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An avid gardener for awhile, I "get" cross-pollination well enough for the creation of new varieties... but how does that work with fungi in the absence of pollen and such? I figured variations were primarily from climate, growing medium, and natural mutations. But recent reading indicates or infers that there is actual crossing (by people, not just nature) going on (notably I see the Albino being used in some crosses)... so how is it done?

Very nice! It's coincidence that I encountered a site with spores for these last night - showed the limited pics (from that site) to my S/O who was not impressed. S/O might think differently once seeing the photos you have. Your photos are hands-down much better and really show how/why this variety got its name! Great photos, great specimens! I'm perhaps too easily amused, but I get such a kick out of it when things in nature are such visual parallels to things that make the school-girl in me giggle. This one would be worth having just for the amusement factor... maybe for a girls-night-in tea party or such.

Is this a naturally occurring variety, or was it bred for? That's something I haven't sorted out yet with fungi - crossing, but that's for a different post.

Ah there we go.... this was a/the species I inquired about years ago to try and find out if I got spores, if I could naturalize them in a pine forest or not. I assume if they grow as far north as the Great Lakes, that surely they would grow here.

Since this is an 'old world' shroom with loads of lore surrounding it, I have always been interested in it. Well, that with a near-tie but just shy to be secondly: I think they are among the most visually stunning specimens. I've never partaken of them though - and so this business about peeling the skin and drying is new to me. I made the assumption that like other mushrooms, they were ingested entirely.... but it seems not the case? If they are peeled - doesn't that then leave all the more use for the cap for acquiring spore prints and even recycling the non-skin sections back into the earth for natural compost?

okay, colour me confused... does mycelium eat up oxygen and emit CO2? Or vice versa like with terrestrial plants (eat up CO2 and emit O)? And once no longer mycelium, but an actual mushroom or toadstool - what, if anything, does it do or have to do with either of those? Will a mushroom - matured mycelium - put off oxygen or CO2? I'm not sure if I've encountered misleading or conflicting info in trying to find some other info. From my, for lack of a better word, spiritual perspective, fungi are "in-between" 'plants' - not really a plant, but not a mineral either... subsequently all of the great lore about them. But what about their chemical (in this case specifically O and CO2) interactions with their environment?

And what is the effect of sugar on mycelium? Like beet sugar/water solution? Would mycelium have any real use for it, or would it just end up fermenting or something?

Recently I was ditty-boppin' around the net and came upon a site that listed various cubes, one I took notice of had a notation of origin as being Georgia (U.S.), which I thought, "neat." But it prompted me to inquire about something that I asked about somewhere else and in respect to a different species years ago....

Is it possible to 'naturalize' any, some, or all cubes 'in the wild' via introduction such as innoculating a cultivated cake? Oh that came out weird. I mean, could one find a nice seemingly suitable spot and deposit either a cap or print or spore solution and actually expect to see any results occur naturally from that point forward? Not as far south or east as GA... winters colder where I've got in mind, but since things will lie dormant until conditions are just right anyway.... is it theoretically or even proven possible?

Yes, I do realize that in the wild, there would be no protection against contaminants... that's not my concern since I'm not looking to harvest. Just wondering if I could add to the biodiversity of the area or not with fungi? I've seen some fungi (non-edibles) where I only ever saw ONE specimen - and left them/it alone, and later kicked myself in the butt about it because despite the fungi taking its natural course, I either missed seeing the next cycle or conditions never got 'just right' again (or maybe wildlife ate them? An Urn fungi first comes to mind that I once found... I really, really, really wish I had gotten a spore print - it was the "perfect" specimen species for a woodland environment).

Kidneys (and other organs) and Food of the Gods... in retrospect, it's a rather ironic combination in a thread.

Brother's keeper vs. Big Brother? Honestly, the only difference I see between the two is "individuals" vs. "the establishment"... as a species, in general, we have a terrible tendency for meddling.

Someone mentioned a cacti... indeed, if such a specimen joined me, I would be happy to tend it, though I've not partaken... I seem to get wrapped up in the relationship of 'tending' (the husbandry) and enjoy the reward of simply having a botanical 'companion'... not so unlike a friend, only knowing where they're always at (or should be at any rate - lest they grow legs and walk off). I'm still finding my groove with cacti and succulents though and amongst the most commonly available, non-listed, it's still anyone's guess whether any given species will survive at my hands or not. Sometimes it takes me awhile to find that groove - where something will successfully grow for me relatively 'easily' (meaning where I'm not fretting day and night about its condition).

There appears to be (even taking into account the different eras, if you will) a fair bit of variation in pricing in respect to the original inquiry. I'm sure some of it is also geographically effected. I know it certainly happens with other things. Heck, could certainly 'see' it just by comparing the price of a gallon of whole milk. Sometimes it's cheaper to buy the cow. (for the record, I'm seriously considering a Miniature Jersey) At any rate, newbies keeping the bus going.... there's a thought.

Depending upon what a newbie is new to... newbies generally scare me or at least have me take several steps back and then give a wide berth. While I will not get on a zealous soapbox proclaiming any given path all right or all wrong, deep down I do feel that everyone I have actually met in the past, oh let's just say 15 years, that has had an interest in something that I could generically categorize as spiritual or even esoteric, have been "flakes", "frauds", or were so far off from my perception of what constitutes 'good reason to be on the path' that I chalked them up to little more than novelty seekers... and regardless of their experience (if they ever went there in the end), entirely too much like tissue paper... readily moved by the wind of whim onto another path.

Sometimes I contemplate the paths most common to those in my general geography... alcohol (beer, whiskey - or high-priced lousy tasting concoctions) is probably the biggest/most widely used "around here"... I've lost count of how many people I know or am aware of having DUIs OR if they haven't been caught, still practicing driving while under the influence of alcohol. I can't seem to develop a 'taste' for alcohol though. I like my Mezcal, don't get me wrong... but it's not something I could ever partake of on any sort of regular basis. The second most common 'around here'.... oo, tough one... pills? meth? crack? I see a lot of people who mix it all up - along with the alcohol being a staple of what they ingest along their chosen paths... I can't say that I understand it. I don't. I wish I could say that what I know/see or hear about through the grapevine were that "reefer" was second-running in the list, but old-fashioned "pot" seems to be just that... "old-fashioned"... read about plenty of "big busts", but don't hear so much about the individuals... are they a dying breed? (I'm waxing quasi-philosophical, I do apologize...)

Of course, I wonder why so few people even attempt to grow their own vegetables in-season for that matter - even if they never do any preserving for future use, even if they only eat fresh. I guess for most 'around here', whether it is vegetables or intoxicants or spirituality, it must seem easier (even if not as good) to go out and pay the going rate to buy it off a shelf, from behind a counter, in a bottle, or boxed up and in lieu of a ribbon or a bow, with a steeple on top... spirituality in a can or a bottle or a building....?

6 billion people, and sometimes (most of the time?) it feels like such a lonely world... I spend a lot of time with the critters and the botanicals. Maybe too much?

Right now, I'd probably seriously consider 20K for one of my kidneys... this economy sucks and I'm none too happy about the worldly state of affairs much less those in the U.S. If I weren't broke, I'd immigrate and naturalize to a different country myself... at least somewhere where I didn't feel so... well, the way I feel. I'm perhaps just being pessimistic though. It's been a suck-year and I've experienced (still dealing with...) some truly horrible things happening to people I care about and there being no "justice" even for those that were/are wholly innocent victims. I see a country where spirituality can be purchased, along with forgiveness, for 10% of your income and GMO veggies cheaper than organic, where people don't turn the other cheek but instead a blind eye in order to preserve their sense of status or maintain a standard of living that is far from poverty albeit not 'rolling in it', and a country where there are states where the penalty - IF it even goes to trial - for a child molestor who has violated (without penetration and no DNA evidence) is equivalent to the penalty for "allowing a dog to run at large".

Would I sell a kidney in order to fund moving to a place marginally 'better' than this? Food for thought.

It's been ages since I've posted here, or anywhere else for that matter. I've been so busy with offline life that it isn't even funny.

My kids are grown now and it's great actually being able to talk to them as adults. We've covered a lot of different topics/subjects, including "the old days" compared to "nowadays" and there are some questions that I can't answer, even if I did a web search. So I'd like to ask here - incase anyone knows from what they've heard second-hand and such. Of course no one here would be involved in any of these things firsthand because no one here would be involved in anything illegal. But it's not illegal to ask and it's not illegal to pass on hearsay or information that isn't going to cause anyone any harm.

Anyhoo, some stuff we've talked about is the "back in the day a 'dime bag' was a 'dime bag', not like what people anticipate nowadays. Back in the day, a 'dime bag' would cost one ten bucks and one could get 5-10 'joints' out of it depending on how dry it was, how seedy, and how much 'stemmage'. Nowadays a 'dime bag' costs what a 'quarter' did way back when and it's nowhere near four ounces." That's just an example. Then we talked about other things that grow. And it spawned the question of how much 'magic mushrooms' cost fresh or dried and by what price? I can honestly say that in all my years I never knew anyone that grew or sold 'magic mushrooms', and so I'm certainly clueless now since I just don't 'travel' in such circles. That question actually arose when we read about a certain 102 year old "forefather" that passed away recently and we began discussing hallucinogens (that spelling doesn't look right to me) and the "father" of LSD dying after living a very long time even by modern standards. We also saw a movie, whose title escapes me at the moment - the story/movie began in Texas (Galveston) and then moved to Mexico, and in one scene the mixed group of young American men "hooked up with" a Mexican lady-bartender and her cousin, and some of them were eating what appeared to be dry (rather than fresh) 'magic mushrooms' that they had acquired in Mexico. I'm sure they are sold readily in many countries. But at what sort of price USD?

Then we moved onto topics about living kidney donors in I believe it is the Phillipines and how a law has been passed to disallow non-citizen kidney transplant recipients from living, non-related donors vs. donor kidneys from organ-donor-deceased persons. Basically the grey market of transplants being nipped in the bud because poor people are selling single healthy kidneys from their own body to people with money from other countries that go there to try and beat the waiting lists that exist for compatible organs from whatever country they are citizens of. Without coming right out and saying it, the ban is intended to keep people in need of a healthy organ from taking advantage of people in another country without a pot to pee in - an exploitation of sorts.

Anyway, just wondering out of sheer curiosity and absolutely no intention of being involved in anything illegal, what is the - is this the right wording? - "street value" on any given type of mushroom that qualifies as being "magic mushrooms"?

Feel free to post a reply here, or PM me if you don't feel comfortable responding in the open forum.

I'm sorry about your Tarantula Neonaut... but look on the bright side, you had her a good long while and you did recognize the signs that her time was drawing to a close... that's experience to draw upon in the future if you get another or to help someone else out.

While I find all of the theories very interesting, I guess I also like the mystery... I figure as technology advances - and provided we don't eradicate ourselves beforehand - eventually we will get to see the formation of another planet with satellites of its own that are a lot like what we know to be around us and under our feet now... and then we'll have a better idea of how our planet and moon and "stuff" came to be... and maybe manage to document it well enough that eons down the line our descendents will have no doubts about how these things come to be... of course, by then - if we don't nix ourselves - I figure we'll also be doing a lot more "common" traveling in space across the distances and collecting research data to help us to better understand.

But I remain torn between Logic and Mystery.... Logic is solid, but the Mystery seems like so much more fun.

While I am aware that Night-Blooming Cereus and Mother of Pearl/Ghost Plant aren't the "typical" succulents of topics here, I figured this would still be "the place" to inquire about them and also an unknown type of cactus (common just about anywhere including at chain stores like wally world), and two different types of "Wandering Jew"...

Things, while windy, are warming up now and so these plants are getting moved outside. It was not an easy winter for them. I was wondering what NPK fertilizer/plant food any of you might recommend for them. Would I be safe with a balanced fertilizer/plant food like I'd use on my Brugmansia and Datura? Or should I look into an acid-loving type like I use with my acid-lovers (Gardenia, for example)? I'd just like to give them a nice start for the growing season but since I'm just getting my feet wet with succulents, I don't want to end up killing them because of it.

Suggestions?

I sent a PM to Avery inquiring about posting the co-op thread in Trade Winds since I read the policies for that forum and where sales are concerned. In not yet knowing if it would be allowed there or not, I opted for two other forums that seem more generalized.

Messenger and Mighty Plant... for us that used it around here (and some further away but still in close contact with) in 2004 and 2005 in our general gardening and also in controlled trials, they rocked!

Me, personally, I love the convenience of the single dose packets. The products can be gotten in larger sizes, but those are more for those working on a far greater scale than I am... like entire fields of crops or good sized nurseries. I also can't find Peter's around here anywhere... and I've become increasingly more turned off of Miracle-Gro and MG-like products because of the salts and the nasty build up in my container growing. Can't deny the initial results, but in the longterm - I've scrubbed enough salts away to last me a lifetime.

At any rate, this is a no-profit-for-me deal, hence a co-op. I know one was already done elsewhere on the Mighty Plant, but not at a place I frequent personally. Got to talking with some other Bruggies that used it last year and are wanting more and from there talked to the company in regards to my SBL, and found out that costs can be cut more - including no sales tax - thus making a co-op buy-in more reasonable. Even I wouldn't use 100 gallons of plant food/fertilizer in a season, so I don't need that much (though I could just save it for the next season)... so the simple way is to just put out the word and then put in a bulk order and me ship out to folks whatever amount they wanted/paid for.

Thus far, I haven't come across something on the market that I like better or that has proven to have better results. Won't be long now before I start the seedlings on it and as soon as we get through this very frustrating cold-nights-weather, I'll be putting it to use on all of my container plants that I moved out too soon evidently because they're going to need all the help they can get to recover from these frosts. (you don't want to know how hacked off I am about the night temperatures - I'll just spit if I end up losing all of my base stock)

Hey all! I'm posting in hopes that a good many of you will be willing to go in on a "co-op" type purchase of two particular gardening products that I was introduced to and absolutely fell in love with! After being a regular customer with them for awhile I found out that with my small business license I could upgrade my account for more discounts on their products along with the bonus of not having to pay sales tax! The company has approved my business for retailing their products both online and at actual physical locations - so everything is on the up and up.

The main products that I am so keen on are Messenger - which you mix into a near-clear spray for your plants and apply every 2-4 weeks (or per your own schedule). It is sprayed onto the plant itself rather than provided like watering a plant and helps the plants to absorb all of the good stuff they need using what they refer to as harpin technology. I ran control groups of plants two years running for this product and also the other one that I will get to a moment, and I absolutely swear by the results - for my edibles, flowers, trees, shrubs, even my succulents and the lawn! This stuff absolutely rocks!

The other product is Mighty Plant, a fertilizer that is balanced at a cool/nice 18-18-18 (amongst other perks) - perfect for Brugmansia and Datura for example. Used in conjunction with Messenger and the results were awesome! In respect to edibles, like tomato plants, I was growing fewer plants with higher yield and the plants remained healthy and even wanted to be perennials despite my zone/climate.

At any rate, right now they are running a sale on one and with my business account I can get a discount for buying in bulk on another. I *really* want to order in bulk! But since my business is just starting out there is of course the usual lack of funding for such a bulk order - that's where you all come in. I don't have to charge anyone sales tax and the only cost over _actual product cost_ would simply be the meager amount for postage to ship out to different co-op-buyers and I don't pad postage costs, those would be actual cost as well depending upon the type of mailing you wanted and/or weight.

The Mighty Plant 18-18-18 plant food comes in single dose packets that you mix with a gallon of water - and right now it can be gotten at 60 cents a packet OR - if more is ordered, as low as 35 cents a packet. The "catch" is that to do it at 60 cents a packet, a minimum of 100 packets ($60 total) has to be ordered... or a minimum of 400 packets ($140 total) has to be ordered to get it at 35 cents a packet. They sell it at $1 a single dose packet on their site...

The Messenger comes in single dose packets that you mix with a gallon of water and then spray (I recommend misting as fine as possible onto the entire plant)... they sell it for $3 a packet on their site, they recommend retailing it at $4.99 a packet (which is what nurseries and other gardening centers are doing), but by purchasing it in bulk we can get the price down to as little as $1.65 a packet. The only way to catch that deal is a minimum order of 60 packets at a total of $99

With the Messenger, if you don't use an entire packet, as long as you airtight seal it, you can keep it for about 2 weeks to mix with the appropriate amount of water and spray again. (this is how I was doing it when working with fewer plants)

With both products I cannot even begin to tell you how convenient it is to have the single dose packets.

I'd really-really-really like to get in a bulk order for at least 60 of the Messenger single dose packets and 100 of the Mighty Plant... and that's where co-op'ing comes in. You can store packets unopened, so it's a good opportunity to stock up for this season or even to have some extra to carry you over into next year -- all depends on what your gardening habits are and scheduling you use for fertilizing, etc.

If you're interested, please contact me via the private message function for personal information/details - general discussion or questions about the products I would imagine would be just fine on this thread. I just don't want to have anyone giving out personal info on a public access area, ya know? I can accept various forms of payment, including PayPal... and with PayPal, two options - either the cash/instant transfer, e-check types that are non-credit or for those using credit cards (since PayPal taps fees on those) I have access/permission to use a credit card accepting account by with that you have to tack on about 3% of the total in order to actually get full funds sent through - it's a fee I can't avoid and can't "suck up" unfortunately. Can also do ground mail payments - checks of course have to clear, USPS money orders are better.

If you'd like to check out these products - or others - from this company, their website url is: //http://www.edenbio.com Who knows, you may see something else that you'd like to order that I can get at a better price for you. This is NOT a scam... so totally not.... I just know that I LOVE this stuff and want to market it locally, but for my online plant community pals I'd rather you all got the best deal possible and I'm in a position with this company now to do that.

I wish I had that certainty. I mean I'm not certain about it being a matter of being literally bitten or stung, but there was unquestionably a chemical reaction when my skin came into contact with them. The plant in question is a Hickory tree... they were on the undersides of some leaves in a particular area... en masse the little ~$%#*&! I don't have a sensitivity to Hickory or I would have finger-pointed elsewhere.

Possibly a means of control - if you don't mind sacrificing the Brugmansia? White flies are a very common problem with Brugs as well - Neem Oil to the rescue!

I got seeds for a variety of Shoo-fly plant this year that I hope to grow and use as a natural deterrent.

You know, provided you're taking normal precautions before consumption of edible plants - you can treat them with Neem Oil to take care of a variety of pest problems. It's also good for spidermites, etc.

The problem with using your Brug like a bait for the white flies is that you won't get rid of the infestation... it will just continue to grow, and the Brug won't sustain them forever... which means they'd be back at your Salvia and anything else they found tasty.

Me, I wouldn't want them around. I'd heard and read plenty about white flies, but my specimen plants had never had an issue. Then one day while out bush-hogging I went under a Hickory tree, not realizing what I saw at the moment before contact with some specific leaves, was white flies. I don't know if they actually bite per se or what exactly, but my experience in coming into contact with them was undeniable - everywhere I made contact I had a tiny welt for each one...  multiply each welt by several hundred over 3 major areas and several smaller areas and it was difficult to discern from having been stung/bitten by fire ants (the real fire ants, not the biting ants that some people in non-fire ant states think are fire ants) - the only difference was each spot didn't blister and hours later the pain was subsiding but I was still dealing with an allergic reaction and I ITCHED like mad. Stinging nettles feel better.

"Suffer thee not a whitefly to live" hehehe...

Cross-pollinating LP with B. suaveolens 'White' yielded no seed pods, but the reverse did (but shock of digging up and bringing in Miss B.s.W. had the pods abort)... so far, all of her (LP) blooms have been within the same colour range. I keep her around because her scent outweighs everything else that I don't especially like about her. She's a trooper when it comes to cuttings successfully rooting. LMK if you're interested in some cuttings.  I'm only inclined to cross her to a white or an orange/salmon/pink (salmon being the ideal I'd be shooting for)... I'm not particularly fond of yellow flowers in general *shrug*

I just got my outside Brugs protected as best I can manage for the night and subsequent forecast of more cold nights.. hope my efforts are passable... then I went out in this wind and cold and lit up a good ceremonial campfire to try and burn out some negative juju.... I'm letting it burn down now though... winds got harder/stronger and a risk of things getting away if I kept loading on hickory and oak...