Plant question

[cyberlocc]

If you have isopods they aerate the soil

Yes they do .

Worms will better, and provide worm castings naturally, however they break down the soil faster so it's a give and take.

Isos are very good at eating other stuff as well, Shed, Dead bugs, Poo ect.

 

[Multivitamins]

You really shouldn't remove those. Just cover the soil.


Without grow stones, your soil won't drain, without draining it will compact and your roots will rot. I know a bunch of people here and elsewhere say don't use perlite and stuff, but that is not realistic. You will kill your plants like that.

You can pull the grow stones and use orchid bark, or something. Which will eventually rot and need replaced. However your soil has to have course elements to drain. Using straight cocofiber is not going to work long term.

I removed them from the top to avoid being eaten not the entire bag of soil (that'd be soooo tedious I'd give up in 5 minutes lol) and leave a layer of rocks on the base of my pots also mix some smaller rocks and stones into the soil to help keep the roots from getting bound up while I transplant. I try to airate the soil every few weeks while I've got my dude outside and the plants are getting some sun outside of the enclosure.

 

[cyberlocc]

I removed them from the top to avoid being eaten not the entire bag of soil (that'd be soooo tedious I'd give up in 5 minutes lol) and leave a layer of rocks on the base of my pots also mix some smaller rocks and stones into the soil to help keep the roots from getting bound up while I transplant. I try to airate the soil every few weeks while I've got my dude outside and the plants are getting some sun outside of the enclosure.

Oh okay lol. Ya that's fine, I thought you meant you removed them all lol.

 

[Thatwizard420]

I got an abundance of both worms and Isopods at work.... Yesterday I had a container full, was driving too dumb, they all in my car now..
That Pic Is just under 1 Pot...... We have almost a million potted plants.....
Do people buy wild caught Isopods?

 

[Multivitamins]

Do you run into an issue with isopods over populating ? I'm not bio active so I was worried that they would either over run the pots or not survive in the pots very long if it's covered and they don't get poop.

 

[Thatwizard420]

They

Do you run into an issue with isopods over populating ? I'm not bio active so I was worried that they would either over run the pots or not survive in the pots very long if it's covered and they don't get poop.

They’ll eat the plants from my experience......

 

[cyberlocc]

I got an abundance of both worms and Isopods at work.... Yesterday I had a container full, was driving too dumb, they all in my car now..
That Pic Is just under 1 Pot...... We have almost a million potted plants.....
Do people buy wild caught Isopods?

You buy Isopods, but not WC ones.

WC Isopods, carry heavy metals in their system. If a Cham eats it that's not good. You want to breed them out.

Do you run into an issue with isopods over populating ? I'm not bio active so I was worried that they would either over run the pots or not survive in the pots very long if it's covered and they don't get poop.

I'm not sure of their survival in covered pots. I hear you can overpopulate isopods, to a point, but IDK how. They are like roaches, they will breed as long as their is room and food. No room, not enough food they stop breeding.

In my albiet limited experience but I have only kept a few species.

 

[Thatwizard420]

You buy Isopods, but not WC ones.

WC Isopods, carry heavy metals in their system. If a Cham eats it that's not good. You want to breed them out.



I'm not sure of their survival in covered pots. I hear you can overpopulate isopods, to a point, but IDK how. They are like roaches, they will breed as long as their is room and food. No room, not enough food they stop breeding.

In my albiet limited experience but I have only kept a few species.

My Cham has no interest on them. I know for a fact he doesn’t eat them. I don’t think he can even see them since my soil is covered in biodegradables. Not much soil showing at all....I’m using wild caught ones isopods, hoping eventually they’ll reproduce and make fresh batches.

 

[reddog]

To add to this, I like a 4 step process that a YouTuber I watch uses.

Step 1 - Desoil
Get the plant. Remove all soil, or as much as you can, a little dark on the roots is okay.

Step 2 - Clean
Dip it in water (can be tap) and shake it to get all the soil off and clean the leaves. And let it soak for a few minutes. (5)

Step 3 - Chemical Bath
Then into a new bath, this time 5% bleach (just basic bleach none of the scented stuff or anything). Let it soak in this for a few mins (5-10) then throughly rinse the plant (Tap water still fine) then rinse the plants with RO or Distilled to get all the Chlorine off.

Step 4 - Quarantine (if you have the time)
Put the plants back into a Pot, and place them into a clear storage container preferebally with the foam in the top. Water them and stick them under a light. Leave them in Quarantine them for as long as you can (up to 30 days or so). Do not add future plants to this QT chamber, do a few at the same time and QT together.


That is a sure fire way to make sure there is no buggies or pesticides in the plants, for most plants. Some like roses have systematics pesticides that can last for up to 6 months. However for basic plants this is pretty surefire way to assure no issues.

A bad plant can wipe out all your plants, so while you can skip the Quarantine on the first set, I wouldn't on others.

I have several potted plants on a covered patio that will go in a new Dragon Strand cage when it ships late August. Is going through this effort right now pointless if they will sit out on my porch another 8 weeks before coming inside?

I didn't hardcore sterilize these plants when I bought them, but I did remove the nursery soil and repot them with organic soil. Some plants have been on my covered patio acclimating to the new pots and growing well for a couple weeks now. One plant I just bought last week and needs to be repotted. My new cage won't get here until August. I guess what I am asking is it really necessary to tear all these pots down and treat them with bleach right before I set the cage up in August? It seems like that will put a lot of stress on the plants, and I have heard of plenty of people that don't go through all this sterilizing and don't even treat their branches. Can I just wipe down as much of the plants as possible before bringing them inside next month?

 

[cyberlocc]

I have several potted plants on a covered patio that will go in a new Dragon Strand cage when it ships late August. Is going through this effort right now pointless if they will sit out on my porch another 8 weeks before coming inside?

I didn't hardcore sterilize these plants when I bought them, but I did remove the nursery soil and repot them with organic soil. Some plants have been on my covered patio acclimating to the new pots and growing well for a couple weeks now. One plant I just bought last week and needs to be repotted. My new cage won't get here until August. I guess what I am asking is it really necessary to tear all these pots down and treat them with bleach right before I set the cage up in August? It seems like that will put a lot of stress on the plants, and I have heard of plenty of people that don't go through all this sterilizing and don't even treat their branches. Can I just wipe down as much of the plants as possible before bringing them inside next month?

So you have the benefit of Quarantine time! If you take it up on it.

I would, do the whole 4 step process and not leave them on your porch. A bin is pretty cheap, and depending how many you likely only need 1.

If you don't have any extra lights around, you can put them next to a window or something. On the porch in the bin, could also work depending on your temps outside, but the bin could get fairly hot doing that, if in direct sun, so if you do that try to out a thermometer in there where you can monitor temps.

If you have some lights, and really any light would work but incanns I would worry about the plastic melting. But if you have a Flo light kicking around anywhere that would work great or like an LED bulb, and a way to out it close like a clamp lamp.

This is also helpful as they will acclimate to Viv life, (or screened cage life) where they will have highish humidity. It will be easier to transition to your Viv.

 

[reddog]

I do have an extra 48" LED shoplight I could use. I definitely can't leave them in bins on the porch because it's high 90s outside midday. I would probably have to split the pots into multiple bins and keep them inside because some of the plants are already pretty large.

What's the risk of not going through this? Possible pest infestations later that wipe out a plant or multiple plants? I will use the inner and outer pot methods like Bill shows so I could just remove a plant to treat or replace it if I did have a problem.

I'm hesitant to tear all these pots down because the plants are doing really well right now. And I tried that 4 step method on a schefflera arbicola several months ago and killed it.

 

[cyberlocc]

I do have an extra 48" LED shoplight I could use. I definitely can't leave them in bins on the porch because it's high 90s outside midday. I would probably have to split the pots into multiple bins and keep them inside because some of the plants are already pretty large.

What's the risk of not going through this? Possible pest infestations later that wipe out a plant or multiple plants? I will use the inner and outer pot methods like Bill shows so I could just remove a plant to treat or replace it if I did have a problem.

I'm hesitant to tear all these pots down because the plants are doing really well right now. And I tried that 4 step method on a schefflera arbicola several months ago and killed it.

You dont have to pull them out of the pots, unless they are huge pots.

And yes, pests, and bacteria, possible pesticides, Diseaes, and parasites.

You don't have to do, it's all about your risk exception. This is method is more about Bioactive plants planted into the soil, you wouldn't have as much concern with potted plants I don't think, but no promises.

 

[DonKeesh]

Great info here, I will defiantly need to experiment with this 4 step method including "treating" the roots, which I have never done. I would hypothesize that if your keeping your plants in pots it should be sufficient to re-pot with organic soil, and "treat" just the leaves/branches. YAY SCIENCE!

 

[cyberlocc]

Great info here, I will defiantly need to experiment with this 4 step method including "treating" the roots, which I have never done. I would hypothesize that if your keeping your plants in pots it should be sufficient to re-pot with organic soil, and "treat" just the leaves/branches. YAY SCIENCE!

Well on that note, Let me drop the Plug.

This guy is great deserves way more subs, and that's his method. He shared it a few times throughout the years, but this is the first full on Video about it.

 

[reddog]

Well on that note, Let me drop the Plug.

This guy is great deserves way more subs, and that's his method. He shared it a few times throughout the years, but this is the first full on Video about it.

I love his videos, and I recognized your written steps from this one!

 

[cyberlocc]

I love his videos, and I recognized your written steps from this one!

They are Soo relaxing to watch. I'll be trying to Netflix and be like Naaaa, let me go see if there is a Serpa Vid. Serpa and my neighbor Billy are my go to tubes for chilling.