International Plant Trading

After years of trading plants and seed via postal routes, I have finally considered trading internationally. Not to say I have never done it, well yes I have never done it legally. Out of ignorance I did send some cuttings over seas once. but now I am considering doing it legally. I know Australia is really stuffy about their flora and fauna coming in and out, that is why parrots are so expensive here and shot over there. I think importation should not be so hard to do that it means a depression or over flow on either side. Let's face it, cockatoos are pests and shot by farmers in Australia. Over here they are kept as pets. Why not allow the supply meet the demand? PETA and CITES have really gone overboard on the control of importing. However I am not shipping birds, but a few seeds to a fellow gardener in Australia, who I know beyond a doubt will not be planting them out in the wild, nor will they ever see the outside of a pot.

While on or side of the pond, many pelt bearing animals are being starved because there is no demand for the fur. They are over populating then maraud farms for their chickens and other livestock. I remember the bear we had in our back woods, he ate over $300 worth of chicken dinner before we could get the phone number from animal regs for the county trapper, it took two days for the trapper to finally catch the bear. He could not be relocated, so was killed a few feet from my back door. The poor thing had a broken jaw and was 150 pounds under weight. Now that is cruelty to let animals get that skinny, even wild animals. While I understand he had a broken jaw and couldn't hunt, Why was he somewhere where a car could hit him, because it would have taken a really hard impact to break a bear's jaw. He would have had to be looking for food.

What about the mountain lion in the creek? He is also skinny, so skinny that I won't let my children walk down there unless they are in a large group and with an adult. Or the one which was walking through San Luis Obispo, our county seat, a few months ago. It wasn't doing anything, just walking around, but it got some buck shot between the eyes for just trying to find some food. That is cruelty. Fur bearing animals are no longer hunted, and now are facing many diseases, like mange, and rabies. This is all done in the name of humane treatment of animals. It is ignorance pure and simple. These animals need to be put down if they are obvious not healthy. They need to be put down if their food supply isn't meeting the demands of the species. This is for the better of the whole species. We could always send the pelts to other countries which are going to be freezing come winter because they have lost their homes in earthquakes fires and tornados.

It's well known the smaller the area an animal lives in, eventually through the generations the animals get smaller. Look at Shetland ponies, and the pygmy elephants of Borneo. They probably got stranded on their islands and instead of starving, bred themselves into smaller animals. This is also true of animals in larger areas, they get bigger. Reptiles are an excellent example, they continue to grow all their life. I have a feeling that Noah only needed one kind of cat and one kind of dog to take along on his boat, selective breeding did the rest. In some cases it doesn't have to be generations. Look at gold fish, a gold fish in a bowl will always stay the size it can safely be in such a small space, but you put the fish in a large pond and it is the size of a nice koi in no time. It doesn't take a degree to figure this out.

We see the same kinds of adaptation in humans, fairer skinned people are from areas where there is less light, darker skinned people from more sunny and hot areas. The needs of the community was adapted in the genetics of the whole. A fair skinned person will either get darker or die of heat stroke in Africa, while a darker skinned person will turn pale in a more northern area. There is no difference in what makes us human. Who cares about skin color, though except maybe Darwin who said that black people were more primitive examples of humanity. This smacks as bigotry. But then he was trying miserably to prove a case he had no proof of, of which he later recanted. It is still being taught as fact, no longer a theory, but fact! We are all human and have been human since the beginning of the world, or at least six days from the beginning of the world, but that's another argument.

Anyway, off the rabbit trail. I am also trying to legally import some aloes from South Africa. Never mind that these seedlings have never been in habitat, nor their parents for that matter, I still need a book's worth of paperwork to import them and about $200 in fees. No wonder so many people say forget about the papers and send plants illegally anyway. It's not like I'm asking for the whole population of one kind of aloe. I just want a few plants. Each plant is going to end up costing me about $20 each, for seedlings no matter! I'll never be able to make that money back, unless I can find some super cheap, super good fertilizer which causes them to grow by leaps and bounds without causing mutations.

So I ask, is thinning of the population of one species beneficial to the colony as a whole? Yes it is! That is the only logical answer. PETA and CITES need to take a number in the line that gives out common sense and accommodate. That's all I have to say.

A Visit to Grow!

I know it's been a while since I've posted here, life has been long and hard lately. I trust that the Lord will give me some rest soon. Anyway, I have a few posts which I am going to stagger date wise. I will try to get the dates about the right time of the happenings....



You all know if you've read any of my posts how much I love going to Grow in Cambria, CA. It is about my favorite nursery by far. Nick the cactus guy, as my children call him, is a really nice guy and goes out of his way to please his customers.



He is also the President of the local Cactus & Succulent Society. Richard, who works there is also really neat, he makes some of the pottery for the shop. I can't say much about the pottery because my mouth is drooling thinking about some of the beautiful pieces there. hehe Anyway, it is a must stop, if anyone is in the Cambria area.



Our tour begins at the front door. The front garden area is more than one picture can handle, lucky you! This visit, Nick's wife was there to greet me and was kind enough to let me take a few pictures. While my husband sat in the car waiting impatiently.



Usually my husband is forgiving of what I buy, but his eyes glazed once he realized I was coming home with about eight large plants. I think I got an excellent price. He didn't. This visit, I got VIP treatment and got to talk to Nick while he was out of town.




The open sign shows a sense of humor. When closed, it says, "Shut." My usual day for visiting is Mondays, since I can drop DH off at work and do some shopping while in own. I love the feel of the front walkway. It is very inviting, and precludes what wonders are inside perfectly.





To the left of the door, there are all sorts of goodies to be seen. My daughter loves looking at the Lithops. She calls them all "Teds" and "Ted Friends." My eldest son named his first Lithops, "Ted" his baby toes was "Tedville" then there was "Ted City" and "Tedtropolis." When he was younger, he named everything "Rocky." All I could think of was Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa. Imagine a Lion Fish with Stallone's face. Anyway, she took after her big brother in calling them "Teds." Don't get me going on "Grandpa Fish."



A beautiful Euphorb crest and some nice Sansieveria. Sans are about the easiest plants to neglect and thrive on neglect. If you are heavy on the watering Sans, are not for you. One of these days I'm going to buy a few Sans from Nick. One I really want is a club Sans, which I haven't seen for quite a while. Look in the next post for a Sans that is to die for which came from Nick's shop. Nick is also beginning to sell begonias. I know they wouldn't last a wkk in my house. They are pretty, but a complete waste of money. Nick top dresses ever plant which comes in. I really prefer them not to have a dressing, but I guess he sells more that way.




Here is another nice Sans with some of the beautiful pottery as a background. Don't they make you want to drool also? If I ever get into Sans, this would probably be the first plant I'd buy, if it's still there. I'd also buy a nice Richard pot to plant it in. ;) It is a beautiful fan shape. This really appeals to me. some sans I see are just a large mess of leaves with no rhyme or reason to their shape. this one is lovely. I would put it in the shallow pot in the right hand corner of this picture.




Aeonium tabuliforme is huge in it's 10 in pot. I have never seen one so big. It's a lovely plant, which is another thing I'm sure to kill with kindness. The last time I was in he had some smaller plants which were tabling, this one he sold to someone, hopefully it's in a nice shaded spot where it won't burn. My Aeoneums have all sunburned. I'm ashamed to show them to anyone. I finally had to uproot them and I put them in a hanging basket with a few agaves. I hope they do better shaded.




Now for the back area.... I love this area, although I'm not a big pokey fan, I do like to look at all the plants, I'd probably kill within a week of having them. I'll stick to Epiphyllums, Hoyas, and Rhipsalis. That's great, because I could really go bankrupt if I did. This is a really nice Variegated Aeoneum crest. I killed my last one, so I'll leave it for others to grow.





A lovely Aloe which is probably well over 20 years old. This thing is huge, I think it's grown in the ground and holds well during the winter. Nick has an amazing aloe which probably came from this batch, it is in a tree form, which the others like it Nick said are clumping aloes. It sure is a beauty though, one I'd love to have in my collection. No maybe not, I'd probably kill it also.




I love this Pachy crest, it was at the C&SS show and sale. I do hope Nick sold it, I am tempted to take it home with me every time we go to Grow. I love how the waggon wheel accents the Pachy, I think this would make an excellent post card from Grow, hint hint, Nick if you read this!

And one of the ones which came home with me... Epiphyllum "Andromeda" You can see more of the beautiful pottery behind it.

Gotta Love Freecycle

Finally something blog-worthy. I made bank in the last couple of days off of freecycle. Yesterday I got some cuttings off of a large Crassula obovata and a division of a Sansiveria.

Today I got a whole slew of Echeveria, three colonies to be exact. Luckily the soil was sand, so it only took about an hour to pull them all up.


A nice haul, my helpers were wonderful. :) I also got a lovely Pregnant Onion.

Next week I'll be picking up some octopus Agave pups, and maybe a huge hibiscus. This guy was one which had to be left behind, but they still want it removed. So I'm hoping it's still there next week.

Plant Cleaning and Bug Remedies

I thought today I'd give a few recipes for different plant ailments and such. A lot of plants have went to the garden compost because of spider mites. More plants than I ever want to admit to, so let's start there. I was using veggie wash for using on my plants with mites and surprisingly it works wonders. I read the ingredients on the bottle and all it was was lemon juice, baking soda, water, soap, and grapefruit seed extract. Other veggie washes use vinegar, but I am leery of using vinegar because it can kill plants if used too strongly.
I have a friend who recommends tobacco for mites, but it does carry diseases which kills tomatoes, so again I am leery of using it.
So without further adieu a few recipes for mites and aphids.

#1 1 tablespoon lemon juice 10 drops grapefruit seed extract 2 tablespoons low-sodium baking soda 1 cup purified water three drops Tabasco sauce and a few drops of garlic juice
Mix well in a sprayer bottle. Shake before use. Spray plants and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Rinse well.

#2 Combine 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice to 2 Tablespoons of baking soda with 1 cup of water. I put this mixture in a sprayer bottle and keep it under the sink. Spray fruits and veggies and allow them to sit for a few minutes then wipe with a towel. This also makes for a safe cleaner for counters and such.

#3 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 tablespoons baking soda 1 cup water Put this mixture in a sprayer bottle. After spraying, let produce sit for a few minutes. Rinse well.

Now for scale. The best remedy I have found was given to me by a good friend on Garden Web. She says to add about a cap full to a quart sprayer and fill the rest with water, spray liberally and the scale is suffocated. I tried this with none of the burning which alcohol causes. I will include that recipe also since some people do not like the fishy smell.
scale/mealy bug removal:
1/2 cup rubbing alcohol/1-1/2 cup water, put in sprayer and add a couple drops of dish soap and some garlic juice. This works well but use it in a well ventilated area and do not let plant sit in sun. you can spray your plant after everything dries.

I also take plants into the shower and put them on the floor letting my shampoo drip onto the leaves, then rinse. This also helps if your plants get dusty or just need a perk.

Now to fertilizers.
A lot of times I find that my husband leaves half a pot of coffee when he goes to work. A lot of times I dilute this coffee and give it to my plants. It works he same way as peat does, but does not compact the soil as peat added to it does. Tea works in the same concept and a lot of times i will add the coffee grounds and tea bags to my potting mix.

I make my own fert sometimes which consists of 12 oz. of beer, 1/2 cup plain old household ammonia not sudsing or scented, 1 cup Epsom salts, plus 2 cups of water (making a quart or so), mixed and diluted to 1 Tbsp. (1/2 fl. oz.) in a gallon of water used every two weeks. I use this for plants which are yellowing and for my outside succulents. It gives too much of a push to some plants so I don't use it as often as nor as strong as prescribed. The lady who gave me this formula uses it on everything even her Hoyas with great results. I used nonalcoholic beer and it didn't change the carb intake any. Some people use black strap molasses in it also, but I'm leery because of the ant problem I have.

The other fertilizer I use is Eleanors VF-11 which I can't sing praises loud enough for this one. It's not a fertilizer really, but a plant food. Whatever it is it is a wonderful addition to any one's arsenal of plant potions. Well there you have it, a few of the things I use to help make my plants beautiful.

My Inheritance

It's been over a year since my grandmother died. I really didn't expect any inheritance from her because she was a missionary pastor's wife and has live day to day most of her life. My uncle had been taking care of all their bills and such and there really wasn't much left for him or my father to inherit all said and done. We kids didn't expect anything because all belonged to my dad and uncle.
I was surprised yesterday when my mom called and said I had received a (very) small check from my uncle for my inheritance. It was just enough to pay a bill or two and get something cheap for the kids for Hanukkah/Christmas. It couldn't have come at a better time since DH has been laid off for a month and I have quit my job working for the evil bird lady. The cupboards have been empty for way too long. To celebrate our good fortune, my children were given a few dollars to buy Hanukkah/Christmas presents at the dollar store and I got an anthurium at the grocery store. Hanukkah/Christmas is still going to be tight, but at least we will have a few little things to give each other. Isn't it a beauty?


Some more plant I've bought from my inheritance, I'd like to say that my Schlums all bloomed for me stupendously this year but to be honest, not one of them bloomed, not even a bud! So I had to rescue a few from various places so I'd feel like celebrating the holidays.This is the first installment of Schlum blooms, with more to come as the days go by.

Beach Dancer, a new one for me, $4 at Trader Joe's. The best price on 4 in pots I've seen this year. I've never seen this one before. I can't wait for the bloom to finally open. Nichole, The photo does not do her justice, she looks like a pink candy cane

Stephanie, an older bloom but the colors are nice

A NOID orange I rescued from Walmart, the stems keep breaking off so I may have to repot the whole lot of them in a smaller container.

and Victoria, a white from OSH. Whites are more likely to turn pink with the cold. The smaller Victoria I bought from Trader Joe's does not have pink buds, so they must have come from different sources.

It really feels like the holidays now. I may share a few with my mom, but then again, she has her own Schlum. She doesn't need any more.

10 Herbs You Cant Live Without

I was going through some old things I'd written on my website and I'll be sharing them through the days until I no longer have writers block. Here is installment #1:

10 Herbs You Cant Live Without

Mint: Can you believe there are over 500 cultivars of this wonderful plant? Uses are medicinal, for teas, potpourris, and even baking, to name a few. With so many flavors and uses everyone should at least find one they like.

Basil: The King of Herbs. This plant guards temples, lives in England, Thailand, Japan, and definitely it is loved in America. It is a must for Italian dishes, it has even found itself in desserts.

Chives: Smaller cousin to garlic and onions, it was used to give energy to the builders of the Pyramids in Egypt. You can use it in salads, as a garnish, or anytime you need an energy rush.

Garlic: Yes, garlic is considered an herb. It was also given to the pyramids' builders. It is a great thing to take when you feel a cold coming on. Garlic is also a good antioxidant. For a toothache people would put garlic in their shoe or tied to the opposite side's wrist. Since the oils are absorbed through the skin, this makes sense. (My Husband tried it and it helped him, surprisingly enough.) It can also be taken as a natural depression fighter, and yes it works for that also.

Parsley: For all those avid garlic eaters. It is mainly used as a garnish. It's there for a reason, just one sprig will kill any bad breath you have especially garlic breath. It is used in Salsa for that and other reasons, also.

Thyme: This tiny plant can be used in anything, from desserts, to main dishes, to teas. It is also used for medicinal purposes. Thymol is a great disinfectant, also.

Rosemary: I love this plant it needs a lot of light to survive though, not a candidate for inside culture, unless you can supplement it's light. In some parts of the country it is imperative that you bring it inside in the winter. It is better to grow it as an annual in those parts. Use a sprig for a BBQ brush, or skewer for shish kabobs.

Lemon Balm: The bee herb. This is the best plant if you need pollinators in your yard. Great in teas, and cakes also. It comes in lime flavor, variegated green and gold, and all gold colors also. If you want a wonderful shine on your wood, rub some lemon balm leaves on it.

Lavender: A wonderful plant for potpourri, bath time, and also crafts. You can also cook with it. This is also an outside plant.

Hot Peppers: Yes, hot peppers, The hotter the better to fight the nasty cold bug. Have you ever wondered why the Hispanics are never sick, probably because of the hot, hot food. And all peppers are edible. Peppers, like tomatoes are also perennials if kept in good light and out of frost.

He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and the herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth; Psalms 104:14

Colors Shown Could Be An Ugly Thing

Well, I'm unemployed again, and I praise the Lord for making it so before we moved. About 6 weeks ago we were contacted by DH's birth uncle, and it turns out that my husband is in fact Jewish, by birth, which once the blood work is done we could move to Israel. What were we going to do about the job we hired on as managers for a 7 year contract? Well The Lord took care of it. The bird lady started getting ugly and showing what she really was, so I started to have second thoughts. First she told me that I wouldn't be able to keep any sort of kosher, we had already decided to nill the pork and shellfish by then, so it was getting easier. Then she started to take parental liberties with my children she had no business butting into, and the last straw was when she lied to her lawyer to try and get her property manager's real estate licence. After that I knew we'd made a mistake by telling her we'd move out with her.

About three weeks or so ago, I prayed that if we were doing the wrong thing by moving with the bird lady, that the Lord stop it immediately. It wasn't half an hour later that my husband, daughter, and I were walking home in the dead of night. It's been three weeks and still she has over $1500 in wages and stuff that belongs to our family. I guess that's a small price to pay for being liberated from bondage. DH has told me to cut all ties with her so she has no reason to complain about us, well theoretically at least.

Anyway, I did get a few things out of the job. I got some doves, but Caesar, even though Cody worked his tail off to earn the bird, is not to be found in our home. The guinea pig had babies, so now we have 4 of them and the rabbits are still healthy, all are living in my plant room for the moment until I can build a coop for the doves and move the other animals to hutches. The cats are enjoying watching them and knocking down my plants in the process. We even have some strange cats hanging around, ugh!

I did get enough money to buy some beautiful plants from Grow, of which I am going to share with you all. (see below) I got a great deal on these plants, and I thank Nick for giving them to me. The crown jewel of the lot was a 5 ft Hoya obovata which cost me all of $38 with 15% off. I also got some huge epiphyllums and some other hoyas and a dischidia and a xero-something which is related to a cucumber. Maybe we should have saved our money, but it was great being able to buy things I'd not been able to in a long time.

Now to the exciting part, We got to meet my husband's birth father and some of his family. We also went to Magic Mountain and I got to go to the ESA meeting which was fun. I met people like Pat Dobbins of Epies by Pat and Mark Piette, of Epigalleria. I also met MR Beardsley, the curator of the Pentico Collection, the largest collection of Epiphyllum in the nation. I also came home with beau coup cuttings and plants from the meeting. I wish I could have visited some nurseries while in LA and SD, but it didn't work, neither did I get to meet any of my Garden Forums friends which I have been corresponding with for ages. I hope next time it will be less of a rushed trip, and we will be able to go more places while visiting with our newly found family.

Well that's what has been happening around here. We are excited to find out finally that DH is Jewish, and also grateful that the Lord stepped in and intervened in our behalf.

So here goes folks some pictures of my finds at Grow:

And a picture of a lovely I got from the ESA meeting.