kadakuda said:

that looks like super fun.  i LOVE seeing people experiment with totally way over kill ideas lol.  props.



ps. it totally looks like you grow weed

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No, I don't grow weed, although my neighbors probably think I do.

Quote:

Pereskiopsis under led lighting.  Right now, we're running the lights 24 hours a day despite the fact that we've learned that cacti are CAM plants and require a dark period (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crassulacean_acid_metabolism).  These plants have been on 24hours of light for the past 2 weeks.  They are slightly larger than some plants we've been running at 14 hours a day.  We suspect running the lights 18 hours a day would produce growth equal or better than seen under 24 hour lighting.
Eventually, we'd like to try a cycle with 3 or 4 hours of light followed by 15 minutes of darkness.  During the dark period, we will increase available CO2 with bottled gas and a solenoid.  This will be automated by use of a programmable logic controller.

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I actually pitched this same idea @ nostromo. (experimenting with lighting cycle) Pereskiopsis STEMS are CAM plants, the leaves use C3, I suspect 18/6 or perhaps 20/4 would be best. That way you can hopefully get the best of both worlds.


This stuff is WAY over the top! Youve invested quite the time, energy, and cash in this, so the least I can do is give you 5 's.


-M

kadakuda said:

don't worry, we believe you 


i am curious thought, is there really much difference you see in soil vs hydro grows?  assuming both are fed similar and lights are the same...they grow scions so fast in dirt, its hard to imagine much faster....and if they are faster, what kind of problems are you running into with slow growing scions (like astrophytum), if any?  i see problems with soil grows on "slower" stocks with the scions, mostly splitting.

keep it coming, interesting stuff

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Methadone said:

I actually pitched this same idea @ nostromo. (experimenting with lighting cycle) Pereskiopsis STEMS are CAM plants, the leaves use C3, I suspect 18/6 or perhaps 20/4 would be best. That way you can hopefully get the best of both worlds.

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Psiloman said:

I would really also like to see how a graft would respond on a plant that is under hydroponic nutrient uptake! By the way could you comment on the growth and morphology differences you might have noticed when comparing a soil grown and an aeroponically grown pereskiopsis? I would expect  the aeroponically grown ones to grow faster ,and  i would also wonder if their cell vacuoles are bigger (seen under a microscope).

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Dr. uarewotueat said:

it's a bit overkill for growing pereskiopsis, considering that it grows like a weed! lol
but props to you for trying this and i'll look forward to seeing how the grafting goes

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It's DEFINITELY overkill.   I just like hydro projects and cacti.
But it's actually easier for me than soil.. I have to water my soil pereskiopsis 2-3 times a week, and really only have to tend to the hydro once a week.  It's also way cleaner than soil..