PET Method Update- Summer 2020

[DirtyCoconuts]

very nice video Steve- thanks!


i am delighted to hear that you are using the shredded cypress mulch too. i have been using that in my cata mounts as a way to increase the moisture..these guys are so fun to experiment with!

i am going to try a few in PET new season to mix it up


and yes, you got me to watch a video....i am moving slowly into this century

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by SaraJean

I don’t really understand why this potting method seems to be working better than my normal sphagnum and clay pots, but it is. I would have thought that the sphagnum that’s watered every day, or every other day, would be plenty of moisture.

Honestly, the water well at the bottom of the pot is the key. It holds water (duh) and tons of nutrients so the plant can uptake on its own schedule, not on our (human) watering schedule. Plus, these guys grow with their roots in a confined, air-free kind of a place in the wild, which is well replicated in the PET method.

Originally Posted by hypostatic

How expensive are the chips compared to sphag?

A giant back of the cypress mulch was about the same size as a medium sized brick of sphag!

Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts

and yes, you got me to watch a video....i am moving slowly into this century

Ha! Nice! There's some good stuff on YouTube!

[hypostatic]

Originally Posted by isurus79

A giant back of the cypress mulch was about the same size as a medium sized brick of sphag!

Hmm I bet ctsms don't care whether you're using mulch or premium NZ sphag... But on the other hand, how much do I care about the media decomposing and turning stinky....

What slow-release fertilizer are you using? The ctsms drink up so much fertilizer; it would be nice to not have to continuously feed them.

[isurus79]

Originally Posted by hypostatic

Hmm I bet ctsms don't care whether you're using mulch or premium NZ sphag... But on the other hand, how much do I care about the media decomposing and turning stinky....

What slow-release fertilizer are you using? The ctsms drink up so much fertilizer; it would be nice to not have to continuously feed them.

In the past I've used nutricote with a cal-mag supplement, plus a once per month dose kelpmax. This works great and is fairly simple.

This year I'm using Purely Organic for the first half of the growing season, nutricote for the second half, and am hitting the plants with kelpmax and Quantum (both from Ray) once per month. Now that I write this out, I realize I've changed a bunch of variables this growing season and won't know which one is responsible for good/bad results. Damnit.

[Subrosa]

Originally Posted by hypostatic

Hmm I bet ctsms don't care whether you're using mulch or premium NZ sphag... But on the other hand, how much do I care about the media decomposing and turning stinky....

What slow-release fertilizer are you using? The ctsms drink up so much fertilizer; it would be nice to not have to continuously feed them.

Grow them in cow manure.