I learned lots of new things at my first AV Club meeting and met lots of knowledgeable and nice folks. I bought a few leaves and small plants as well: Chirita Hisako and C. Diane Marie, AV Apache Freedom, Private Dancer, Storm's Eye and Water Dancer. Av Leaves of Bob Serbin, Joe Bob, Sassy Sadie, Buckeye Sentimental reasons and Ness' Crinkle Blue. I couldn't bring myself to try the Pets yet b/c I've heard lots of people struggle with them!
Marie Burns showed me how to separate my AV babies. That was fun, as I'd bought my own little cup of babies for demonstration.:)
Helpful info I gathered:
1.) If you line your permanest trays with black plastic, it will keep algae growth down.
2.) If you wick your streps, leave the wick coiled in the bottom of the cup rather than hanging over the top. This decreases the amount of water the plant gets.
3.) Streps don't like alkaline soil. Water with Miracid- 1/8 tsp. per gallon water.
4.) In this region, streps do super well in the following soil mix: Bacto Potting Mix(1) Perlite(3) Worm Castings 1/2c, charcoal 2tsp.
5.) You still should turn your plants weekly even when growing under floros, to ensure even growth, particularly when growing them at the ends of the bulbs.
6.) One way to determine if you have mites is if the hairs are grey AND bent over at a 45 degree angle.
7.) when potting up violets, use the "pot in pot" method to ensure even centering and soil placement.
8.) the recommend ratio of fert. for violets is now 20-20-20. Some studies have shown that violets now adays need more nitrogen.
9.) when it comes to wicking, the number of strands you use could vary depending on your conditions. If yours tend to be dry, you may need to use 2 strands per pot for more water.
Monday Night's AV Club Meeting
wow , wonderful tips, good to know.
mrsbonnie
Looks like you had a great meeting! Thanks so much for sharing the info. Good luck with your new babies...you picked some pretty ones.
Connie
See! Join a club, it makes all the difference. Wait until you see them scrape a long neck violet! that was my first meeting and I'll always remember the impact it made as I'd never heard of that before! You've got some great starter plants! I'm so glad you have a club nearby and joined and had a great meeting!
tish
Growhappy did they explain what the pot in pot method is? I have not heard of that and can't for the life of me imagine what it is or how you do it.
Anna,
The pot in pot method works like this:
Take the plant out of the pot it resides in. Place that empty pot inside(centered) the larger pot you are moving the plant to. Fill the dirt in the space between the outside of the old pot and the inside of the new pot. Remove the old pot and place the plant in the hole where the old pot was. Gently firm the soil around the plant. Voila!
Hope I explained it well?
GrowHappy, how many people were in the club? What is the membership fee? Other members brought in plants to sell?
Any speakers?
Just asking because I just joined a club too, was wondering what others were like.
I wish our club was larger and had more growers so we could buy one another's plants and leaves............sounds like you joined a great one!!
I do think that everyone has to work out what works for them............David Thompson, hybridizer of a lot of American streps, says to use 20-20-20 fertilizer on them and never a bloom booster. Also, if you are using reverse osmosis water with 1/2 tap water, you certainly wouldn't want to use Miracid or the water would be too acidic. (I would think.....only my opinion) ( I do use reverse osmosis water mixed with tap water)
Different strokes for different folks but sounds like you are well on your way to success in the area you are growing in............congratulations and good luck!!! Sounds like fun to me!
JMP- There were about 16(?) people there that night. The membership dues are $15 annually. Yes, several members brought in plants or leaves to sell- this is a request made before every meeting. Marie Burns(Club Vice President) was our guest speaker. She is a pretty well-known person around these parts- Mid-Atlantic. If you google her like this(Marie Burns African Violets), you get some hits. If you choose images, you can see what she looks like too. Very nice, knowledgeable lady.
Edited to say that I bought some leaves(AVs and Streps) too and put them on the sale table! I forgot to take my dissected plant home with me, too.(the one Marie showed me how to separate). Sometimes I would forget my name if people wouldn't call it everyday. LOL
This message was edited Sep 17, 2009 7:03 PM
I got an email today from the club president telling me that I'd left my plant at her house! She's going to bring it to the club sale on Oct. 3rd & 4th. She told me that she and Marie were going to be my mentors since they live closest to me. How cool!!!!!
I'm off to order some AV leaves from Violet Gallery!!! Somebody stop me!! LOL
It's wonderful to have a AV club so close!! I don't have one anywhere nearby. But I have heard that next year the AV convention is supposed to be held in Raleigh, NC. If this is true......guess who's gonna be there!! LOL!!
I am planning on going next year..........I don't fly but Raleigh, NC is not that far from me!!!!
Melanie! I'm so glad to see you!
Are you really gonna go, Gail? If several DG members are there, I'll do my best to go, too! Wouldn't we all have a ball?? LOL
I'm going to go, too! North Carolina is my home. I won't stay with family though b/c they live too far away from Raleigh.(about 1.5 hours) The best part would be finally getting to meet all of you wonderful ladies and gents!(Oh, and getting to buy some plants)
Okay, so if I'm gonna get there, I have to start planning now. LOL Does anybody know when and where this shindig is? :o) I'm excited!
It's at a Hilton, I believe. Maybe check out the AVSA site to see if they have any new details?
I learned last night that the 2011 AVSA conv. will be in Philadelphia. That's even closer to me than Raleigh, by about 2 hours!
That a whole 'nother year to wait, though! LOL NC would be closer for me, so I'm going to go find the details on it...
Ok..........Grow Happy,
I went out to my storage shed and found a brand new container of Miracid.......though I am very nervous about this, I am going to try 1/8 tsp per gallon of tap water on my streps next time. Everyone say a little prayer it just makes them happy!! (LOL)
Yay Gail!!! I'm going to buy some on my next trip to the garden store, I'll try the experiment along with you!:)
If Miracid makes you nervous,you can water once a month with I Tb. of vinegar per gallon of water.If you don't repot very often,bear in mind that the peat in your soiless mix becomes more acidic as it breaks down.
Lynn, I can't ever have vinegar again (LOL)
A girl from Florida told me to use the vinegar and water to make my tropical plants bloom and I killed them all................(I might (smiling) used more than a tablespoon to a gallon of water). I love Miracid for all acid loving plants like azaleas, etc. but am going to barely use 1/8 tsp per gallon and just see what it does to my streps (sounds kinda wild to me).
I bought the Miracid today and two more bags of perlite and some charcoal. I couldn't find the Baccto soil. One more place to check though. I have a source for the dolemitic(sp?) lime and worm castings. If I can't find the Baccto soil, I'll buy the lime separately and just mix it in my own medium.
I don't use lime in my soil but I forget that our water stays at a ph of 7.8. That is mighty alkaline.
Yes,that's too alkaline for most things.Have you tested your soil PH?
I haven't tested the Volkmann's wicking mix I use but I assume it is a winner as everyone I know down here uses it...........but our outside soil measures even higher than our water.............or maybe just 1/10th lower in value. It is good black land farming but not good for anything else (LOL)
I wish my club was more fun . . . am formulating a 'plan' for next meetings' conversations . . .
PA is even further away than NC!! I would really like to go to a national convention, but NC . . . I don't know . . . maybe I'll see where the MAAVS convention will be next year . . . work my way up, you know? I've done the local, getting ready for state, then do regional, then national?
Gail, I'd say the Volkmann's makes a good mix with your water as far as ph . . . your plants look great!
Lynn, Gail- thanks for the advice on testing the soil FIRST! I went and read some older issues of AVM last night and they talk about this. I will test the PH first and save my money until I know I need it!:)
Most soiless mixtures of good quality will be slightly acid to neutral.A lot depends on what you add to the mix,what type of water you use and how often you repot.Also,some contain trace elements,added fertilizer,pinebark or lime.
If you do a search on a certain mix it should give you the PH.
Growhappy you explained it well thank you.