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First Terrarium

Im so happy after a couple months my first seeds have sprouted out of a 10gallon terrarium i made. :boogie:

How does it look ???

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What seeds are in those pots?
Looks like too much water in the bottom too me. 1/4" is usually good...no more than 1/2" is needed.
Personally, I wouldn't leave the pots sitting in water. I'd either put a bunch of gravel/lava rock in the bottom so it elevates them but they still get the humidity benefit, or stand those pots on upside mesh pots (like for orchids). This will also help to raise the pots towards the light, which will definitely help with growth.

Oh and if there are VFT or Nep seeds in those pots, the bags are unnecessary. They'll get enough humidity from the standing water. Can't say about drosera or anything...I've managed to kill every drosera ever and haven't ever gotten seeds to sprout. Oh well...I'm a neps only guy anyway.
Those bags also block out a significant portion of light, especially with the condensation. Light is probably the most important thing in growing Nepenthes from seed.
 
Oh ok the one in the back is a vft i will make sure to get that out of the water as of watering it though???

The rest are drosera and it seems to work sitting them in the water like that they have been like that for several months and they all sproted multiple plants :boogie:
 
In that case I would just take the bags off the pots, decrease the water level to 1/4" to 1/2
", and let everything be for the time being
 
PhissionKorps is right, light is the key. You probably won't need those bags.
 
yeah....I have had VFTs from seed and drosera from seed. Both don't need those bags. light is the key. As long as the media is nice and wet.....that is enough humidity for them. ALso Vft's don't need humidity...I grow my adult VFT's in like 30 - 40% humidity. They are pretty ok without any humidity. Infact, excess humidity can only cause problems.
 
I always seal my germination pots in bags or under domes. Both the ICPS germination guide and Tamlin prefer sealing them. The added humidity and warmth seems to encourage germination. Plus it helps to keep out fungus gnats, the larvae of which will munch your seedlings. According to Tamlin light is not really essential for germination, at least for Drosera. It is once the plants sprout. See this article on sowing Drosera.

Another plus is that you don't have to water pots sealed in bags. Otherwise you might forget and top water which could be fatal to the seeds.

I keep them sealed until there are about 4 true leaves on the majority of the plants. Then I slowly open the bag/dome over a period of one or two weeks. After that put them outdoors or under lights on a growshelf or in a tank for tropicals.
 
The bags aren't needed. Especially in conditions where there's already that much standing water. Just because the ICPS guide says something doesn't make it true. Their germination guide for neps is outdated as well. Plus, a bag is not going to "add warmth". 1) those bags aren't hermetically sealed, 2) even if they were, the amount of air in them and the distance from the lights are both not sufficient to raise the temp more than maybe a degree or two.

The water argument is irrelevant. I think you're missing the point that theyre standing in water. The bag isn't going to do anything. Also, watering from the top won't kill seedlings...don't you think it rains in the wild?
 
You guys are right as you say bags are not necessary, especially in a tank.

We're just not on the same wavelength (which is typical for me).

The point I was trying to make is that the use of bags should not be dismissed completely (which really wasn't the point you were making either). You may want to use them in if you are without a tank for humidity and maybe temperature control.

For the sake of argument:

The ICPS guide says: "What you do next depends on what works best for you. Everyone has their own preferred routine." How is that outdated? How does that make one given example (bagging) the only "truth"?

I prefer bagging my pots, and I do not normally put them in a tank.

Yes it rains in nature and some seeds, not all, get pushed into the media by rain drops or covered by media displaced by the rain. Buried seeds are less likely to germinate probably because they remain too wet and the plant/seed rots. By avoiding top watering you lessen the chances of attrition in this manner. All the guides I've read say not to cover/bury the seeds and to avoid top watering for this reason, but I suppose those could be outdated as well as irrelevant.

Plastic in itself does not add warmth however as you note there maybe an ever so slight greenhouse effect (thermal trapping). Another possible thermal effect could occur by raising the RH to 100% inside the bag. There would be little or no surface evaporation and thus little or none of the cooling effects from the surface evaporation. The net effect might be that an uncovered pot could be slightly cooler on the surface than a covered/sealed pot. If you want to nitpick this is not adding warmth. And of course it would make no difference if the RH was the same in or out of the bag. Least you poo-poo the effects of evaporative cooling just remember what how a hot humid day feels compared to an equally hot dry day.

Before you dismiss the effects of a difference of 1 or 2 degrees just remember 1 degree difference means the difference between ice and water. And mammals often fight off minor infections with the help of a rise of body temperature of 1 or 2 degrees.

Then again I don't grow Neps and species requirements can differ in many areas.
 
  • #10
The info regarding nep seeds is outdated...sphagnum is not a preferred media anymore. It also says temps above 80 are required for germination, which isn't true, since highland seeds germinate better under highland conditions. It says germination may take 6 weeks or longer, which is true, but it shouldn't if you know what you're doing...my average germination time is 3 weeks.

" When the seed germinates, give the seedlings some air circulation to help combat any mold that may spontaneously generate When the seed germinates, give the seedlings some air circulation to help combat any mold that may spontaneously generate"
I was not aware that life could "spontaneously" create itself.

But anyway, thats all in regard to neps...I don't grow many drosera but the ones I have grown from seed, I always top watered and they seemed to do fine. I've got a batch of something...I think D. intermedia that is popping up now
 
  • #11
Drosera intermedia thrive in waterlogged conditions and some populations are practically semi-aquatic throughout their growing seasons. The seeds may be adapted to survive being waterlogged.
 
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