After that week, how often are you watering in the summer time? When do they go into "hibernation"? I'm in Northern California. It stays hot through October fyi. Thank you!
Winter in that oart of the world is lucky to even see frosts. It's in the north of my state beside a huge river and a lot of it is essentially irrigated desert. They're bog in the grapes raisin business and were big in citrus and I even hear of people growing potatoes up there, literally semis full
Absolutely not for your neck of the woods. I'm your neighbor, so we see the same climate zone. All my cacti are in pots, and must be coaxed into winter dormancy every September to October, and won't get a drop of water until next April, early May, depending on how spring is coming back. Then it's full on direct sun for as long as possible, coupled with quality watering and secret weapon fertilizer.... until the next September rolls around. Right now as I type, my cacti havnt been watered since the 2nd week of September, and I will be bringing them indoors very soon. Frost is coming.
The styrofoam is an excellent idea! I was going to buy some expensive gloves that probably still wouldn’t have protected me, but the styrofoam will protect me 100 percent. I had some laying around the house from a recent television purchase.
Good area for cacti up there. I might have to come up and have a look. I have over 80 cacti excluding about 150 dragonfruit and my mother is into cacti. I keep telling her about the golden barrel cacti and she's yet to see one. Especially not a GOOD SIZE one.
Have you modified your soil in any other way? I want to grow cacti in the ground even for a just a 'booster season' in the ground but I'm wondering if my soil would work the same (it's still the same looking red soil as yours)
As long as you have a soil type this is well draining, then you should be able to add some slow release fertiliser and increase the growth. We usually grow our small plants in pots initially because we can grow them faster in hot houses before we put them out in the field.
Much better than Styrene, newspaper or towels is a very thick high-quality pair of welding gloves that are big enough to put on and off easily. Buy the thickest ones a dedicated welding supply house sell! Thin or El Cheapo one will not suffice.
MUTE! Hit the MUTE button and just watch the man. The sound quality here is terrible because of the mike picking up all the wind noise. You don't need to hear the explanation, just watch.
Explanation provides lots of valuable information especially if you are a beginner. Do not mute, you’ll live through the wind noises that come through here and there
