The Russian sower can sow without additional lighting and additional heating only from later spring till early summer, because it is short summer and very long winter here. But in this case seedlings have no time for growing, and they are too young to set them at normal rest-period (dormant-period) in winter. Elizarov used plastic water bottles: the bottle was cut across into two parts for convenient work with seeds. The bottom of the bottle is for seeds («the sowing part»), the upper part (with the cap) must close «the sowing part» very tightly. The construction as a whole is hung to window’s top.

What are the advantages of this method?

• high humidity. Water turns into vapour rather slowly. The vapour accumulates on bottle’s sides and flows down on the soil.
• high sterilisation.
• pure water prevents formation of lime incrustation on the soil (it can be a reason of seedling’s death).

Besides this method helps to spare your strength and save space.

Light

In the author’s opinion additional light is not necessary. He had strong well-spined rightshaped seedlings without the additional light. Light-requiring species (for example, Echinocactus grusonii, E. ingens) became a bit longer in winter, but after repotting they returned to round form. Species which require less lighting (Ariocarpuses, Mammillaria goldii, etc.) can grow in the bottle for a long time. All Ariocarpuses formed good strong taproots. Young Neogomesia had 2 buds at the age of 3,5-months. Usually late autumn up to snow is the darkest time of year in Russia. Light exposure on windowsills decreases to 5000 lx (sometimes to 1000 lx) in this season. Light exposure increases up to 25000-30000 lx without sun and to 75000 lx on sunny day after snow. Light exposure at a distance of 4 sm from a daylight lamp is equal 30000 lx: this is very good light exposure, it’s known this is enough for most species for flowering and seeds’ ripening. But this lighting is irregular: it decreases up to 22000 lx at the distance of 5 sm, so cactuses are lighted only from the top. The light exposure in hanging bottle will be regular, but only at one side. For correction the author used 10-sm strips of foil. He placed these strips at the soil’ level at the room side of the bottle. These strips allow to increase light exposure by 30%. Why did not he use big sheet of foil or white cardboard? Because on the one hand it’s non convenient for people, on the other hand it decreases lighting period for cactuses up to 7 hours (in december-january). Strips of foil allow to extend the lighting day to 12 hours. You should protect your seedlings in spring, espessialy in March and April, from direct sunlight. The author used sheets of parchment (or vellum) on the window-glasses.

Temperature

A windowsill is the coldest place in winter, because cold air will flow down from window glass. The temperature in the top part of window is 10 degrees higher than that on the windowsill, so seedlings in the bottle don’t need additional heating. The author kept his seedlings in the bottle for several months, sometimes for a year, so his young cactuses lived there the next winter after germination. After the first rest-period nobody has dead.

Construction

You need safe construction: the top part of the bottle (with the cap) must close the bottom part (the sowing part) very tightly. You should cut the bottle very smoothly. The top part must be a bit more narrow than the bottom part, for this sake you should heat its bottom edge at a height not more than 1 sm. It’s convenient to do it on the frying pan: fill your frying pan with water and wait till you see many bubbles. At this moment you should put the edge of the top part in the water for about half a second. Probably the first try will not be successful: plastic will be deformed in very hot water (100 degrees) or if you will hold it in the pan for a long time. If the plastic was not deformed and became less in diameter, you won!

My experience

I like this method because I can go away and leave my seedlings for some time. When I’m going out, I’ll ask my household to open the cap for 1 hour sometimes. For the first time I sowed into a bottle in February and repotted in September. All this time my seedlings looked well and kept the right form. Soil was used like for usual sowing (50% sand + 50% steamed peat). Watering was only once (before sowing). I cut my first bottle fifty-fifty but this was not convenient for sowing and removing husk. Now I cut a quarter of the bottle for the bottom part, but I don’t remove husk, because seedlings grow well with it too. Now I prefer mineral soil with fine sand on the top, because in this case Cyanobacteries appear late. I’m lazy and use no screens and reflectors: my bottles hang on the south window, and seedlings keep form without additional features.

Species

Elizarov sowed in autumn and in winter:
Acanthocalycium griseum; Ariocarpus furfuraceus, A. retusus, A. trigonus; Astrophytum coahuilense, Aztekium hintonii, Cereus peruvianus, Eriosyce aurata, Ceratistes, Sandilon, Geohintonia mexicana; Melocactus azureus, M. robustispinus.

I sowed in February and in August:
Gymnocalycium marsonery, Mammillaria amajasensis, Parodia saint-pieana, Solisia (M. pectinata), Discocactus magnimammus HU324, Cochemia poselgery, Cochemia pondii, Neochilenia setosiflora, Neochilenia pulchella v. esmeraldina.