In the event anyone might be interested, here's some hints on how to find a good native soil if you're inclined to try my mix. For me, I look for hilly terrain with lots of vegetation. The place I get my soil is a grassland below the foothills of the Manzano Mtns here in NM. There are also a few cactus species present. Also this area drains well and does not have any areas of standing water. I will dig soil from these grassy areas taking the top 4 or 5 inches of soil. With the grasses present, you may also be getting some beneficial soil fungi which can't hurt. I sift this through 1/4" screen and keep whatever goes through.
Hey Rob , just wanted to let you know that all 18 types of seeds I got from your Etsy store ThreeDeserts have germinated so well, I only had 3 total that haven't , but still may of course. Thank you for being so nice and helpful when I contacted you. I'll be placing another order very soon.
Great video. Very useful for a novice Learning a lot from your videos. I have a few small pots of seedlings with mixed success I wonder how much the grow lights influence the results I do not have grow lights and rely on moving my seedlings outside during the day. Do you have a heat mat under the tray? Would be fantastic to see a second tray added to your experiment.
I'm so glad you enjoy this series, Ted! I don't have a heat mat under these trays. The house is in the low 70s F during the winter and the grow lights keep the trays warm during the day when they're on, so I'm guessing the lights do make a difference both in terms of the light itself and the temperature. I used an infrared thermometer and the surface of the pots are in the high 70s to low 80s. I just started a second tray 4 days ago! I'll show the progress in the next update video.
You're welcome, James! None of the results are truly conclusive yet but it's definitely making me rethink my soil mix. But my laziness still wins, so whatever I end up adjusting has to be easy and relatively cheap 😁
Yessss, Maria! I started another tray with more combos of the materials I have on hand. Let's hope there's some progress to share on the next update 🤞🤞🤞
I use a mix that is 80% bonsai soil and then 15% organic soil and then some small pine bark shavings. It's the mix that I use with all my cactus and succulents.
I used to use sifted perlite and coco coir and maybe a little sand. I got good results but won't use perlite any more. expanded shale, pumice and lava rock are better choices. however, i will continue using coco coir. I prefer coco coir over peat moss for the organic component. for the sand, I prefer large grit masonry grade (sharp) sand but my preference on that could change- sharp sand vs round.
Thank you for sharing! Where do you source your materials from? I started a second tray recently which I'll share in next week's update video. Some interesting results!
Yes! Japanese soils are THE BEST! That pumice is called hyuga pumice. Mined around Mt. Fuji. It's amazing stuff. Akadama is also mined from around Mt. Fuji. I'm not a huge fan of the Tiny Roots brand. They primarily use material from America and add the akadama from Japan, and they charge a ton for what it is. Japanese based soils are the base of my adult mix. Lots of hyuga pumice (about 3 parts), something called kiryu lava sand (about 2 parts), Mt. Fuji black lava rock (about 2 parts), and akadama (about 1 part). I'll also throw in some limestone but never more than 1 part, as well as some zeolite (about 1 part). Akadama is amazing at creating fine roots. The roots are able to fraction the akadama into smaller pieces, then fracture those smaller pieces into even smaller pieces and over time you've got tons of fine feeder roots. You have to repot a little more often because the akadama does break down but nothing else beats the volume of fine feeder roots. I strictly use Japanese soils for my bonsai trees as well. Give them a good shot, you might be surprised over time.
By the way, the above mixture was my adult soil. When I'm starting seeds I add a bit of compost/worm castings, and about 50% plain peat moss to that adult mix. On the very top I use a layer of plain peat moss (50%) mixed with perlite (50%).; roughly a half inch to one inch on top of that seedling mix. I place each seed onto that peat/perlite and then top dress with a single layer of Scratch and Peck Feeds pure limestone chips to cover the seeds. It's been working stellar for me.
Wow this is excellent information! And some of the ingredients sound like a mix of ECC's mix plus the extra amendments that Rob uses (which I learned about AFTER making the first video). Where do you find all the materials?
Speaking of the growlight, in your particular case it might be a little bit difficult to tell how much of a difference is in the light distribution. If you check PPFD charts for any given growlight, there are huge differences in light distribution, where the center pretty much always gets much more light that the edges, and the difference is even greater without using reflective walls. The transparent dome works as a light diffuser to some degree, so the PPFD charts for your growlight might be not applicable, or at least not accurate in this case though. Just wait several weeks more and we will see if there will be any significant differences in the seedlings colors distribution thought the tray. For the seedlings with the lowest germinations % I would recommend giving them a good sprinkle with 5 pH water, everyday for the next week. Increased water content may induce breaking dormancy and it might not be too late for some late germinators. Several times I was able to get some extra germination after over 1,5 year from sowing a batch of plants like Ariocarpus and many other genera, so there is still a chance to stir your results a little bit in different direction.
Thank you again for leaving your valuable insight, Sima! I'm certain that the light is not evenly distributed. That's a good tip to check the color of the seedlings, we'll be able to tell. I also have shade cloth draped over the dome so that probably helps diffuse the light even more. Thank you also on the tip of using acidified water on the struggling pots! Very good tip to know going forward
@@cookiescacti Your welcome. There are even some more crazy stuff you can do later on, like drying everything out, letting it rest for 2~3 month and then treat it with hydrogen peroxide of higher concentrations than usual (5% or higher), but it would be possible to do only after removing the seedling. Anyway, you can have even more fun in the future with that batch of seeds if you wish to do so.
I don’t have experience with growing from seed yet, but I’ll say that ECC soil is all I use for my cacti. I will add in some uni-grow or other things for certain cacti, but his soil is amazing. I order the large box of North American and South American soil, and it has me covered for just about anything. Great video!
If you are on the fence about starting cacti from seed, do give it a try. It is not terribly hard and it is a lot of fun in winter because you can do it indoors under lights.
@@jessicagothie2951 I I definitely plan on it, I’m just trying to get a handle on everything I’ve purchased this last year. I caught the cacti bug, and may have went a little overboard. Look forward to watching more videos and educating myself. Thank you
@@dannyf8-nv668 Pretty sure "a little overboard" has happened to all of us at one time or another. :) Here's hoping your recent acquisitions settle in nicely and do well for you!
Welcome to the cactus obsession, Danny! ECCs seed soil success must mean his adult soils must be really good too. The only downside is the cost. But I can see where his soil can be well worth the price for certain types of plants!
@@cookiescacti I’m sure it would be much cheaper to make yourself, but as a relatively new collector it’s worth the convenience and peace of mind. I’m sure I’ll figure out how to make my own soon enough. Thankful for the RUclips education, so much information at my fingertips 😊
I'm so happy you are doing this update, I've rewatched the first video several times already as my seedlings age. (For comparison). P.s. I sent you an email.
@@cookiescacti This series (first video) gave me the courage to finally start growing cactus seeds, your "lazy way" series gave me the push to buy them, but i was so hesitant to start them. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences, especially your not so great experiences, those really help , not only by letting me know what not to do, but letting us know that its going to happen and how to fix them or at least avoid them in the future if we make mistakes. Hugs to you and Cookie ❤
I'm using the Miracle Gro cactus and palm , lava rock mix and very course sand , & perlite. At the bottom of the 2.5 inch pots is an inch of the lava mix, I used the course sand to top my first patch , my second batch I topped with the lava rock mix. The lava mix topped ones came up twice as fast and are almost as big as the sand topped batch. The soil mix is mostly perlite, sand and very little MG cactus mix .
My new experiment tray tries MG cactus soil again amended this time with inorganics. Can't wait to see how it goes. It's really fascinating that you're seeing a difference when using different top dressings. I'm also trying different top dressings this time and only 4 days in I swear there's a difference... So weird!
@@cookiescactisame here !!! Not only did mine come up faster but look more advanced with the rock mix top dressing. I can't wait to see the upcoming video series 😍
In your videos on seedlings, it seems that you're keeping the seedlings under LED light for up to 9 months. Is there a particular reason why you keeping them under the lights so long, instead of moving them out into your greenhouse after only a few months?
Ohh good question - this got me thinking because no one has ever asked me before nor have I truly thought about it. In short, I leave the seedlings under lights for longer periods of time because I'm still new to growing cactus from seed and this seems to be a more conservative approach. Typically, the seedlings come out of the humidity domes at 4 months, so they would need some time to acclimate to regular air and light, so I'd wait at least 5 months until moving them outdoors. But that's only for now, perhaps I'd start moving them out sooner with more growing experience under my belt. Then there's the timing with the seasons, like I'm avoiding moving them outdoors during the winter for example. And in Phoenix the brutal summers need consideration as well. However, I'm becoming more comfortable with moving some North American heat loving seedlings out sooner (Mamms, Arios, Astros for example). For Copiapoa I was super conservative with moving them outdoors because my timing had it such that they'd be acclimated to regular air in the summer. And I always heard that Copiapoa hate the heat, so I thought they would like the indoors more. Although with time I'm finding that not to be true - they seem to like being outdoors more even in the summer heat. So perhaps they can go out sooner too. I'm still learning and adjusting and I tend to take conservative routes for everything (outside of plants as well), hence the long indoor growing periods (for now).
That's a really good question. I started a second tray a week ago using that bonsai mix I bought but I did add organics to it to try to make it look more like ECC's consistency. Let's see what happens...
Do you leave your light on full 100% power when starting seed? I know you put a shade cloth over the top of the dome, but do you still run the light at 100%?
I don't have a good answer for this unfortunately. When they're just coming out of the dome I check on them more often and tend to not let them get way too dry. I seem to be quite forgetful now so I'm not being as good of a plant parent as in the past 😬
On average I hear 4 months a lot. For Ariocarpus I've heard longer, like up to a year. But on the other hand I've heard growers who open up the lids/bags as soon as they reach the germination that they want. So it's all over the place. For me, it depends on the fungus situation. If I see damping off I'll start opening the domes as soon as 1-2 months. But I don't sanitize anything which is probably why I struggle with mold all the time (but I'm too lazy to sanitize)
What perfect timing for your comment because I recorded a walk through of the plants after our one week of winter 😂 We had lows at and slightly below freezing for about 5 or 6 days right after it rained... I'll be working on that video this weekend!
In the event anyone might be interested, here's some hints on how to find a good native soil if you're inclined to try my mix. For me, I look for hilly terrain with lots of vegetation. The place I get my soil is a grassland below the foothills of the Manzano Mtns here in NM. There are also a few cactus species present. Also this area drains well and does not have any areas of standing water. I will dig soil from these grassy areas taking the top 4 or 5 inches of soil. With the grasses present, you may also be getting some beneficial soil fungi which can't hurt. I sift this through 1/4" screen and keep whatever goes through.
Hey Rob , just wanted to let you know that all 18 types of seeds I got from your Etsy store ThreeDeserts have germinated so well, I only had 3 total that haven't , but still may of course. Thank you for being so nice and helpful when I contacted you. I'll be placing another order very soon.
@@barbie_t Glad to hear.
Wow. Rob Romero’s awesome. Educating people and sending them on journeys
Thank you so much for sharing, Rob! My parents' property is along a wash. Maybe I need to pay them a visit lol.
Try a sandy type soil in my mix, let me know what you think. It should help drainage and performance.
Great video.
Very useful for a novice
Learning a lot from your videos.
I have a few small pots of seedlings with mixed success
I wonder how much the grow lights influence the results
I do not have grow lights and rely on moving my seedlings outside during the day.
Do you have a heat mat under the tray?
Would be fantastic to see a second tray added to your experiment.
I'm so glad you enjoy this series, Ted! I don't have a heat mat under these trays. The house is in the low 70s F during the winter and the grow lights keep the trays warm during the day when they're on, so I'm guessing the lights do make a difference both in terms of the light itself and the temperature. I used an infrared thermometer and the surface of the pots are in the high 70s to low 80s. I just started a second tray 4 days ago! I'll show the progress in the next update video.
Thanks for doing this video! This is very helpful observations. It"s a very good time to adjust my seed soil mix!
You're welcome, James! None of the results are truly conclusive yet but it's definitely making me rethink my soil mix. But my laziness still wins, so whatever I end up adjusting has to be easy and relatively cheap 😁
Yess I’ve been waiting for this!
Yessss, Maria! I started another tray with more combos of the materials I have on hand. Let's hope there's some progress to share on the next update 🤞🤞🤞
I use a mix that is 80% bonsai soil and then 15% organic soil and then some small pine bark shavings. It's the mix that I use with all my cactus and succulents.
That sounds like a really good mix. And it seems closer to Rob Romero's consistency. Where do you purchase your bonsai mix?
I used to use sifted perlite and coco coir and maybe a little sand. I got good results but won't use perlite any more. expanded shale, pumice and lava rock are better choices. however, i will continue using coco coir. I prefer coco coir over peat moss for the organic component. for the sand, I prefer large grit masonry grade (sharp) sand but my preference on that could change- sharp sand vs round.
Thank you for sharing! Where do you source your materials from? I started a second tray recently which I'll share in next week's update video. Some interesting results!
Sunday must watch tv
😁😁😁
Yes! Japanese soils are THE BEST! That pumice is called hyuga pumice. Mined around Mt. Fuji. It's amazing stuff. Akadama is also mined from around Mt. Fuji. I'm not a huge fan of the Tiny Roots brand. They primarily use material from America and add the akadama from Japan, and they charge a ton for what it is. Japanese based soils are the base of my adult mix. Lots of hyuga pumice (about 3 parts), something called kiryu lava sand (about 2 parts), Mt. Fuji black lava rock (about 2 parts), and akadama (about 1 part). I'll also throw in some limestone but never more than 1 part, as well as some zeolite (about 1 part). Akadama is amazing at creating fine roots. The roots are able to fraction the akadama into smaller pieces, then fracture those smaller pieces into even smaller pieces and over time you've got tons of fine feeder roots. You have to repot a little more often because the akadama does break down but nothing else beats the volume of fine feeder roots. I strictly use Japanese soils for my bonsai trees as well. Give them a good shot, you might be surprised over time.
By the way, the above mixture was my adult soil. When I'm starting seeds I add a bit of compost/worm castings, and about 50% plain peat moss to that adult mix. On the very top I use a layer of plain peat moss (50%) mixed with perlite (50%).; roughly a half inch to one inch on top of that seedling mix. I place each seed onto that peat/perlite and then top dress with a single layer of Scratch and Peck Feeds pure limestone chips to cover the seeds. It's been working stellar for me.
Wow this is excellent information! And some of the ingredients sound like a mix of ECC's mix plus the extra amendments that Rob uses (which I learned about AFTER making the first video). Where do you find all the materials?
Speaking of the growlight, in your particular case it might be a little bit difficult to tell how much of a difference is in the light distribution. If you check PPFD charts for any given growlight, there are huge differences in light distribution, where the center pretty much always gets much more light that the edges, and the difference is even greater without using reflective walls. The transparent dome works as a light diffuser to some degree, so the PPFD charts for your growlight might be not applicable, or at least not accurate in this case though. Just wait several weeks more and we will see if there will be any significant differences in the seedlings colors distribution thought the tray.
For the seedlings with the lowest germinations % I would recommend giving them a good sprinkle with 5 pH water, everyday for the next week. Increased water content may induce breaking dormancy and it might not be too late for some late germinators. Several times I was able to get some extra germination after over 1,5 year from sowing a batch of plants like Ariocarpus and many other genera, so there is still a chance to stir your results a little bit in different direction.
Thank you again for leaving your valuable insight, Sima! I'm certain that the light is not evenly distributed. That's a good tip to check the color of the seedlings, we'll be able to tell. I also have shade cloth draped over the dome so that probably helps diffuse the light even more. Thank you also on the tip of using acidified water on the struggling pots! Very good tip to know going forward
@@cookiescacti Your welcome. There are even some more crazy stuff you can do later on, like drying everything out, letting it rest for 2~3 month and then treat it with hydrogen peroxide of higher concentrations than usual (5% or higher), but it would be possible to do only after removing the seedling. Anyway, you can have even more fun in the future with that batch of seeds if you wish to do so.
I don’t have experience with growing from seed yet, but I’ll say that ECC soil is all I use for my cacti. I will add in some uni-grow or other things for certain cacti, but his soil is amazing. I order the large box of North American and South American soil, and it has me covered for just about anything. Great video!
If you are on the fence about starting cacti from seed, do give it a try. It is not terribly hard and it is a lot of fun in winter because you can do it indoors under lights.
@@jessicagothie2951 I I definitely plan on it, I’m just trying to get a handle on everything I’ve purchased this last year. I caught the cacti bug, and may have went a little overboard. Look forward to watching more videos and educating myself. Thank you
@@dannyf8-nv668 Pretty sure "a little overboard" has happened to all of us at one time or another. :) Here's hoping your recent acquisitions settle in nicely and do well for you!
Welcome to the cactus obsession, Danny! ECCs seed soil success must mean his adult soils must be really good too. The only downside is the cost. But I can see where his soil can be well worth the price for certain types of plants!
@@cookiescacti I’m sure it would be much cheaper to make yourself, but as a relatively new collector it’s worth the convenience and peace of mind. I’m sure I’ll figure out how to make my own soon enough. Thankful for the RUclips education, so much information at my fingertips 😊
I'm so happy you are doing this update, I've rewatched the first video several times already as my seedlings age. (For comparison).
P.s. I sent you an email.
I'm really enjoying this series as well!
I'm so glad you enjoy these videos, Barbie! We're all learning and growing together 💚🙏🥰
I'm so glad you're enjoying this series, Jessica!
@@cookiescacti
This series (first video) gave me the courage to finally start growing cactus seeds, your "lazy way" series gave me the push to buy them, but i was so hesitant to start them. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences, especially your not so great experiences, those really help , not only by letting me know what not to do, but letting us know that its going to happen and how to fix them or at least avoid them in the future if we make mistakes.
Hugs to you and Cookie ❤
I'm using the Miracle Gro cactus and palm , lava rock mix and very course sand , & perlite. At the bottom of the 2.5 inch pots is an inch of the lava mix, I used the course sand to top my first patch , my second batch I topped with the lava rock mix.
The lava mix topped ones came up twice as fast and are almost as big as the sand topped batch.
The soil mix is mostly perlite, sand and very little MG cactus mix .
My new experiment tray tries MG cactus soil again amended this time with inorganics. Can't wait to see how it goes. It's really fascinating that you're seeing a difference when using different top dressings. I'm also trying different top dressings this time and only 4 days in I swear there's a difference... So weird!
@@cookiescactisame here !!! Not only did mine come up faster but look more advanced with the rock mix top dressing.
I can't wait to see the upcoming video series 😍
In your videos on seedlings, it seems that you're keeping the seedlings under LED light for up to 9 months. Is there a particular reason why you keeping them under the lights so long, instead of moving them out into your greenhouse after only a few months?
Ohh good question - this got me thinking because no one has ever asked me before nor have I truly thought about it. In short, I leave the seedlings under lights for longer periods of time because I'm still new to growing cactus from seed and this seems to be a more conservative approach.
Typically, the seedlings come out of the humidity domes at 4 months, so they would need some time to acclimate to regular air and light, so I'd wait at least 5 months until moving them outdoors. But that's only for now, perhaps I'd start moving them out sooner with more growing experience under my belt. Then there's the timing with the seasons, like I'm avoiding moving them outdoors during the winter for example. And in Phoenix the brutal summers need consideration as well. However, I'm becoming more comfortable with moving some North American heat loving seedlings out sooner (Mamms, Arios, Astros for example).
For Copiapoa I was super conservative with moving them outdoors because my timing had it such that they'd be acclimated to regular air in the summer. And I always heard that Copiapoa hate the heat, so I thought they would like the indoors more. Although with time I'm finding that not to be true - they seem to like being outdoors more even in the summer heat. So perhaps they can go out sooner too. I'm still learning and adjusting and I tend to take conservative routes for everything (outside of plants as well), hence the long indoor growing periods (for now).
I'd like to see how bonsai Jack's cactus and succulent non-organic mix works for seed starting iv been using it for awhile but not for seed starting.
That's a really good question. I started a second tray a week ago using that bonsai mix I bought but I did add organics to it to try to make it look more like ECC's consistency. Let's see what happens...
I fall into rabbit holes all the time. @ccokie'sCacti Thanks for saving me from going into this hole. 😃
Hehehehe you're welcome 🤗 my entire life is full of falling down rabbit holes lol
Do you leave your light on full 100% power when starting seed? I know you put a shade cloth over the top of the dome, but do you still run the light at 100%?
I do run my lights at 100% because I bought the model without a dimmer 😪 That's what I get for cheaping out 😂😭
Anyone use hydrogen peroxide 3% instead of water and having to sterilize the soil/pots?
Good question. I hope some folks answer this! I would like to know too.
i've used hydrogen peroxide to water my seedlings when mold is present. it breaks down to h2o and o2.
Does cactus like worm castings in their soil mix 🇳🇿
Yes, even cacti love worm castings. Just don't overdo it on adult plants.
Actually, I just started a second tray and one set of pots is inorganics with worm castings. Let's do how it goes!
After opening the cover How many days per week should we water young plants?
I don't have a good answer for this unfortunately. When they're just coming out of the dome I check on them more often and tend to not let them get way too dry. I seem to be quite forgetful now so I'm not being as good of a plant parent as in the past 😬
Thank you very much for the good advice.@@cookiescacti
@@user-lo9tj2on9q you're very welcome! (despite my very vague answer 😆)
How many days does it take to open the lid of the seed tray?
On average I hear 4 months a lot. For Ariocarpus I've heard longer, like up to a year. But on the other hand I've heard growers who open up the lids/bags as soon as they reach the germination that they want. So it's all over the place. For me, it depends on the fungus situation. If I see damping off I'll start opening the domes as soon as 1-2 months. But I don't sanitize anything which is probably why I struggle with mold all the time (but I'm too lazy to sanitize)
Thank you very much.
@@cookiescacti
How many hours a day do we have to turn on the lights?
I leave the lights on for 13 hours. No real reason why 13 hours, just something I ended up setting and then forgot about (the lights are on a timer)
thank you very much🥰@@cookiescacti
How cold did it get there? How are your outside plants doing? I had to bring everything inside by the fireplace. 🪵🪵🪵🔥🔥🔥🐲
What perfect timing for your comment because I recorded a walk through of the plants after our one week of winter 😂 We had lows at and slightly below freezing for about 5 or 6 days right after it rained... I'll be working on that video this weekend!