Friday evening

I have made a few changes to my website. I am now allowing comments to my posts to anyone who has something to say. There are also two more links, both of which are online retailers of succulents and cactus. I have made purchases from both sites, and was pleased with their plants. I am sure there will be more links soon......Cat and Anna started going back to day care this week. They are in the same class. Cathrine has been struggling, but is pretty well potty-trained. Finally... No more pull-ups........I have been working on perfecting a recipe for 'homemade' succulent/cactus potting soil. I have settled upon a mix that has showed good results all summer. I use the cheapest 'potting soil' that I can find. Most off the home centers sell this. It is usually the cheapest stuff you can find(around two dollars for a thirty pound bag). If I can't find this I use the 'top soil' mix. It is important to have a highly organic base for the soil. It is also paramount that it drain really well. The soil(which is a soiless mix), consists of about six parts 'compost'(the potting mix), four parts perlite, two parts cow manure compost, one part charcoal, one quarter part(or a big handfull) bone meal, and an organic fertilizer. The fertilizer I use is relatively weak at 5-3-3. It is important that you do not use a high strength, or time released fertilizer, as most succulents and cactus go into dormancy through mid-winter. I mainly add the fertilizer for the trace elements it adds to the mix, as there is no actual 'soil' in it. I have also found good results with the charcoal. It absorbs the toxins from the soil. Most commercial mixes are sterilized, and since my mix is not, and for the fact that I add manure, the charcoal helps control fungus and disease. I have found this mix to be great for both succulents and cactus. There are also a couple of good commercial mixes on the shelves of the home centers/nurseries. The most important thing to remember is not to add peat moss to the mix. Peat retains moisture too well, and lowers the p/h of the soil. Most cactus and succulents will not do good in a standard potting mix for this reason......

Sunday night

This has been a busy week. Started off last weekend on a mission to go camping, but the campsites were all packed. We decided instead to just take the girls to the lake for a picnic and some swimming lessons. It was a lot of fun. Both of the girls love to swim...... The weather has been great here lately. The highs have been in the 90's with lows in the 60's. The best part is that the air has been dry(very low humidity)......I have been in the process of enrolling in college for the past couple of weeks. I took the entrance exam Saturday morning, and did well enough that I won't have to take any remedial classes. I am glad to have that test out of the way. The next big event is orientation, on September 29. Then classes start in early October. I have enrolled into the environmental horticulture program, and I am really looking forward to start the classes...... We have two more arrangements that we have assembled. One of them is a cactus only. The other one is an interesting succulent collection with a somewhat rare aloe(the small pinkish one), and some hawarthia. I also included a lithop, which I thought was interesting in the arrangement. It is hard to spot though, as it blends in with the aggregate that was placed on top....I have two cycas revoltas or 'king sago palms', one of which I have had for about three years now. Is has produced more new growth this year than any other. This is the third time this season(spring&summer) it has put of new 'shoots'. This plant is one of my favorites. Most people don't know but a 'sago palm' is not actually a palm at all. It belongs to the cycad family. They are ancient plants, of which many fossils have been found dating back to the 'dinosaur days'. The plant in the picture is about five feet around and three feet tall. The new growth will no doubt increase its size to about four feet tall. It will be a challenge to 'overwinter' them in the house....