Database for Species Cultivation
 

I just checked the link from arvin. That's a good way to do it. Kinda like a survey. I think we can use the poll feature on the forum to do this. Just post it on the forum and allow it to be on the forum indefinally so that members can return and resubmit their poll again and again.

However, I can't create the option for coments at the end of the poll. Do we really need the coments section. I feel that that will complicate the database as we have to interpret the coments for the report. Just my suggestion.

Do you all want to have a database on the cultivation info of the various species or a database on the media for each species. I think we should go for the cultivation info for the various psecies as the media would have been covered there.

Re: Database for Species Cultivation
 

David, that all sounds good! We can always start a "comments" thread in a new category called something like 'species database comments', where people who want to delve deeper (or with too much time on their hands!) can see all the comments. What do you think about a question where we can note germination times for various species? It might get screwed up by the varying ages of the seed to begin with but perhaps we could say "only add the data if the seed is less than 2 months old when planted". Maybe I'm asking too much of this! Sorry. Oh yeah, we are just 'brainstorming' still! Question still stands!

Re: Database for Species Cultivation
 

Yes, we can have a species database comments. Good idea Shawn. I also think it's good to include germination times. It will be a lot of work at the beginning setting this up, but once it is done and after some time when members input their data, the information will be very valuable.

I will create a new Category called "Species Database" or something like that (Any suggestion?) and each thread inside will be a survey/poll for the different species or genus. I think I will include other species of CPs as well.

What I need from everyone is the questionnaire / info that you want to be included in the survey/poll. After I get all that questions, I'll work on the forum category and boards. However, give me some time to set it up. :)

Re: Nepenthes, and the Quest for the Perfect Soil
 

Here are some of the factors that I think should be included in the survey questions:

General cultivation:
Light preferance

Air circulation

Tolerance of humidity fluctuations/ humidity preferance

pitcher formation success rate

special pitchering requirements

how well the plant adapts/ acclimates / how forgiving of mistakes it is

Soil Mixture:

I'm not quite sure how we could do this, with all the different soil mixes that are used. I wonder if it would be possible to have all the soil ingredients listed, and have a box next to each listing where people can type in a percent value of how much of their soil mix is made up of that ingredient. The poll would have to limit the total of all of the boxes to 100, of coarse. Also if the total of all the percentages does not add up to 100, we could have the poll generate an 'other' percentage.

Maybe we could include general soil mix questions as well, about pH, drainage, and soil humidity

Germination and seedling care:
Light preferance

Air circulation

Humidity

Drainage

germination rate

germination time

pesticides/ fungicides used

Transplanting /seedling spacing

Time between germination and flowering of seedlings

Re: Nepenthes, and the Quest for the Perfect Soil
 

Good! I agree with marigoldsfail.

Re: Nepenthes, and the Quest for the Perfect Soil
 

Great work, Marigoldsfail21! :1thumbup:

Re: Nepenthes, and the Quest for the Perfect Soil
 

Ok, under all these categories, I need data so that members can select an answer.

Perhaps something like this... ?

General cultivation:

Light preferance

- 20%
- 30%
- 40%
- 50%
- 60%
- 70%
- 80%
- 90%
- 100%

Air circulation

- 10%
- 20%
- 30%
- 40%
- 50%
- 60%
- 70%
- 80%
- 90%
- 100%

Tolerance of humidity fluctuations/ humidity preferance

- bad
- moderate
- good
- excellent

pitcher formation success rate

- bad
- moderate
- good
- excellent

special pitchering requirements

- sunlight 10%
- sunlight 20%
- sunlight 30%
- sunlight 40%
- sunlight 50%
- sunlight 60%
- sunlight 70%
- sunlight 80%
- sunlight 90%
- sunlight 100%

- humidity 10%
- humidity 20%
- humidity 30%
- humidity 40%
- humidity 50%
- humidity 60%
- humidity 70%
- humidity 80%
- humidity 90%
- humidity 100%

- media kept on the dry side
- media allowed to dry out inbetween waterings
- media is kept wet all the time
- media is kept soggy

- infrequent use of fertilisers
- frequent use of fertilisers
- Never use fertiliers
- infrequent feeding with insects
- frequent feeding with insects
- never feed

how well the plant adapts/ acclimates / how forgiving of mistakes it is

- bad
- moderate
- good
- excellent



Germination and seedling care:

Light preferance

- bright indirect light
- sunlight 10%
- sunlight 20%
- sunlight 30%
- sunlight 40%
- sunlight 50%
- sunlight 60%
- sunlight 70%
- sunlight 80%
- sunlight 90%
- sunlight 100%

Air circulation

- bad
- moderate
- good
- excellent

Humidity

- humidity 10%
- humidity 20%
- humidity 30%
- humidity 40%
- humidity 50%
- humidity 60%
- humidity 70%
- humidity 80%
- humidity 90%
- humidity 100%

Drainage

- bad
- moderate
- good
- excellent

germination rate

- Nil
- 10%
- 20%
- 30%
- 40%
- 50%
- 60%
- 70%
- 80%
- 90%
- 100%

germination time

- 1 week
- 2 weeks
- 3 weeks
- 4 weeks
- 5 weeks
- 6 weeks
- 7 weeks
- 8 weeks
- 9 weeks
- over 10 weeks

pesticides/ fungicides used

* This is a tough one. Anybody has suggestion? Maybe don'e put this as a poll. Let members post?

Transplanting /seedling spacing

- Trasplant into individual pots 1 week after germination
- Trasplant into individual pots 2 weeks after germination
- Trasplant into individual pots 3 weeks after germination
- Trasplant into individual pots 4 weeks after germination
- Trasplant into individual pots 5 weeks after germination
- Trasplant into individual pots 1 month after germination
- Trasplant into individual pots 2 months after germination
- Trasplant into individual pots 3 months after germination
- Trasplant into individual pots 4 months after germination
- Trasplant into individual pots after 5 months from germination


Time between germination and flowering of seedlings

Drosera:
- 1 week
- 2 weeks
- 3 weeks
- 4 weeks
- 5 weeks
- 6 weeks
- 7 weeks
- 8 weeks
- 9 weeks
- above 10 weeks

Nepenthes

- within half year
- within one year
- within one-and-a-half years
- within two years
- within two-and-a-alf years
- within three years
- within three-and-a-half years
- within four years
- within four-and-a-half years
- within five years

etc... etc...

Re: Nepenthes, and the Quest for the Perfect Soil
 

That looks good David. I think though, that the light prferance options shouldn't be in percentages, since most people won't have the equipment to measure it. For the fungicides/pesticides i was thinking we could list different types of fungicide, like soap based or neem oil based etc. We could also include options for how much is applied, or how often.

Re: Nepenthes, and the Quest for the Perfect Soil
 

So how should I measure light? I think if they do not have a light meter etc to measure the light intensity, perhaps a rough estimate in % would do or if they are using a shade cloth for their plants they would know how many percetage shade their shade cloth provide. Any suggestions? Help...

I need help for members to list for me all the insecticide/fungicide that they use so I can include in the survey.

Also can I have a list of all the fertiliser that have been used on Nepenthes?

Also I need a list of all the media that are used to grow Neps. Off my head I can think of...
- chooped up sphagnum moss
- long sphagnum moss
- sphagnum peat moss
- coconut fibre
- coconut peat
- coconut cubes
- burnt clay
- clay pellets
- laterite soil
- vermiculite
- perlite
- sand
- tree bark
- fern tree fibre
- florafoam
- osmunda fibre
- pumice
- lava rock

Please add on to the list

I've already done up the categories and boards for this. Just need info for the questions and answers.

Re: Nepenthes, and the Quest for the Perfect Soil
 

Maybe we could do something like this:

Outdoors:

Full sun
Part shade
Medium shade
Full shade


Indoors:

Lots of direct sun
A little direct sun
Bright, indirect light
Medium light


Green house/shadecloth:

10% shadecloth
20% shadecloth
30% shadecloth
40% shadecloth
50% shadecloth
60% shadecloth
70% shadecloth
80% shadecloth
90% shadecloth
100% shadecloth


We could also try to match up equivilant values, like:

Full sun = 0% shadecloth, and
Part shade = Lots of direct sun = 50% shadecloth, etc.