Need input. Would you buy this?

[ConcinusMan]

Was thinking of an idea for a product I could provide in the winter since it looks like I'll not be going back to CA anytime soon. Something I could ship in cold weather when I'm not selling snakes. I was thinking... there's a heck of a lot of moss around here and I've used it in my tanks before, live and dried. It's good stuff. There's also licorice ferns which are pretty neat in that they don't require soil. They get their nutrients from the air. You just need an object for the Rhizome to attach itself to, adequate moisture (they just drop the leaves and go dormant without moisture, but they survive and come right back)

A great way to decorate your enclosures. Add live moss or ferns to your vivarium. No soil required, and the live moss/ferns can grow on objects that are moveable. Dead, dried moss makes great ground cover and I could provide that too.

Possible applications:








Examples of what I can provide:


Ferns and moss:

Live moss on wood:


Live moss:



Licorice Fern:


Licorice fern in the wild showing that it does not need soil. Can just grow on wood, rocks, etc.



Please take the poll. Any suggestions for pricing in a way that will be competitive with existing sources, questions or concerns, etc. are welcome as is any other comments / input. Dangit, I meant to allow a 3rd option, "Maybe" but I screwed up.

[CrazyHedgehog]

you need a 'depends on price' option

[guidofatherof5]

Are there any concerns for its use. Pathogens, microbiales, parasites, etc. Especially shipping to a new environment(part of the country)
I would think you certainly couldn't treat it before use.
Don't know much about it.

[Invisible Snake]

You misspelled competitive

Are there any concerns for its use. Pathogens, microbiales, parasites, etc. Especially shipping to a new environment(part of the country)
I would think you certainly couldn't treat it before use.
Don't know much about it.

I agree with Steve.

[ConcinusMan]

you need a 'depends on price' option

Read the poll question again.

You misspelled competitive

I did!

Are there any concerns for its use. Pathogens, microbiales, parasites, etc. Especially shipping to a new environment(part of the country)
I would think you certainly couldn't treat it before use.
Don't know much about it.

And that's another reason I started this thread. I certainly don't know what, if any, "pathogens" or microbes would be present but I think the risk of such things would probably be no higher than that of traveling with common forest floor dirt in the tread of your shoes, or any more risky than buying a potted plant from another part of the country. I have sent this stuff to people already as a favor and it seemed to work out very well for them.

The only things I've seen from using it myself is springtails, or springtail - like bugs but I am currently pondering/open to suggestions, ways to eliminate that. One option I was considering would be to place the items in bags and fill the bags with CO².

Does anyone know if that might kill live moss? I know mosses take in carbon dioxide but I don't know if high concentrations would kill the moss. It should, theoretically kill bugs though if I displace all the oxygen and leave it in there for a period of time. The ferns can be sold as dormant rhyzomes and that's like shipping a bulb or potato. No biggie. Any thoughts on the CO²?

EDIT: and BTW, absolutely none of this will come from public land, sensitive ecosystems such as native forests, etc. There's plenty of it growing on private property right here in the city. And I've collected before and it grows right back the following wet season. It's very easy to establish and maintain cultivated colonies as well.

[thamneil]

I have used CO2 with moss. It always ends up alright. Even if you were to kill the moss, the spores should be viable, not that I have ever had this issue.

[ConcinusMan]

There's always dried, dead moss. I've shipped out both. Live and dead. Even the dead stuff is great. Makes great ground cover and can be moistened for hides, shed boxes, etc. I'm sure if I wasn't worried about keeping it alive, a little dry ice should do the trick. I don't know of any bug that can survive -109.3°F (-78.5°C) plus, dry ice is carbon dioxide. If the cold doesn't get 'em, the gas will.

I do realize that there are dried moss products on the market already and they aren't very expensive. Much of this stuff is wild collected, just as I plan to do. I would have to make it a better deal even after shipping cost. That's the plan.

[jaleely]

I have to be honest, though they look awesome, i would only buy that locally. I'd be worried about introducing anything into my hoard, and my current plants, etc. Though they would be great for bioactive set ups...

[ConcinusMan]

Often, people cant get anything like this locally, while here it is endlessly abundant.

The ferns are really cool. Its the only fern I have ever transplanted and had it survive. It not only survived, it thrived and got huge. If you forget to water them or summer heat and drought set in, they simply whither away and drop their leaves. The tuberous rhyzome survives. As soon as cooler, damp weather comes back, so does the fern, very quickly, bigger and better than it ever was. Kinda cool. That, and they don't need soil at all. You could just wire the rhyzome to a screen or something, cover it with moss or other damp material, and keep it wet. The fern will grow and thrive. The rhyzome grows and spreads too. It can get so big, it covers many square feet! That picture you see of the fern growing on a tree could easily be a single rhyzome. You can also break pieces of it off and start a new plant.

The picture of the one growing on the ground is one I planted. I just took a rhyzome (resembles a ginger tuber) stuck in the ground, and let the air conditioner drip on it during the summer. (in full shade). That's all I did. Haven't watered it, haven't done anything for it. It took off and grew into a large, lush fern.

The tubers are edible, and taste like licorice. (anise)

[kueluck]

If it's coming from you own property, great. But if it's coming from other areas I don't think it's right to take it. I know that Western WA is covered in moss, lichens and such, lived in Port Orchard for 4 years, but IMO leave it there.