Hi!
I had my second meeting this afternoon so I thought about sharing what i learned with my favourite peeps, the DG Av forum!!!!
We talked about shows and how to space the leaves using stakes and how to remove baby leaves that grow underneath the lowest row of leaves.
One interesting thing that was said is tha tOptimara AVs are potted up by machines so they are set too deep in the soil/pot. The best thing is to repot is using a shallow pot and planting the AV up after removing the soil around the leaves.
Potting Mix:The lady who sells on ebay used 3 parts AV mix and 2 parts perlite mixed together. she said that vermiculite does not work on humid places as it holds moisture. She also said to sieve the perlite and only use the bigger bits, throwing away the powdery part as it can burn the roots.
Talking about root burning, it was said that urea is OK if under 10% in plants food. The best food is Peters commercial feed 20/20/20 as commercial feeds do not have a high urea percentage.
Don't spray your plants with pesticides/ chemicals when the plant is not contaminated as it gives bugs resistance against the used chemical. Send the plant to a research center so they can detect what is wrong and advise on pesticides/chemicals to be used. Neem oil and lysol are OK for prevention.
For powdery mildew use 1/2 tea spoon of sulphur in 2 cups of warm water and some drops of inseticide soap. Spray the plant with it and repeat a week later.
The best chemical for thrips is Conserve. It is not toxic to us.
Please peeps, I am not saying that the above is right or wrong or that we should change our ways. It is only feedback from my meeting and some of you may want to try some of these tips.
what I learned today during my AV club meeting
Anna..that's very interesting and informative...love hearing more from yuor meetings.
Thanks for sharing your meeting with us Anna ! Sounds like a great meeting.
I like Peter's Av food I've used often and it had no Urea.
Nice info Anna ! Thanks :)) Your a good Peep !
Sounds like it was a interesting meeting.Thanks for the tips Anna.
Thanks Anna. Did Spider get to go too?