Cultivation | In Search

The Magic of UV Sterilizers

May 13, 2019 by ofsmallthings

After a few months of a serious green water problem, some more experienced aquarist friends suggested installing a UV sterilizer. I don’t know very much about aquariums generally, but from what others have said and from a little research I’ve done, there aren’t any big downsides to using the sterilizer. The appliance “utilizes a germicidal fluorescent lamp that produces light at a wavelength of approximately 254 nanometers (2537 Angstroms). … As the light penetrates the bacteria/algae, it mutates the DNA (genetic […]

Categories: Blog, Cultivation, Fish • Tags: algae, aquarium, bowl, Fish, fish bowl, green, greenwater, paratocinclus, sterilizer, uv, uv sterilizer, water change

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Orchid Show Haul

May 2, 2019 by ofsmallthings

The Oregon Orchid Society hosted their annual show in Portland this past weekend and the selection of plants, both for show and sale, were fantastic! Ecuaflora and Ecuagenera were representing Ecuador, and there was a vendor from Peru as well. Emerald City Orchids, Greg Neilson, Stephanie Willis, and many orchid society members were also present. As an added bonus of being a member, I got to go in a bit early to scope things out. Having only gone to Orchid […]

Categories: Blog, Cultivation • Tags: haul, new plants, orchid show, orchids, plant haul, portland, sale, show

Carniverous plant bowl

April 25, 2019 by ofsmallthings

This small bowl houses Drosera capensis and Dionaea muscipula. I’ve bought venus fly traps many times and never been able to keep them alive (they rot and turn brown after a few months) but this one seems to be doing well. This bowl sits 5-6″ beneath a Sunlight Supply single tube LED for 13 hours a day. I water them with distilled water every other day. Sphagnum can be a weed in many scenarios, choking out smaller Bryophytes, Marcgravias, and […]

Categories: Blog, Cultivation • Tags: bog, bowl, capensis, carniverous, dionaea, drosera, flytrap, muscipula, plants, sphagnum, sundew, Terrarium, venus flytrap

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Bucephalandra in a Corning Glassware Dome

April 8, 2019 by ofsmallthings

Boo-see’s provided by Aquarium Zen, much thanks to Steve! And 1.5 years later, plus some Aridarium and mosses,

Categories: Blog, Cultivation, Plant Photo Library, Terrarium • Tags: Bucephalandra, corning, dome, glassware

Tropical Collection

April 3, 2019 by ofsmallthings

These account for most of the species in my collection currently, excluding utter NOIDS. Acranthera sp. Borneo Aeschynanthus sp. Alsobia dianthiflora Andinia nummularia Andinia schizopogon Anthurium forgetti Anthurium gracile Anthurium pentaphyllum Anthurium ‘Chirique Grande’ Anthurium corrugatum Anthurium sp. (from Richard VanIngen) Anthurium sp. Z Ardisia mamillata Ardisia sp. Pinky Asplenium aff. fragrans I Asplenium aff. fragrans II Asplenium aff. daucifolium Asplenium holophlebium Asplenium stoloniferum Asplenium sp. Mindo Asplenium sp. Panama Asplenium Tingo Maria Asplenium sp. Mittens Asplenium sp. 1-3 from […]

Categories: Blog, collection, Cultivation, Plant Photo Library • Tags: collection, list, species, tropicals

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A Makeshift Terrarium

March 11, 2019 by ofsmallthings

Returning from Richard’s Greenhouse with two flats and three grocery bags filled with plants requiring high humidity, I had to quickly scrounge to find space for them all. One of the ferns even got a little droopy during the 30-minute drive home. The terrarium they ended up going in was meant for glassfrogs (on the right). Here it is next to the Ranitomeya biolat terrarium. They both have cork backgrounds, which made it easy to mount the new plants. Despite its messyness, […]

Categories: Blog, Cultivation, Terrarium • Tags: makeshift, new plants, richard, Terrarium

A Trip To Richard’s Greenhouse

March 6, 2019 by ofsmallthings

Richard Van Ingen was kind enough to let my partner and I stop by for a greenhouse tour and some plant shopping last weekend. It was definitely a high point this winter! The greenhouse is a massive 1500 sf and 52×30 (about 400 sf bigger than our house…) He did a lot of the greenhouse construction himself, and if I remember right just hired an electrician and someone to lay the foundation. He did the plumbing and a lot of […]

Categories: Blog, Cultivation • Tags: greenhouse, richard van ingen, visit

Large Aquarium Bowl for Pseudomugil

February 22, 2019 by ofsmallthings

This large fish bowl is about 18″ wide at the center, with an 11″ opening at the top. When filled with water, it proved to be 11 gallons! The Bolbitis is my favorite, so I used those as the dominant plant. The wood had to be boiled so it sank. This air pump is super tiny! Originally I tried a cobalt light, but it did not work with the curved lid as the neck was not adjustable and would have […]

Categories: Blog, Cultivation, Fish, Terrarium • Tags: aquarium, bowl, Fish, fishbowl, planted

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One Recent Mistake…

February 8, 2019 by ofsmallthings

As a collector, of information and plants, there is often an urge to organize, to categorize and put like plants with like plants (both informationally and physically). This is one such time where it backfired, certainly not the first, and definitely not the last. Most of my Selaginella species are only subtly different to my non-expert eyes, and now they are even more disorderly and difficult to distinguish (yes, there are pots in there, under that mess). At least they […]

Categories: Blog, Cultivation, Plant Photo Library • Tags: mistake, organize, overgrown, regrets, Selaginella, woops

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In Search

of Small Things

Category Archives: Cultivation

The Magic of UV Sterilizers

Orchid Show Haul

Carniverous plant bowl

Bucephalandra in a Corning Glassware Dome

A Makeshift Terrarium

A Trip To Richard’s Greenhouse

Large Aquarium Bowl for Pseudomugil

One Recent Mistake…