pbs Digest, Vol 33, Issue 14

Perhaps this is a postal office-specific problem. From one vendor I use, I get dozens of boxes that are literally COVERED with stamps -- someone seems to be clearing out a stamp collection dating all the way back to the 90s. These boxes come from Florida.
geo
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Today's Topics:

1. Re: potting mix for seeds: sand+pumice+peat and no compost?
(Cody H)
2. BX progress, or not (Jane McGary)
3. Re: BX progress, or not (Rick Buell)
4. Re: BX progress, (Paul)
5. Can bulbs be mailed in bubble mailers? (Jane McGary)
6. Re: Can bulbs be mailed in bubble mailers? (Jim McKenney)
7. Re: Can bulbs be mailed in bubble mailers? (Thomas Glavich)
8. Re: Can bulbs be mailed in bubble mailers? (Diane)
9. Re: BX progress, or not (rhaenni@comcast.net)

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Message: 1
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2019 08:28:37 -0800
From: Cody H <plantboy@gmail.com>
To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>
Subject: Re: [pbs] potting mix for seeds: sand+pumice+peat and no
compost?
Message-ID:
<CAAgPc_6vR51+WhYaWTHsKaA76eMfRoD6UzTETknfWzUtrxd97A@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"

I?ve had fairly good luck with a mix consisting of 2-3 parts coarse sand to
1 part perlite fines to 1 part fairly fine garden compost?I generally use a
store bought ?Gardner & Bloome? compost mix consisting of composted bark,
?forest products? (whatever that is) and a bit of some variety of manure. I
try to avoid peat in my seed mixes as it seems to encourage pathogen growth
in my climate. I had terrible luck the one time I tried coconut coir?most
of the seeds I sowed in that mix rotted before sprouting, and none of the
ones that sprouted did well. I?m not really sure why this was the case, but
I haven?t tried coconut fiber again since. I live in a very wet climate
(east of Seattle, WA?50 inches of rain/year) where humidity is often high,
especially when temps are chilly. The high proportion of sand reduces the
water retention capability of the mix, to try and discourage unfriendly
microorganisms that enjoy our cold/wet conditions. If you live in a
drier/warmer climate you might want to up the organic content a bit to help
retain moisture.

I?ve used this mix to germinate amaryllids, lots of South African and South
American irids, lilies, calochortus, trilliums, assorted asparagaceae,
aroids, gesneriads, and a variety of alpines as well even some trees and
shrubs. It seems to work best for seeds with fairly quick germination?the
compost supplies some nutrients which the seedlings can take advantage of
but they do leach out with regular watering and will be gone by the time
long-dormant seeds get around to germinating. I?ve had particularly good
success with South African iridaceae... probably 80-90% of the 200 or so
species of Gladiolus, Babiana, Hesperantha, Sparaxis, Ixia, and Geissorhiza
I?ve tried have done well in this mix. The other 10-20% either decay before
sprouting or sprout and then languish and eventually die, but I suspect
these have had more to do with my growing conditions (temp/humidity) than
the substrate.

On Mon, Nov 11, 2019 at 6:32 PM Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net>
wrote:

Yes, I still use about the same mix for seed sowing. However, both the
sand and the pumice include fines, which is not the case when one buys
them "washed." I don't think unwashed pumice is available except right
in the area where it's extracted (here). I would not use coir in a
compost, but perhaps that's all that is available in some parts of the
USA. I do use a soluble fertilizer at low strength once the seedlings
are well developed. I used to use forest humus as an ingredient in bulb
potting soil, but I moved and no longer have my own forest, so it's hard
to know what to use. I don't have the equipment to make my own leaf
compost. I buy something with "municipal compost" (composted yard
debris) and screen out the bark. I don't like to use any bark product
when growing bulbs that have a dormant period, because the
microorganisms that attack the bark also can attack the dead (but
important) tissue of bulb tunics. For our English correspondents, no, we
don't have "John Innes mix" in this country.

Jane McGary

On 11/11/2019 5:59 PM, M Gastil-Buhl wrote:

After much googling for the ideal seed starting mix for bulb seeds, of
course I arrived at the PBS list, where I should have begun. In November
2008 Jane McGary wrote
"my normal seed mix, which is equal parts sharp sand, screened peat, and
ground pumice"

Jane do you still use that same mix as 11 years ago? I notice it contains
no compost and so will have nearly zero nutrients. That seems appropriate
for long germination times where N-P-K will just grow algae, accumulate
salts and do no good for the seeds. I assume once seeds are growing that
you apply fertilizer.

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Message: 2
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2019 14:59:25 -0800
From: Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net>
To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>
Subject: [pbs] BX progress, or not
Message-ID: <defb2cc2-7f02-a168-8ecb-b9c0a6ff7233@earthlink.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed

All the BX parcels are ready to go, but I have encountered an
obstruction in that the US post office no longer accepts boxes with
stamps on them; they have to have official mailing labels for which one
has guaranteed that no hazardous materials are enclosed. Since every
order that includes even a single bulb has to be put in a little box
rather than a padded mailer, I can't imagine what a catastrophe it would
be to haul about 60 tiny boxes into the post office and expect a clerk
to type up labels for each of them. Does anybody out there have access
to a way to generate labels with postage on them? I have a USPS
Click&Ship account but it only works for Priority Mail, and these are
First Class. I tried another website for buying postage, but it does not
work on my browser, and I don't want to try to install an entirely new
one. And yes, the BX has a stamps.com account, but it requires a special
printer, which I do not have. I do have a document with all the
addresses on it, and I could write the weight of each little box by the
name and email it to someone who has the special printer, I suppose.

I will put stamps on the mailers, which contain orders that were just
for seeds, and get them off this week.

Jane McGary

------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2019 22:59:16 +0000 (UTC)
From: Rick Buell <rredbbeard@yahoo.com>
To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>
Subject: Re: [pbs] BX progress, or not
Message-ID: <2044489934.3106194.1573599556086@mail.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

I may be mistaken, but the usps will weight each box and print the postage when you bring the myriad boxes to the counter. I know when I send a padded envelope or box of any size, this is what they do, and the addresses can be handwritten, I don't think it matters as long as the postage is applied as a label.
On Tuesday, November 12, 2019, 2:48:45 PM PST, Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net> wrote:

I will put stamps on the mailers, which contain orders that were just
for seeds, and get them off this week.

Jane McGary

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------------------------------

Message: 4
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2019 23:02:25 +0000
From: Paul <ottopauld@hotmail.com>
To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>
Subject: Re: [pbs] BX progress,
Message-ID:
<CY4PR03MB2968EC36E8621F0C9D9EC043A3770@CY4PR03MB2968.namprd03.prod.outlook.com>

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Shipstation.com allows first class mailing without any kind of special printer, and I believe it is connected with stamps.com as their logo is printed on the label

Paul Otto

Sent from my iPad

On Nov 12, 2019, at 2:48 PM, Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net> wrote:

All the BX parcels are ready to go, but I have encountered an obstruction in that the US post office no longer accepts boxes with stamps on them; they have to have official mailing labels for which one has guaranteed that no hazardous materials are enclosed. Since every order that includes even a single bulb has to be put in a little box rather than a padded mailer, I can't imagine what a catastrophe it would be to haul about 60 tiny boxes into the post office and expect a clerk to type up labels for each of them. Does anybody out there have access to a way to generate labels with postage on them? I have a USPS Click&Ship account but it only works for Priority Mail, and these are First Class. I tried another website for buying postage, but it does not work on my browser, and I don't want to try to install an entirely new one. And yes, the BX has a stamps.com account, but it requires a special printer, which I do not have. I do have a document with all the addresses on it, and I cou

ld write the weight of each little box by the name and email it to someone who has the special printer, I suppose.

I will put stamps on the mailers, which contain orders that were just for seeds, and get them off this week.

Jane McGary

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------------------------------

Message: 5
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2019 15:49:11 -0800
From: Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net>
To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>
Subject: [pbs] Can bulbs be mailed in bubble mailers?
Message-ID: <ba9cf351-c64b-9c4d-9d76-dc1fb66be50c@earthlink.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed

Albert Stella tells me he habitually sent bulbs in padded bubble mailers
(envelopes with a lining), and none were damaged. That has not been my
experience when I attempted it. Have others received rtheir BX bulbs
safely in these mailers? I could take them out of the boxes (except the
really big ones) and make mailers for them, if so. Would only take
another few hours but would solve a big problem. Let me know how your
bulbs have arrived when shipped in bubble mailers, please?

Jane McGary

------------------------------

Message: 6
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2019 23:48:56 +0000 (UTC)
From: Jim McKenney <jamesamckenney@verizon.net>
To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>
Subject: Re: [pbs] Can bulbs be mailed in bubble mailers?
Message-ID: <1285398335.2239384.1573602536947@mail.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Small bulbs in bubble mailers have never been a problem for me - in fact, I've often wondered why we switched to the more expensive box system for everything.?But I'm not that far from either Dell or Albert.?Jim McKenney

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Message: 7
Date: Wed, 13 Nov 2019 00:05:49 +0000 (UTC)
From: Thomas Glavich <tglavich@sbcglobal.net>
To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>
Subject: Re: [pbs] Can bulbs be mailed in bubble mailers?
Message-ID: <86674427.3102041.1573603549872@mail.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Sometimes fine, sometimes squashed

On Tuesday, November 12, 2019, 3:37:56 PM PST, Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net> wrote:

Jane McGary

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Message: 8
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2019 16:14:50 -0800
From: Diane <voltaire@islandnet.com>
To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>
Subject: Re: [pbs] Can bulbs be mailed in bubble mailers?
Message-ID: <AFA6D140-1E55-47E5-AF29-D5CFE8F2B467@islandnet.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Not just bulbs. I received squashed nerine seeds once.

Diane Whitehead
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

------------------------------

Message: 9
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 2019 17:19:05 -0700
From: rhaenni@comcast.net
To: Pacific Bulb Society <pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>
Subject: Re: [pbs] BX progress, or not
Message-ID: <42F13EDB-C6CE-4FB4-AA60-E91EF9B68EAD@comcast.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

Rick is correct.

Rod Haenni

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 12, 2019, at 3:59 PM, Rick Buell via pbs <pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote:

? I may be mistaken, but the usps will weight each box and print the postage when you bring the myriad boxes to the counter. I know when I send a padded envelope or box of any size, this is what they do, and the addresses can be handwritten, I don't think it matters as long as the postage is applied as a label.
On Tuesday, November 12, 2019, 2:48:45 PM PST, Jane McGary <janemcgary@earthlink.net> wrote:

I will put stamps on the mailers, which contain orders that were just
for seeds, and get them off this week.

Jane McGary

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