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The Unc-tanical Gardens

unclefishstick

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after years of growing cannabis and many years of tending kitchen gardens,as well as a brief stint working in a plant store/hydro store and having to take care of several hundred houseplants there i finally really caught the gardening bug...
over the last year i have acquired a rather large collection of tropical plants,cactus and succulents...to the point where im not even really sure how many plants i have...last time i bothered to count them it was over 100 different plant species...i have a slight problem! and even though i am out of space for any more plants i cant seem to stop myself....

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unclefishstick

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for the winter of course everything is inside,not too long now and this whole stand will go outside on the front porch which faces south,many of the tropicals will have to stay indoors but the cactus will soon be basking in the full sun...
 

unclefishstick

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a few of the plants...

my angel wing begonia,this was a 6 inch long cutting less than a year ago..

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ming aralia...need to start pruning it back a bit,a fast grower.

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mammilaria elegans in bloom..

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opuntia cylindrica monstrose

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unclefishstick

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and my first venture into veggie gardening,should be a challenge as i live in the high desert at 4000 feet and we get about 9 inches of rain per year....but the sun is pretty much always out...

went from dust and weeds...

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to a nice set of garden beds...

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I like the variety.The temps this year where not to friendly,I have a few cacti outside that seamed to handle upper 20's pretty well witch is kinda surprising really,considering other plants didn't but they are all native one's, so.

Coldest winter I've seen in over twenty years in the Desert.
 

unclefishstick

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yeah,im in the chihuahua desert region rather than sonoran,it was a super mild winter here,i have a tub of local cactus cuttings rooting..

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finally getting around to xeriscaping the front yard,nothing but bermuda grass and frickin goatheads now...
 

wildgrow

, The Ghost of
Veteran
Im jealous, Unc. So many beautiful plants. I really love all those cacti. That monstrose is awesome - it looks like coral.

Are you going to get creative with the pruning on the ming or just keep it in check? It looks like it could be fun to play with.
 
G

greenmatter

and i thought living on the plains was a bitch

i've been collecting every leaf, grass clipping or mulch i can for years to get some organic matter into the clay in my back yard , things are getting better by the year.

it doesn't look like lawns or trees are a real easy thing to get going in your area.

is there any source of free stuff you could start a compost pile with?
 

Chillb

Member
a few of the plants...

my angel wing begonia,this was a 6 inch long cutting less than a year ago..

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Your begonia's are nice looking ... my father and I saved 1 plant from the trash several years ago. It was half dead from that nights frost but I got it thriving again and now have several well established plants ... we've passed along too many to count. The begonia joined the other 2 dozen different houseplants we already had ...

Love all the plants Unclefishstick, thanks for posting!
 

unclefishstick

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Im jealous, Unc. So many beautiful plants. I really love all those cacti. That monstrose is awesome - it looks like coral.

Are you going to get creative with the pruning on the ming or just keep it in check? It looks like it could be fun to play with.
the ming i will mostly trim away the bottom growth so the trunks are more exposed and start to get the foliage concentrated at the crown,from there i can start bending the branches to give it a more windswept look...
most of the cactus came from cactus collection.com,and i got the bulk of mine from walmart of all places,lowes and home depot will have the same stuff....

i will try and grab pics of some of the rare cactus i have managed to get a hold of as well...



and i thought living on the plains was a bitch

i've been collecting every leaf, grass clipping or mulch i can for years to get some organic matter into the clay in my back yard , things are getting better by the year.

it doesn't look like lawns or trees are a real easy thing to get going in your area.

is there any source of free stuff you could start a compost pile with?
sure,getting leaves and lawn clipping and such is relatively easy during the summer,just not in any great quantity..the real issue is keeping it moist enough...

yes,im planning on getting a locally grown apricot tree,and i expect it will need some serious babying to get going...

Your begonia's are nice looking ... my father and I saved 1 plant from the trash several years ago. It was half dead from that nights frost but I got it thriving again and now have several well established plants ... we've passed along too many to count. The begonia joined the other 2 dozen different houseplants we already had ...

Love all the plants Unclefishstick, thanks for posting!

many of my plants were rescues from the store,people would do their best to kill them and i would bring them back to life,a good percentage of the houseplants came from cuttings i propagated myself
 
G

greenmatter

keeping things wet gets tough here too, but tough is nothing compared to what you are dealing with

i built my bins with old pallets on three sides and used one for the roof. i stapled that pre drilled drip line that you can get at home depot to the inside of the roof and it turns on every couple days on a timer. i plant morning glories around the whole thing and let em climb the pallets. it the only annual i have found that will take the heat (here at least) and provide some good shade for the piles when it gets hot. i tried sweet potatoes a couple years ago but i think my soil needed some more work ...... maybe this year

i also mulch everything i plant to try and save some water. in your situation i would be collecting all you can in the spring ...... watch out for clippings from the real "lawn nazis", chem lawn and true green spray some things that i wouldn't
 

unclefishstick

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yes,as you can see in a more pulled back shot of the main bed i had to add a shade cloth roof to shield it from the worst of the sun...

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its a work in progress,i still need to add another bed for an apricot tree and an area for sunflowers along the fence,plus a composting bin and rootball area plus tool shed,the beds are filled as much as i can with old rootballs from the indoor garden,this year i just went for it and got home depot bagged organic compost and such to fill things in,its pure sand otherwise,and there is about 4 inches of mulch on top of the main bed,i have been keeping it moist and dumping compost tea on it.the smaller back bed will be for full sun crops that dont need so much organic matter like chili,it will get filled a bit more with some bagged topsoil and ewc and the like,but it will still get mulched over...the long tall skinny bed will be for potatoes,the local method is to spread a layer of compost,plant the spuds and cover them with 6 inches of straw,as the plants grow you add more straw,when they are done i just pop the sides off and the potatoes are right there above ground level,no digging...then you till the plant tops in,add another layer of compost and let it sit until next year and do it again...eventually you end up with a sort of permaculture potato bed..
 

unclefishstick

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i was just checking out some new cactus online yesterday,still waiting for them to open back up for shipping....they had a cactus for $2,300 !!! yikes
 
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SeaMaiden

I love your indoor cactus/succulent 'jungle.' It reminds me of this outfit in the Morongo Valley out near Palm Springs.
 

unclefishstick

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i think i know the place you're talking about,i've probably passed it on my way to j-tree...
i cant wait to get the cactus and succulents outside in the full sun,im already dragging a bunch of stuff in and out everyday,plus trays of veggie garden starts...lol,i really have a bad plant problem,i was at the shop checking out the euphorbia i have on lay away

it looks like one of these..

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i can see some sort of green house is in my future....
 
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SeaMaiden

i think i know the place you're talking about,i've probably passed it on my way to j-tree...
i cant wait to get the cactus and succulents outside in the full sun,im already dragging a bunch of stuff in and out everyday,plus trays of veggie garden starts...lol,i really have a bad plant problem,i was at the shop checking out the euphorbia i have on lay away

it looks like one of these..

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i can see some sort of green house is in my future....

Oh, shit, if you go out to Joshua then I know you know the place. They do mostly succulents, but also have orchids and ferns in those GIGANTO greenhouses. I haven't been out there since I was bitten by the rattler, and that's going on 12 years now, but my folks still have their place in Landers.

My apartment used to look like that. I used to collect cacti, buy up houseplants a Sackett & Peters like they were going out of style.

The outfit in Morongo used to have some amazing African succulents.
 

lost in a sea

Lifer
Veteran
thanks for sharing,, lovely cacti collection unc,, they are always really photogenic it seems..

imo the only addiction you dont have to feel shame about is collecting plants, unless you buy too many and they all die..

happy growing! :plant grow:
 

unclefishstick

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im going to have to try to stop there next time i make it out to j-tree,i just love it out there...i bet they specialize in euphorbias and the like...
 

unclefishstick

Fancy Janitor
ICMag Donor
Veteran
thanks for sharing,, lovely cacti collection unc,, they are always really photogenic it seems..

imo the only addiction you dont have to feel shame about is collecting plants, unless you buy too many and they all die..

happy growing! :plant grow:
i figure i have killed about a dozen cactus,but they were only 4 bux each...

just did some more up-potting on the house plants yesterday,got my creeping charlie into an 8 gallon pot,its like a green waterfall..also a lemon lime dracaena and my arrowhead vine,will try and grab some pics later..
 
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