosa, and 4 d adelae(spelling?). I've been looking for a regia for a while, but haven't found anything in stock. Also got some little dime sized pygmies that have gemmae forming, if you'd like extras in a year or so. Also, how do/did you propagate sphagnum, I've got a gallon sized bag of red and green in the mail, but can't find the best way to grow the moss?
 
Edit: You think high power grow lights would be good? I've got 8x2000 lumen, 40watts. Bright, but no heat or UV like the sun would do, so the plants won't cook. I'm also looking how best to keep the humidity up, my N.Sanguinae is the only one who likes pitchering at the moment.
 
Well, it's funny, I just took a class and learned how Moss propagates, to revive your moss, just keep it damp and under a light. Moss needs water to propagate because they don't have vascular structures and their sperm still swim.. So whatever revives will take part in some reproduction and you will get some growth in time. It's not rapid, but I think it's worth it. Typically though you'll end up with several layers of dead moss and then some living stuff on the top, it's really pretty.
 
You'll know your moss is doing great and starting to propagate when you see it's sporophyte stage appear which are the little pod things that come out of the tops on stems, a bit after that and you'll see growth. It's easier to gauge if they're not disturbed, people tend not to worry about growing the moss. Plant the CP, put revived moss around it, it'll grow on it's own as you water the plant.
 
Sundews can be hard to seperate, they are found planted in clumps and they seem to do fine, none of them really reaching max size but they don't seem to suffer based on my experiences with capensis, I could usually place them really close in my bucket bogs.
 
The Neps should be easier, I remember them having hardy roots, almost epiphytic.. I'd say wait till it's colder and do a transplant when they're kinda dormant, if they're the hot house ventricosas, then.. just soak their soil and work them apart. Neps don't do well in groups, they already sprawl significantly. If you like the look of them together, pot them separately and arrange them for aesthethics :)
 
I forget what sweet spot you want as far as lumens go, but you can grow CP's under those just as well, your Neps will enjoy whatever warmth there might be. Light is most important for the development of colors. If google doesn't tell you the sweet spot, I'll look it up later :)
 
edit: Yeah, Regia are hard to come by and expensive, I had gotten a clone of a new cultivar by a breeder called big rich, it was a great plant, but I lost it in a crappy year. Even my suppliers don't have any plants :( but the seeds can atleast be purchased.
 
Slizarus said:
Well, it's funny, I just took a class and learned how Moss propagates, to revive your moss, just keep it damp and under a light. Moss needs water to propagate because they don't have vascular structures and their sperm still swim.. So whatever revives will take part in some reproduction and you will get some growth in time. It's not rapid, but I think it's worth it. Typically though you'll end up with several layers of dead moss and then some living stuff on the top, it's really pretty.
 
You'll know your moss is doing great and starting to propagate when you see it's sporophyte stage appear which are the little pod things that come out of the tops on stems, a bit after that and you'll see growth. It's easier to gauge if they're not disturbed, people tend not to worry about growing the moss. Plant the CP, put revived moss around it, it'll grow on it's own as you water the plant.
 
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Moss is live, just not doing much. I was thinking of taking the more recognizable moss heads and putting them into dead sphagnum or peat, and leaving the less recognizeable ones in a tray of water until they sort themselves out. Moss is funny stuff, I can keep it going, but not replicate too much of it. Also, hasn't sphagnum evolved to grow more or less on old sphagnum at this point, and has difficulty in other conditions? That would be a reason why it's so hard to restore sphagnum bogs. I had them under light before, but I just put 7 replacement bulbs in for the 7 out of 8 that broke, and was making sure. I also have got to remember the timer, I give them too much light as opposed to the twelve hours Borneo gets.
 
My teacher was less clear about that subject, but yeah, it more or less grows on moss. But I'm sure what you're saying about taking the heads and moving them could help, I've had several plants that came with live moss likely sprouted that same way on just the top layer of peat. If you've seen other established hobbyist plants, I'm sure you've seen it too.
 
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