Anybody here ever grown Desmanthus illinoensis plants?
I did at one time but I dont remember if they flowered the first year.
Do they help improve topsoil so you dont have to fertilize with Nitrogen? I mean after 2-3 years or so will the soil have enough nitrogen where you can remove the legumes and put other stuff there.
I am soaking my seeds in water, but I also added some Rhizobium inoculant to the water, and am going to sprinkle some more around them when I transplant them into bigger pots.
It says adding more doesnt hurt and may actually help the more you add. Its not like everything else where it is too much of a good thing.
I am hoping the Rhizobium spp. stays with them when I plant them outdoors in the ground.
Does it go into the root nodules and stay there or will some be in the surrounding soil close to the roots?
Im just thinking of a cheap way to make my own Rhizobium like take some of the soil close to the roots for use for other leguminous plants that I might start in the future.
I of course wouldnt take this free Rhizobium prob mid June of next year or the year after to experiment with.
I heard it has advantages since it is free, but disadvantages like if their is a disease in the soil.
Still better than paying 5.00-8.00 for a packet of Inoculent.
Well, if you wanted to added benefit of being able to harvest some Desmanthus, then I would say sure, you could use this legume. However, a lot of people (farmers, etc) grow alfalfa as a legume to improve soil - and then just turn over the plants back into the soil to improve the soil.
Just my thoughts...
Ive noticed the leaves close at night. Can anybody explain why?
Mimosa pudica (sensitive plant) leaves close when you touch them but some legumes only close at night.
I know cacti open their stomata at night. Im wondering if it has some sort of function as to why it does that.
Im not saying it has anything to do with cacti and CAM.
I know cacti do it because of transpiration during the day and its kind of complicated how they do photosynthesis without respiration during the day. The CAM thing.
Quote from: "dogbane26"Ive noticed the leaves close at night. Can anybody explain why?
Mimosa pudica (sensitive plant) leaves close when you touch them but some legumes only close at night.
I know cacti open their stomata at night. Im wondering if it has some sort of function as to why it does that.
Im not saying it has anything to do with cacti and CAM.
I know cacti do it because of transpiration during the day and its kind of complicated how they do photosynthesis without respiration during the day. The CAM thing.
Well, on a general level, it's the same reason that we humans get tired at night - a physiological biochemical response based on levels of light hitting photoreceptors. In that example, it's light hitting our pineal glands that produces a chemical (melatonin) - in the example of plants closing their leaves at night, it's a different mechanism (obviously) but still a physiological response based on photoreceptor stimulation. If you went outside at night with a flashlight and shined it on a leaf for a while, it'd open back up eventually.
Hope this helps...
steve
Well i forgot what its called when plants respond to touch?
I know venus fly traps and sensitive plants fit in that category but the function isnt the same.
Im guessing touch me not is another one.
Native impatiens ( touch me not) might make an interesting projectile motion problem for people intersted in physics.