Strange Strains grow log

[Sea Mac]

2 New Strains: Moon Maiden and Aquarian
Lighting: Indirect sun (Under an OLD Tarp. 95% shade cloth equivalent?)
Grow Media/Soil Mix: Kellogg's Gromulch / some Perlite
Fertilizer: Miracle-Gro garden feeder
Temperature Range: 50 - 85 F
Humidity: 50 - 90 %
Started From: Seed or Clone    First Clones of 2 new Seed Raised Strains
Start Date: Germinated: Feb 2006 / Cuttings acquired: Aug 2007

Other Details/Images:

First post on my Special Strains grow log.

September 24th, 2007 Moon Maiden - her Leaves are narrower than regular Salvia plants leaves!

In a 4 inch pot: the only life is in a tiny side branch about an 1/8th of an inch thick.

"Baby" Salvia plants, just sprouted from seed, or from a 2" cutting, are very VERY small and fragile and 'struggle' to grow bigger. ONLY when they are at their tiniest do the Baby Salvia plants get a coating of 'extra long' trichomes ('soft' Plant Spines - Like African Violets have ...): and here is a good close look at these 'Extra Long' trichomes.

My baby Moon Maiden has a beard!


I received a cutting of the Aquarian strain at the same time and he fared better:

He's not 'struggling' to get bigger and doesn't have any Extra Long Trichomes

They are both Scheduled for a coating of "Bt" tomorrow ...

They are too young yet to fertilize but when I DO finally give them plant food it will be Miracle-Gro.  

[Paradoxic]

Sweet, I've been waiting to see some pics of these new strains. These can help to create an article that compares strains that I want to make in the future.

That pic of the trichomes is amazing, they look like they could stab you. Do you think that strain will produce a higher level of salvinorin A?

Sweet stuff.

[Sea Mac]

Luna's Leaves are broader than ordinary Salvia's Leaves ...

And Moon Maiden has narrower Leaves than the Ordinary Ones.

These 2 strains have the only phenotype that is visually distinct from the other 'common' ones.  All other Salvia strains look alike ...

And Moon Maiden (and Aquarian) is growing in only 3 gardens so far: Jupe, Sea Mac, and Daniel Siebert! And Phoenix only grows in Jupe and Daniel's gardens (mine died).

Daniel raised her, the Phoenix strain (Named for my Dear departed wife), and the Aquarian strain (MY Sign: and I DID Carry water to them in jugs ... Named for me) from fertile Salvia seeds I grew in my garden and sent him in 2006. 

There are Pictures of ALL the new strains on my original grow log: My Grow Log  

[strangeworld]

I'll be following this with interest also. Heres hoping they flourish once established.

SeaMac you mentioned a coating of "bt" - whats that?

[Paradoxic]

SeaMac you mentioned a coating of "bt" - whats that?

I think I know the answer to this, its bacillus thuringiensis a biological/natural pesticide. Its really good for getting rid of those damn fungus gnats that invade soil (and damage your plants). You just mix some into water and then water your plant just as you normally do. I think it would be good to add that section to the pest article because those are so common and annoying).

[DrYRHead]

So the Aquarian is from seed stock. Just what the SD gene pool needs, genetic variation. 

[5010]

Good luck with the new strains.  I presume you are hoping for more flowers to allow the diverse strains to cross pollinate.  That would be very good.  Consider how corn has developed from original maze.  I wonder what the Salvia Divinorum of our descendents will develop into and what other plants they will produce from gene isolation and engineering.

[Sea Mac]

Both Moon Maiden and Aquarian are seed raised.

Good call Paradoxic!

[Genius +1] for stepping up with the correct answer while I was away ...

"Bt" is indeed Bacillus Thuringiensis and it is germ warfare targeted for specific pests.

Bt comes in many variations: each variation targets a specific pest.

The variation you are thinking of Paradoxic, for Fungus Gnats, is Bt variation israelensis, whereas I get plagued by bitey-crawlers (butterfly larva AKA caterpillars) and I use variation kurstaki (also called the kurstaki strain).

I use this stuff:

Safer brand Caterpillar Killer

http://www.biotech-info.net/Bt_primer.html

B.t. is a species of bacteria that has insecticidal properties affecting a selective range of insect orders. There are at least 34 subspecies of B.t. (also called serotypes or varieties) and probably over 800 strain isolates. B.t. was first isolated in 1901 in Japan from diseased silkworm larvae. It was later isolated from Mediterranean flour moths and named Bacillus thuringiensis in 1911. It was not until 1958 that B.t. was used commercially in the United States. By 1989, B.t. products had captured 90-95 per cent of the biopesticide market.

Bacillus thuringiensis products available in the United States are comprised of one of five varieties of B.t.: B.t. var. kurstaki and var. morrisoni, which cause disease in moth and butterfly caterpillars; B.t. var. israelensis which causes disease in mosquito and blackfly larvae; B.t. var. aizawai which causes disease in wax moth caterpillars); and B.t. var. tenebrionis, also called var. san diego, which causes disease in beetle larvae. Other strains of B.t. have been discovered that exhibit pesticidal activity against nematodes, mites, flatworms, and protozoa.

B.t. products are used to control moth pests in fruits, vegetables, and beehives; blackfly and mosquito pests in ponds and lakes; and several beetle pests in vegetables and shade trees. Common brand names include Dipel, Foray, Thuricide (all B.t. kurstaki), Vectobac, Mosquito Attack (all B.t. israelensis), and M-Trak (B.t. tenebrionis).

Mode of Action

When conditions for bacterial growth are not optimal B.t., like many bacteria, forms spores. Spores are the dormant stage of the bacterial life cycle, when the organism waits for better growing conditions. Unlike many other bacteria, when B.t. creates spores it also creates a protein crystal. This crystal is the toxic component of B.t..

After the insect ingests B.t., the crystal is dissolved in the insect's alkaline gut. Then the insect's digestive enzymes break down the crystal structure and activate B.t.'s insecticidal component, called the delta-endotoxin. The delta-endotoxin binds to the cells lining the midgut membrane and creates pores in the membrane, upsetting the gut's ion balance. The insect soon stops feeding and starves to death.

If the insect is not susceptible to the direct action of the delta-endotoxin, death occurs after B.t. starts vegetative growth inside the insect's gut. The spore germinates after the gut membrane is broken; it then reproduces and makes more spores. This body-wide infection eventually kills the insect.

Factors Affecting Selectivity

One of B.t.'s most desirable characteristic is its selectivity; only certain insects are susceptible to the delta-endotoxin. Scientists have identified at least 29 different crystals and delta-endotoxins. Each is effective against specific insects. Each variety of B.t. can produce one or more of these toxins. Alkaline (basic; pH greater than 7) solutions activate the delta-endotoxin, and different varieties may require different pHs. Certain enzymes must also be present in the insect's gut to break the crystal into its toxic elements. In addition, certain cell characteristics in the insect gut encourage binding of the endotoxin and subsequent pore formation. The age of the insect is also a factor, the younger larvae being more susceptible than older larvae.

[MstryShovel]

nice, its great to see how each of the strains is so different, i wonder how long it will be to do a chemical analisis to see if any of the new strains have a higher or lower level of Salvatorin A. you know... SWeeetttt

[strangeworld]

Ah I see... BT huh. Like the idea of very specific targeted natural bacteria being used in the battle against the badbugs

[Paradoxic]

Thanks Sea Mac    Hey, would you be interested in adding an article on BT and its uses to the Pest/Problems section. You are probably in a better position to do so (then I'll hit you back with a Genius).

nice, its great to see how each of the strains is so different, i wonder how long it will be to do a chemical analisis to see if any of the new strains have a higher or lower level of Salvatorin A. you know... SWeeetttt

Yeah I actually found an analysis that compares Hoffman & Wasson to the Blosser strain, which found Hoffman to contain 1/4 more salvinorin A. Its actually not too difficult to do that kind of experiment, you'd just need a pretty good scale and then a method to extract salvinorin A (theres even a guide right here). Right now I am in the process of designing SalviaLab.org which will be integrated with Salvia Source so this would be a good experiment that someone could do for the site.

[Sea Mac]

Thanks Sea Mac    Hey, would you be interested in adding an article on BT and its uses to the Pest/Problems section. You are probably in a better position to do so (then I'll hit you back with a Genius).

Sure will.  

[Sea Mac]

Yeah I actually found an analysis that compares Hoffman & Wasson to the Blosser strain, which found Hoffman to contain 1/4 more salvinorin A.[/b][/i] Its actually not too difficult to do that kind of experiment, you'd just need a pretty good scale and then a method to extract salvinorin A (theres even a guide right here). Right now I am in the process of designing SalviaLab.org which will be integrated with Salvia Source so this would be a good experiment that someone could do for the site.

Maybe the lower Salvinorin A is why it's "Palatable" (The other name for Blosser).

Where is this Analysis? I'd like to read that ...  

[Paradoxic]

Heres the paper:
http://sagewisdom.org/phytochemical.html
(Scroll down to Table 1)

Heres a sweet page I found on the various strains of Salvia d:
http://sagewisdom.org/clones.html
This is the page I want to base the strain comparison article off of.

[Sea Mac]

Here is a better photograph of Moon Maiden's 'baby spines'


She has lots of really long trichomes!