I got some soil and I did put in extra perlite in it But when I water it seems like it dosen't drain do you think I have to much perlite in it;
I just read on the bag that before you pot plant moisten soil .its Volkmann Bros. African Violet Potting Soil do you think that I didn't mositen it thats why
I am going to have to play more with my plants they arn't bloomming and I think that its just to cold in here I have the heat at 62 till I can't stand it any more than turn it up to warm the house Last month it wasn't that cold and my bill was a 100bucks I am only heat the downstairs I close off the upstair and have plastic on my windows putting more up tomarrow.
I have saved money but thats not the point its just go's out the window ^_^ no not really
Oh Sorry got off what I was talking about What do you guys think
Hugs
Dimmer(AKA) Kim
I just wonder?
Hi Kim...Volkmanns holds a lot of water so I think it is good you added extra perlite. Why do you say your pots don't drain? When you water, does water come out of the holes in the bottom or not? Please explain more.
I know what you mean about heating bills being high and I do try to conserve also. I love the wood stove downstairs and all the heat it produces for a lot less money than electricity.
Violets when it's in the 60's won't grow and bloom as much plus if growing in natural light, the days are shorter and they are getting less number of daylight hours and that will decrease blooming.
Do you grow under lights?
Kim, you are further North than I am, I am closes to St. louis, my AV's were not blooming well in one window so I moved them to another window, they bloomed up a bit, so I put them in the widow during daylight, then put them under a grow light for a couple of hours. I don't keep them under there all of the time, just a few hours a day. How dry is it in your house? I read where someone used moist mats, maybe just a little moisure would help too???? Hey, I'm learning too, just some food for thought, oh yeah, are you using and AV food?? I use Mircle Grow.
I was tyransplantting the other day and mix the soil with perlite It seem to sit on top of the pot before I stuck a pen in to have the water go though ( Bad Speeler I am)
I have my plants in the east and west window no north and only1 south I have heat matts and lites I have taken some pic
This is facing east heat matts under the 2 and 3rd shelf
This is facing west it is on a long heat matt
Most of the plants are over a year old but I work Spring Summer and fall and till nov in winter sowith having 1 day off I need to do other thing and coming home after a 12 hour day I fall into a deep sleep after my shower
Are you by any chance packing the medium in the pot?
No all the dirt is lose fill 1/2 than plant then more dirt
I have to fix that picture I thought I did Its stright on the picture I hope it come out better now I just don't under stand why its not work The pic
I think I got it stright now
I'm sure if there is anywhere to find out how to get them to bloom your in the right place!! Even though its not me!! Maybe late bloomers???? (not funny, I know). Good luck with your blooms, please post what works, I love reading and learning from all of this!! Thanks for shareing!
I was reading today on rob'sviolets somthing about them cold lite. I have to maybe do repotting soon I just started to wash out the small pots and put new dirt in them I will also be putting up that window stuff for the cold air so that may help and put a hummitifier (SP) Moisture in the air and a fan move that air around and than go from there
Get all the dead stuff off the plants I have a big job ahead of me and clean all my shelf wipe them down I will have help will take pic of all the mess We make
Hi Kim;
I also live in ill. & do not have that problem, first off, i don't think you have eough light for your plants to bloom,what kind of lights are you useing? Can't tell from the picture. i have south faceing windows that i have plants on all year long & they are almost always in bloom.maybe the plastic keeps some light out?I relize when you work you don't have alot of time & light set ups are not always cheap, but walmart does have 2 ft lights with 2 bulbs that look like they would work for your set up. i think i paid 10 or 15.00 for them & they work great.also water should go right thru pearlite as i always use it, hope this helps some.
bonnie
I do have plant lite and plant bulbs But its just not paying attention to them so today I am watering a little heavy cause most of them are dry than I got my pots wash and foud a bunsh of new ones so I will be adding fresh dirt The plasitc is clear so this is my plan today cause it is snowing
Here is the start of my mess After I wipe down shelfs cut dead off I will be putting window treatment up cause its about 4 degress cold in that room with double doors
Dimmer
Dimmer,
How many hours a day do you the lights set for?
Lynn
I agree with Bonnie. You need a shop fixture from Walmart with 2 bulbs for each shelf...............to really grow gessies. Right now, I have 2 fixtures on each of three shelves just for the Kohlerias and sinningias..........
I also agree,but I am curious about how many hours everyone leaves their lights on.In my zone, we have about 15 hours of natural light during the summer,but only nine or so during the winter.
On my lighted plant tables,I usually would set the timer for 14-16 hours per day for Gessies,during the darker months.
I know a lot depends on how strong the lights are,how many you have and how far away they are from the lights.I would love to hear some input.
Lynn
If you have the same Volkmans soil I have, it needs to be dampened before you use it. I also added more perlite to mine, it seemed to hold too much water without the extra perlite. You should add water (I used warm water), mix and let it sit overnight to absorb before you pot up a plant with it. I thought this soil mix held too much water, so I repotted my plants using another soild mix. I don't use the Volkmans to repot my plants anymore...it works great for me to put in deli containers to root leaves, so that is what I use it for now. There are probably more than one kind, so maybe we don't have the same...this was ordered by our violet club as the older violet ladies have used it for years and loved it, however they thought the formula had changed and decided not to reorder. This has sterofoam balls in it...we didn't like that either.
tish
my lights are on at least 12 a day sometimes more
14 max
plants need time to sleep
JIM
My Lites are 1 bulb I leave on about 13 hours in the winter and I don't turn them on in the summer.
I am cleanning now the plants I did get side track yesterday so I still have a mess.
This is the lite fixture. I still have to clean this shelf up
And this is the one shelf that I did clean it has some of my housplants on
this is what i have & think you could use the small lites like i have.,ine are on for 14 hrs every daybonnie
this is my larger stands
bonnie
I think I need to do alot of work on my plants Jill yours are great looking One day I hope to be just like yours
Bonnie--what is the length of the smaller lights---where'd you get them?
Thanks,it looks like around 14 hours has it.
Lynn
the lenghth is 2 ft. they have them at walmarts & they are great for smaller stands.they have 2 light bulbs in them & they plug into each other, which is nice to.
mrsbonnie
Headed to Walmart--Thanks mrsbonnie!
OHHH I hope my WM has them!!! I just bought a mini-stand --24" wide. I will be going there tomorrow and will check.
Well let me know! I checked my WM about a year ago, and they had nothing suitable for grow lights.
48" is standard for length for shop lights with 2 bulbs. I leave mine on 11-12 hours a day except for the sinningias, Kohlerias and columneas.
Streps wouldn't like 14 hours a day i wouldn't think........just my 2 cents, but I do think Dimmer is not going to get the results she wants until she goes to shop lights and 2 48" full spectrum light bulbs which can all be gotten at Walmart.
Gail--some of us do not have stands that will carry a 48" light, nor do we have the means to just run out and get them. We have to make do with what we have, or can obtain at little cost. Welcome to the recession! ^_^
I have 2 24" under-counter lights and they work just fine--they have the plastic covers and I just set them on top of my sweater boxes. I have(and continue to) grown seedlings and root things under them. They run about $8 ea. A 48"shop light and bulbs would cost the same--but I bought these 1 ea week.--and don't have to hang them. I am really hoping my WM has the 24" fixture for my little stand. These are 27" over all.
I have found some of my best plant stuff at yard sales!! I got a really nice iron plant stand for $5!!! I know its not yard sale season right now, but just food for thought!!
DH put my light from Walmart under one of the kitchen cabinets, it works for now and the way my kitchen is set up, I really can't use that counter to work ok anyway, it was more of a catch all. I also us another $5 yard sale find, a sofa table that has glass insets on the top,works great!! But I don't have any lights over that one. Being creative sometimes is part of the fun for me with all of this.
In my basement I have two of the standard 48" shop lites above each table.They work fine,the fixtures are cheap,and replacement bulbs are only .99 on sale.
On my upstairs plant stand,one shelf takes 18" slim bulbs and the other 24" a little fatter bulbs.In my neck of the woods,you can find both sizes at hardware stores,like Ace,but the thin 18" are only available as 'plant lights' and are quite expensive.The 24" are about $2-$3 a bulb,which is a lot for me.
My basement lights are on for 12 hours a day and plants I bring in for the winter still bloom,like Gerbera Daisys and Begonias.I mostly let the cacti and succulents go dormant.
Upstairs I have them set on 14 hours,but all I have under them right now are a few Rex and rhizomus (sp?) begonias,so 12 hours would probably be plenty,since they are really fairly low light plants anyway.
My upstairs is also quite a bit warmer than the basement.
There are lot of gardeners feeling the crunch of the economy......me included. But........where there is a will, there is a way. I have had several people tell me they pick up stands at garage sales and even gro light fixtures. I set up a 2 foot stand for my grand daughter at Walmart for zippo.......practically.
This was about a year ago........she actually grew that strep. Wait until you see her seedlings of streps she grew without any help because her mom doesn't grow anything green!
Let me just show a few pics of what she grew.
I made the trip up there to show her how to pot up babies.
I only took about a dozen pictures of her treasures. She grew every plant she had from a leaf or seed.
Her terrarium was still alive and healthy.
Here were her babies all potted up under a dome. She was 10 or 11 at the time. OK.....no more granny pics
Gail,
It certainly looks like a little Gessiegail is in the making!! You have given her at least part of those geen thumbs ^_^. And she's such a cutie!!
Lynn