FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Not sure if I should put this here or in seedlings. Over the next week I am going to be working nights, so could theoretically increase the photoperiod I am growing some VFT seedlings I have to near 20 hours a day or so (they're on a fluorescent bulb on a timer). Is there any harm in increasing it? What's the maximum you might recommend?

Also, some pics of my little seedlings which are just getting their first traps! I am so excited! These are about 4 weeks after germination.







Thanks!

I have some Venus Flytrap seedlings growing in a 24-hour (constant) photoperiod under LED grow lights. So far, so good. I would mention though that LEDs produce no ultraviolet nor infrared light and almost no heat, unlike fluorescent lights, so some adjustment might need to be made. However, for the sake of photosynthesis, a 24-hour photoperiod seems fine, despite the fact that there are 2 primary photosynthetic activities, one that requires light and one that doesn't. Both "light" and "dark" photosynthetic activities can occur at the same time in the presence of light, however.

It looks like your seedlings are in a coir mix or pure coir. How did you prepare the coir before use? I had to soak and drain mine 8-12 times to bring the soluble salts/minerals down consistently below 50 parts per million.

Anyway, your seedlings look great!

Steve_D wrote:I have some Venus Flytrap seedlings growing in a 24-hour (constant) photoperiod under LED grow lights. So far, so good. I would mention though that LEDs produce no ultraviolet nor infrared light and almost no heat, unlike fluorescent lights, so some adjustment might need to be made. However, for the sake of photosynthesis, a 24-hour photoperiod seems fine, despite the fact that there are 2 primary photosynthetic activities, one that requires light and one that doesn't. Both "light" and "dark" photosynthetic activities can occur at the same time in the presence of light.

It looks like your seedlings are in a coir mix or pure coir. How did you prepare the coir before use? I had to soak and drain mine 8-12 times to bring the soluble salts/minerals down consistently below 50 parts per million.

Anyway, your seedlings look great!

Thanks very much for the reply! I might try a 7am to 2am photoperiod then, so 19 hours of light per 24 hour period, and see how that goes.

As for the substrate: it's a mix of some (what I thought were/are) appropriate subtrates that I already had at home for other reasons. It's a mix of Eco Earth (http://www.netpetshop.co.uk/p-27738-zoo ... =437272469 ) which is coconut fibres, and sphagnum moss, blended in a blender. The water being used is of course distilled water, however I totally didn't think about the substrate having some minerals in! I don't own a TDS meter... the substrate is not washed - should I be worried? Too late to change now? Eek

Thanks for your advice!

You should check the bag to see if it mentions anything that might allow minerals to flow in to the substrate. If it seems fine, then you should just observe the condition of the plants regularly. If the bag mentions there are any added minerals, you can just flush the substrate by just flooding the pot and then draining the water a couple times.

good luck

Isnt eco earth for Reptiles? so my guess no additives but you should buy a TDS meter to check

Alan wrote:You should check the bag to see if it mentions anything that might allow minerals to flow in to the substrate. If it seems fine, then you should just observe the condition of the plants regularly. If the bag mentions there are any added minerals, you can just flush the substrate by just flooding the pot and then draining the water a couple times.

good luck

manzano167 wrote:Isnt eco earth for Reptiles? so my guess no additives but you should buy a TDS meter to check

Thanks for the replies guys. It is indeed for reptiles, it is additive free according to the info: "free from chemicals, pesticides and fertilizers". The pots have been sat in a large tub of distilled water for about 2-3 days now or more - the water has turned slightly tanned from the tannins in the eco earth.

So, I had a brain wave: I don't have a TDS meter but I do have access to a refractometer. 1.001 SG on a refractometer is 1.3 ppt (parts per thousand), so 1300ppm. If I need the water at 50ppm or less (according to Steve_D's post), that's an unmeasurable SG. But, if I concentrated the water before measuring, it should come up.
Well, I did that. I concentrated 26mls of my tanin-coloured distilled water from around the tubs the plants are in, to 1mls (by evaporation). This means if I get a reading of 1300ppm (1.001 SG) on the refractometer, it is equivalent to 1300/26 = 50ppm, agreed? I did that and just measured it now, and got a value of just under 1.002 on the concentrated sample. So equivalent of around <100ppm, agreed? So, hopefully that's accurate.

Anyways, as Alan says I'll keep an eye on things. I have two pots to play with should I need to change something - one with 43 seedlings and one with 33 seedlings in.

So, I had a brain wave: I don't have a TDS meter but I do have access to a refractometer. 1.001 SG on a refractometer is 1.3 ppt (parts per thousand), so 1300ppm. If I need the water at 50ppm or less (according to Steve_D's post), that's an unmeasurable SG. But, if I concentrated the water before measuring, it should come up.
Well, I did that. I concentrated 26mls of my tanin-coloured distilled water from around the tubs the plants are in, to 1mls (by evaporation). This means if I get a reading of 1300ppm (1.001 SG) on the refractometer, it is equivalent to 1300/26 = 50ppm, agreed? I did that and just measured it now, and got a value of just under 1.002 on the concentrated sample. So equivalent of around <100ppm, agreed? So, hopefully that's accurate.

yep ^^ and if the soil does have a little bit of minerals in it, the plants should be fine as long as the substrate is flushed frequently to prevent concentrating minerals and if any excess water such as from a water dish is dumped out after the soil has been soaked.

Hope your plants grow really fast and big

Alan wrote:yep ^^ and if the soil does have a little bit of minerals in it, the plants should be fine as long as the substrate is flushed frequently to prevent concentrating minerals and if any excess water such as from a water dish is dumped out after the soil has been soaked.

Hope your plants grow really fast and big

Woop!

Cool, I will do some water changes with the distilled water, see if I can get the ppm down Thanks again! (2:26am here and the lights have just gone out, due back on in a few hours )

Coir (coconut husk pith and some fiber) is the byproduct of the extraction of most of the fiber from coconut husks to make rope (traditionally, marine rope because coconut fiber resists rotting in water).

To process the coconut husks, a lot of water is used, and often that water source happens to be free and freely available ocean water, which adds a tremendous amount of dissolved minerals and salts to the coir. Even in coir that has been saturated by pure water in several monsoons (rainy seasons), or rinsed prior to sale, much of the soluble material remains. Although the remaining amount is usually not enough to harm most garden plants when used merely as a soil supplement rather than soil replacement, coir can easily contain (I know this from my own experience) over 1000 ppm TDS (total dissolved solids), which can cause a lot of damage to Venus Flytraps (I know this also from personal experience) or be deadly to them over the course of a few weeks to a few months.

However, the coconut pith/fiber in your EcoEarth product might be lower in TDS, and the advice about flushing the medium and allowing water to drain from it, carrying the dissolved material with it, might work well.

Coir has a tremendous amount of potential as a carnivorous plant growing medium or mix ingredient, especially in seeking a sphagnum-free mix, so in my opinion its advantages outweight the bit of extra effort we may have to take to ensure that it is leached of almost all the soluble minerals/salts it may contain when it is bought. I soak coir from 8-12 times for 8-12 hours at a time, then drain and test the water with a TDS meter between each soak until the TDS reading is consistently below 50 parts per million.

Good luck. This issue with coir is just something to be aware of, that's all. Very nice looking seedlings.

Thank you very much for that reply Steve_D Make's more sense now. I will change the water a few times and water from above as well to flush it through a bit if possible, and next time I shall be sure to soak it lots before use! And keep a careful eye on my seedlings.

The slight reddening to those tiny new baby traps is just because of the high light levels I assume? (18K bulb)

I use natural sunlight, however all reddening has to do with light conditions so i believe you have a very nice setup

Cool stuff then