Germinating (growing) cactus from seeds can seem complicated, but we promise you it’s actually very easy and in this guide we’re going to show you exactly how. This method is commonly known in the cactus cultivation community as the “takeaway technique”. There are, of course, many methods to germinate cacti but we have found this one to be the simplest, cheapest and most successful on a small scale. This technique works for all species of cacti seeds that we have experimented with san pedro cactus seeds for sale .

What you’ll need

• Seed raising mix or regular potting soil;

• Perlite;

• A sieve or screen if your soil is full of sticks and bark;

• A clear microwave-safe takeaway container like the type you get Chinese food in. If you’re germinating columnar cacti try and find a container that is a bit taller like a 750ml san pedro cactus seeds for sale;

• Some bottled drinking water;

• Spray bottle;

• Some cactus seeds – we sell a few different varieties online;

• Patience.

Recommended but not required:

• A microwave;

• A seedling heat mat;

• A T5 grow light.

Prepare your soil mix

If the potting soil you are using is full of sticks and bark we highly recommend you find a way to sieve or screen these out. We use a large metal mesh fire pit cover as our screen, and many people will take apart pedestal fans and use the covers. Large sticks and bark are like sponges for water and lead to increased risk of fungal growth. It’s also best to try and avoid using a potting soil that is full of fertilisers as these can be harmful to young seedlings san pedro cactus seeds for sale.

Once you have sieved out the junk the next step is to mix perlite into the soil at a ratio of 50/50 soil/perlite. You will see experienced growers also using things like coarse sand, pumice and zeolite in their germination mix with great results, and we highly recommend you experiment to find what works best for you. However, if you’re just starting out stocking to this simple 50/50 mix will deliver great results san pedro cactus seeds for sale.

Fill your container and add water

Add your mix to the takeaway container to a depth of around 3cm. Take your room temperature bottled drinking water (tap water has too much chlorine) and add it to the mix until you reach field capacity. Field capacity is soil which is fully saturated but with no excess. If you squeeze the soil and water pours out it’s too wet san pedro cactus seeds for sale .

Nuke it

Loosely place the lid on the container and chuck it in the microwave for 4 minutes to sterilise the soil mix. Once it’s done take it out, secure the lid firmly and give it an hour or two to cool back down to room temperature before moving on to the neck step. Sterilising the soil is not strictly necessary, but we highly recommend it as it reduces the possibility of fungal issues later on.

Sow the seeds

Once your soil has cooled down or if you skipped the last step you’re now ready to sow the seeds. Get your spray bottle full of bottled drinking water ready, crack open the lid of the container and sprinkle the seeds evenly across the surface. We like to tip the seeds into our palm, pinch them with the other hand and salt bae them on in rows, but you find what works for you. The main thing here is to try and evenly disperse them across the surface of the soil. Don’t add too many seeds to a container, 50 seeds per takeaway container seems to be the sweet spot, and certainly not more than 100. When all the seeds have been sowed give them a few sprays of water to hydrate the seed coat and push them down into the soil. Put the lid back on firmly san pedro cactus seeds for sale .

Light & warmth

To germinate the seeds they’re going to need light and warmth. By far the easiest ways to achieve this is to put the container on a seedling heat mat underneath a grow light (we use a T5 LED grow light to germinate our seeds). If you don’t have or don’t want to use a seedling heat mat you will need to wait for late spring or summer to sow your seeds as they simply won’t germinate if the soil is too cold. Likewise, if you don’t have access to a grow light it’s not the end of the world, you can also germinate them on a sunny windowsill or in a bright location outside. If there is any chance of receiving direct sun we recommend wrapping the container in shade cloth, a tea towel or some other kind of fabric to protect them as direct sun can easily burn delicate young seedlings san pedro cactus seeds for sale .

Germination

Assuming the soil is wet enough, they receive regular & consistent light and the soil is warm enough your cactus seeds will begin to germinate within 7-14 days. Some may pop up earlier if you are using a grow light and heat mat. After a month most of them should be germinated though some may continue to pop up in the following weeks/months buy san pedro cactus seeds.

Congratulations, you’ve germinated cactus seeds! Keep reading for some additional steps on how to care for them after germination san pedro cactus seeds for sale.

Just leave them

If you chose not to nuke your soil you’re going to have to watch them much more closely, open the container shortly after germination and regularly mist to ensure they don’t dry out. If you followed our advice and sterilised the soil you can simply leave them in this container for roughly 6 months or until they visibly outgrow the container lid san pedro cactus seeds for sale.

Acclimatising

After roughly 6 months you can begin acclimatising your seedlings to the open air. We do this by removing and replacing the lids, progressively leaving them off for longer periods of time over the course of a week or two. Start with 5 minutes, the next day leave it off for 10 minutes, the next day 15 minutes, the next day half an hour, then an hour, then an hour twice a day, etc, until the lid is completely off. At the beginning you will need to keep a close eye on the soil and mist with bottled drinking water if it ever looks too dry. But after the lid is off you can switch to letting the soil dry out a little between waterings san pedro cactus seeds for sale .

Repotting

The right time to repot your cactus seedlings is largely dependent on how quickly they grow but we usually do ours after 10-12 months. We repot them into small pots either on their own or in small groups if their roots are intertwined and we don’t want to risk ripping them san pedro cactus seeds for sale. From there we pop them into our greenhouse for the first 2-3 years of their life san pedro cactus seeds for sale.