Print

[WoodyHarrelsonsMom]

I'd like to start growing bridgesii from seed.
I've read a little on soil mixes, lighting, & humidity & it seems simple enough.

My house is very prone to mold & the heat fluctuates alot in the winter.
I want to setup a large humidity dome in a way similar to a fruiting chamber for mushrooms.
Would it benefit me to set this all up in a grow tent with a lights on a timer to block out external light & create a better enviornment around the mini-enviornment contained in the humidity/cacti chamber?

[happyconcacti]

Hmmmm, for your first go-around you might want to keep it simple.

Cacti seeds and seedlings are very small so you might not want too big of a humidity chamber.

I usually start them in petri dishes in a ziplock baggie then transfer them to a small humidity dome after about a month.

Hcc

2 Likes New Wisdom and Seed Collector like this.

[Ian Morris]

I agree.  Keep it simple. 

Solo cups and plastic baggies in a warm-ish window works fine for me during the winter.

EDIT:  changed summer to winter, doh

1 Like New Wisdom likes this.

[WoodyHarrelsonsMom]

Hmmmm, for your first go-around you might want to keep it simple.

Cacti seeds and seedlings are very small so you might not want too big of a humidity chamber.

I usually start them in petri dishes in a ziplock baggie then transfer them to a small humidity dome after about a month.

Hcc

I like the petri dish idea
I see heat mats & humidity domes with trays fairly cheap on ebay & theres plenty of hydroponics stores around me.

Would you reccommend starting in trays with smaller slots or larger ones with less per tray?
i'm new to growing plants so i may end up killing a few seeds/seedlings in the process of getting things figured out but i'd like to minimize cacti casualties.

[Frog Pajamas]

One cool thing about cacti is how little room they take up as babies.  I do the same as Ian- reused plastic cups in ziplocks.  The pics attached are a yogurt cup and a 3" pot.

Heat mats will help, especially if you have drafty windows.

You'll definitely kill some plants along the way... But you'll learn what not to do that way. Don't beat yourself up when it happens. You'll have smashing successes too. :-)

1 Like Seed Collector likes this.

[WoodyHarrelsonsMom]

I'll have to try the petri dish & move to solo cups.

I'm sending out the money to ss for a catalog tomorrow.
Hopefully within a couple weeks i can get some seeds & start germinating

[Frog Pajamas]

Hopefully within a couple weeks i can get some seeds & start germinating

Pop over to The Welcome Area and write an intro, if you'd like. Lets everybody start to get to know you so you can get access to the sharing/trading forum. 

3 Likes New Wisdom, happyconcacti and Ian Morris like this.

[Ian Morris]

Wow the germination rate in that Yogurt cup is crazy high!!! or you spilled the whole pack in there, which reminds me...

Get comfortable dealing with small seeds, really small seeds.

I don't really have any nuggets in that respect but what I have found that works OK is to add it like salt into you cooking; put a little into your non-dominant palm and pinch a bit from there with your other hand to spread a little at a time.  An advantage of using sand (or really any medium that isn't dark colored), is that with each pinch you can see the distribution of seeds and make sure are dispersed.

Hope all this helps,
Ian