October, 1 year + 1 month

during october i water and fertilize my living stones every 10 days: on the 6th, the 16th and on the 26th. at the beginning of the month i still find webbing on the monilaria plants so i also spray with the diy miticide on the 6th and on the 16th.

i reduce the daylight hours gradually untill the plant lamps are on only 12 hours a day. i am aiming at 8 hours at winter solstice and at 16 hours at summer solstice but i began to wonder if one is too little and the other too much.

i read about the 34th parallel south (about the parallel of cape town) because i believe that the southern tip of africa has the most extreme light levels the living stones could possibly encounter in their habitat. well, their habitat is actually a bit more north from there in the namib desert but i think it's close enough for an approximation of the most extreme light levels. at the 34th parallel south the sun is visible for 14 hours, 28 minutes during the summer solstice (in december) and 9 hours, 50 minutes during the winter solstice (in june). i decide to reduce daylight hours only up to 9 hours 30 minutes by the winter solstice.

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April 7 to 25

i water and fertilize my living stones on the 7th of april and notice that one of the conphytum plants has dried up and died. i watered the living stones just a week ago but it clearly was not enough. on the other hand both argyroderma plants are changing their leaves the second time. on the 9th i transplant the last living conophytum plant to a smaller pot. i realize it's too early but the plant is too tiny compared to its nursery pot. before i transplant my conphytum i remember to rinse the pumice. at this time my conophytum is also finally changing its leaves for the second time - its second set of true leaves. to me the conophytum calculus seem the most finicky of the bunch. only one out of ten has survived this far. i keep the photoperiod at 12 h/day during this month. as i receive guests this month i fiddle with the timer to keep the lights on during more pleasant hours such as 10 am to 10 pm versus 7 am to 7 pm. my guests sleep in the living room so i do not wish to dist...

My grow lights setup

Wikipedia on grow lights : "A plant's specific needs determine which lighting is most appropriate for optimum growth. If a plant does not get enough light, it will not grow, regardless of other conditions." "Grow lights usage is dependent on the plant's phase of growth. Generally speaking, during the seedling/clone phase, plants should receive 16+ hours on, 8- hours off. The vegetative phase typically requires 18 hours on, and 6 hours off. During the final, flower stage of growth, keeping grow lights on for 12 hours on and 12 hours off is recommended." "In addition, many plants also require both dark and light periods, an effect known as photoperiodism, to trigger flowering. Therefore, lights may be turned on or off at set times. The optimum photo/dark period ratio depends on the species and variety of plant, as some prefer long days and short nights and others prefer the opposite or intermediate "day lengths"." ...

June 2 - transplanting the rest of my living stones

i water my only conphytum. because of the growing algae problem i am ready to transplant the rest of my living stones. i first rinse pumice and fill the new pots with it. i carefully transplant the living stones and observe that i have 18 monilaria plants, 2 argyroderma plants and 3 lithops plants. i choose a shallow but wide container for the monilaria. it used to be a plastic instant food container. i plant the argyroderma and the lithops in clay pots. clay will help the containers to dry faster since i don't have so many plants left. i separate the algae infested pebbles from the old pumice and only boil the cleaner ones which i pack away to wait for further use. my monilaria plants my argyroderma plants my lithops plants

Growing Living Stones at 63rd Parallel North

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