Grow Your Own Cactus Kit

[mossonthemoon]

My four year old had his heart set on a grow your own cactus kit we saw in a shop, and as it was half price I thought there would be no harm. I do have serious doubts about it resulting in any plants, though. I have never tried to plant a cactus before, and haven't had much success in keeping them in the past.. though this was probably due more to the fact that my cat liked to eat them.

The kit says it has 3 packets of "mixed cactus plant seeds", 3 coconut husk starter plant pots, 3 coconut husk compost discs, and some accessories for decoration. Should I use the media provided, or look for something else? I currently have at home play sand, Dorset pea gravel, generic potting soil suitable for edible plants, and Venus fly trap "soil", which has a lot of polystyrene balls in it. If the coconut husk discs are no good, will any of this be useful?

Can anyone guide me as to when we should plant these, and how I should keep them before they sprout? The instructions provided are extremely limited. Thanks in advance!

ETA I just found a thread advising to use flats rather than pots, so I will do that, but I have read mixed information about the media, and I am really unsure of where to keep them. Would under a fluorescent light do? We don't have much in the way of high tech lighting here. So much for the bargain plant kit, though!

[ElizabethB]

Wow - your climate is so different from mine. Can you find a cactus mix at a local nursery? If not add really course sand to your soil mix and maybe a little bark. Good drainage is necessary. So is lots of light and warm temps. These are desert plants. If it were just you I would say wait to plant but since it is your little one I guess you have to plant now. I have 24" shallow bowl with cactus and succulents on my patio. They are happy. I bring it in when there is going to be a freeze and put them back out as soon as the temps warm up a little. The patio cover protects them from frost. They get no water over winter. I have never tried growing cactus from seed. Hope you get at least some plants. Wonderful that you are teaching your little one about gardening. Even a failure can be a lesson learned.

Good luck

[Gary350]

I grow a lot of cactus from cuttings and seeds. Seeds are a littie ticky.

Mix 50% potting soil with 50% child play sand. Use good potting soil that included fertilizer like Miracle Grow. If your potting soil is not ground up fine use your kitchen blender to grind it up smaller.

Put wet soil mix in pots or trays. Sprinkle seeds on the top surface. Sprinkle a little soil over the seeds but be careful not too much just enough to barely cover the seeds. Follow instructions on the seed pack.

Keep the seeds wet. Use an empty windex bottle or any hand spray bottle filled with water to keep the seeds wet. Spray them several times a day and do not let them dry out.

One day you will notice no cactus then the next time you look like magic you have tiny little cactus plants. Put some high nitrogen Miracle Grow fertilizer in the water spray the cactus often but don't flood them. Put new cactus plants in a window where they will get full sun but not much wind. Wind will dry them out they die easy.