PBS Forum

Quote from: illahe on December 30, 2023, 08:20:23 AMHi Peter,

Have you looked into these phase change tiles? They seem to offer a higher btu benefit than passive solar capture like water barrels in in a much smaller footprint. You could line a greenhouse bench or insulate a sun gathering wall with them. I'm hoping to give them a try in my new high efficiency climate battery greenhouse design i'm working on. link here: phase change tiles

Interesting! A quick browse shows relatively high temperature phase change, do they come in lower temperature ones for keeping a greenhouse over freezing? And what is the approximate price per 2'x2' panel?

Quote from: Bern on December 24, 2023, 09:16:01 AMIf I remember from the List there are PBS members who own PAR meters and are using them. It would be great to hear about their experiences with them.  I'm thinking about purchasing one and it would be helpful to know more about them from a person currently using one.

I have a PAR meter (~US$150?) that I use to check lighting for the indoor bulbs[1]. Also, to verify outdoor lighting situations.

I do not use it at a level (accuracy, consistency, etc) to justify the price, but it does do the job in a handy package. What it does do is let me track and reproduce what individual species prefer or tolerate in my conditions. Interesting sometimes just how little light some forest floor plants want, compared to fall sun!

[1] Irresistible geophyte aroids that tolerate my (even indoors) cool tropical conditions.

Robert
Cool sunny SF, in a break between storms

Quote from: CG100 on December 10, 2023, 08:11:13 AM

Quote from: Robert_Parks on December 10, 2023, 07:38:24 AMPresumably G. tinctoria is already banned?

Yes, banned a few years ago, hence my comment about worst case parent.

If you look at the "logic" of the whole thing, it is being banned because it is a hybrid of a banned species, no other reason. Maybe somewhere down in SW England, or somewhere very close to the coast in the W of Scotland (which actually has a very mild climate over large parts due to it getting "hit" by the Gulf Stream), there are large stands of the plant outside of gardens and parks, "feral"?

I have lived in S Devon and W Scotland, and saw no evidence of any problems.

Sounds like there is someone who has a hate on for tinctoria, and they are well connected or very persistent to drive this. Next they'll try for manicata. I think the next Gunneras in cultivation are quite a bit smaller.

Quote from: CG100 on December 10, 2023, 12:48:23 AM

Quote from: janemcgary on December 09, 2023, 04:10:05 PMInteresting that they use an English name "giant rhubarb."

I don't think that I have ever heard anyone with any kind of gardening interest or knowledge use the name in the UK - it is always called Gunnera.

Otherwise, I suppose it is an obvious common name to pick.

Quite why there is now this hue and cry about it is difficult to understand. Apart from Paignton Zoo, I have never seen anything but (very) modest clumps and in most of the UK it needs to be buried under plenty of straw each winter to protect againgst anything but very mild frosts.

Presumably G. tinctoria is already banned? No surprised that it hybridizes freely...they are pretty similar. It volunteers freely in Golden Gate Park, but it appears that gardeners weed it preferentially when seedling appear out of place. Otherwise quite marginal given the frost sensitivity and moisture requirements. There are some impressive stands in the park, often placed under tree ferns (or in some cases, over planted with tree ferns).

I have two varieties, one milder, one spicier, this is consistent in leaf, stem, and rhizome. The real thing has a distinct taste different from fake wasabi, but they are obviously relatives. Milder and more delicate, to the point that finely sliced rhizomes are a pleasant taste. The leaves are succulent and non-stringy enough in season to eat straight, and probably would be very fine if chopped or sliced in a salad...you get a few seconds of fresh green mild crucifer, and then you get some amount of zing!

They get moist well-drained conditions, shade, and high elevation tropical temperatures, usually high humidity. They grow slowly in the summer despite irrigation. One variety will wilt in moist soil if struck my direct sunlight, or if the temperatures are pleasant and the humidity is below San Francisco normal, the other takes more of these conditions but grows slower overall...in either case their soil is still moist. Misting and more watering perks them right up.

It is very proliferous, and any side bud will root and grow if broken off and planted.

I have not tried any fancier irrigation/culture beyond moving them to shadier and shadier corners of the back yard, and daily hand watering.

Samsung Fold5: scroll  by swipe(no visible scroll bar), on both the narrow front screen, and wide tablet screen. Works either way for me, as the tablet screen is almost the usual width of a desktop browser page.

The harvest is very late this year. Only the potatoes have mostly gone down, and there are still a few clones still green (all from seed). Only a few oca (Oxalis tuberosa) have gone down...got a few pounds from a red clone, but unharvested ones have pushed the soil over the edge of the pots, so plenty down there. Some of the oddities (new to me this year) are still up and green, and flowering heavily if inconspicuously. Mashua (Tropaeolum tuberosum) is still green and flowering, but with bulging pots...the rats left them entirely alone this year. Ulluco (Ullucus tuberosus), up and green and firing off droppers, one clone only is going yellow. Wasabi (an arguable geophyte) is happy as a clam, I can harvest at will.

Yacon also went bad in storage last winter, and the storage tubers are not to my liking (watery, sweet, fibrous), so I didn't try to save it.

I think I'll be able to lift a few planters next week, but the harvest is probably going to extend into the new year.

Quote from: CG100 on November 10, 2023, 11:40:14 AMThis has been suggested as containing a lot of what are presumed to be important ingredients in smoke, in terms of triggering germination -

Colgin Liquid Smoke Natural Hickory 472 ml : Amazon.co.uk: Grocery

Supermarket smoke worked for some fire dependent California chaparral seeds. Smoke paper used as directed worked for some other smoke dependent seeds....which is not to say that I haven't had total failures regardless of treatment.

Robert
mmm...Lanaria lanata, yep, on the wish list.

Quote from: CG100 on November 06, 2023, 06:42:48 AM"What to do with unsuitable geophytes?"

Compost.

Over 20 years ago, I planted the very attractive form of Scilla peruviana that is in commercial production. Maybe 3-4 years later, the pack of 20-30 bulbs produced an entire wheelbarrow full, and amazingly, I got every one as I have seen none since.

I did inherit a far nicer form from my mother - that made a very dense clump with long lax and narrow leaves, which would have taken 50-100 years to be considered invasive (if that isn't a contradiction in terms). Very sadly, now long gone.

That would be the ultimate backup, if noone wanted to take them on. If it had just been the Scilla, it would have already been and gone in the green bin, but with the pile of squills, worth it to find out if someone would take them (which, in face, several people have). I bin a fair number of plants every year, either for failure to thrive, or excess thriving.

Well, of course, send 'em to the BX!

Unless they are too heavy and unwieldy to ship...

If there is anyone local to San Francisco, these are available for pickup:

Urginea maritima (or whatever is currently), multiple bulbs 4-6" diameter, unhappy due to cool summers
Scilla peruviana-large clump, excess to needs
Impatiens insignis-multiple plants, deciduous, wants wet conditions to flower well, may prefer cool summers

Email me if you'd like any or all: Robert's email

Robert
in cool, currently rainy San Francisco...maybe enough wetting rain to sow seeds, and get the planted out bulbs to get going for the winter.

Quote from: Martin Bohnet on October 25, 2023, 02:27:26 PMLast picture fuels the speculation if I'll have my first Tropaeolum tuberosum

Flower Colors:	orange, yellow, red
Flower Season:	late summer
Special:	climber, edible flowers, edible storage organ

flowers this season, last year there was no trace of buds to be found

As long as you get a bit of passable weather you should get a burst of blooms...mine tend to bloom in surges, different cultivars overlapping as they go in and out of bloom.

Quote from: David Pilling on October 10, 2023, 07:09:23 AMI've still got a long way to go before I can purchase a botanic garden.

Every botanic garden starts with a packet of seeds.

Unless you have half a billion US$ to play with

Quote from: Martin Bohnet on September 17, 2023, 04:57:58 AM@Wylie I take your xAmarine tubergenii and raise by xAmarcrinum 'Fred Howard' - now I wish I'd ever gotten the "plant in between" back to flower, but Amarillis belladonna only ever give leaves to me besides the first year and, other than the Amarine, which seems perfectly hardy, the Amaryllis leaves suffer from hard frosts.

Easy to get leaves, hard to get flowers with Amaryllis in off conditions. If they are generally healthy, a simulated fire can prompt blooming...weed whacking the leaves near the end of the season, clearing overgrowth in the spring/summer may give sudden results!

But, as you know, a cold winter is a problem, and they perform poorly potted.

I've planted a lot of Amaryllis in the street median, which suits them well, sun, poor soils, and little competing plant growth. Some actually get substantial summer water from fog dripping off the street trees, but it doesn't affect flowering. Among the standard Amaryllis are obvious Brunsvigia hybrids, enormous fast growing bulbs, bigger inflorescences, and broader color ranges. Which is a reminder to stop babying my Brunsvigia seedlings and get them in the ground.

Heh, Root disturbance does the trick! Just like the best Amaryllis bloom is the ones where the leaves were weed-whacked off towards the end of the season (aka "Maybe we just had a wildfire?")

Quote from: Bwosczyna on August 28, 2023, 09:01:04 PMInteresting things to consider. But the leaf on the mother corm was variegated last year and the offset corms from last year are all green as well.

No worries.  I have time and I have room.  I'll cut some stems and see what happens. 
B

Interesting! Glad you have time to experiment...the best I can do is remember to take pictures. Impressive how much the variegation changes from year to year, and from offset to offset...heck, one of the offsets put up a second leaf that is 75% very pale green while the old leaf is less than 10% variegated.