Nut yes, but my kind of nut. Maybe it was a bug living in the soil? Look what happens to corn, it turns to popcorn. I think nuking some things has to do with the microwaves and not just the heat. But I heard of an experiment where students nuked water to boiling and heated water to boiling. Let cool then used to water plants. The plants with the nuked water died or decreased growth while no ill effects were noticed on the other plants. Don't know how true. 'You know they can't lie on the internet'.
Stush

So I'll be trying that soon myself!

LOL - but we all know there is *so* many ways a plant can die, for SO many reasons.

But yeah, Stush - "I heard it on T.V.!" lol.

Oh this is cracking me up!

AFAIK, when something explodes in the nuker, it's because there was a solid outer membrane with moisture inside. Like a potato, pea, egg, corn kernel. As the inside heats up, it expands/creates steam, and we know what happens after. BOOM! Yes, I do think a bug could explode.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Who am I to comment on stuff I'm not willing to *try?* Hmmmph!

Why would one want to boil or nuke plant water?

To kill water bugs?

When I was 17 years old, I worked as a camp counselor for a camp that took inner city kids to a camp in the woods. My first group (with a co-counselor) was seven 5-7 year old boys. We decided to take them on a "real-live" camping trip for a weekend (trying to work out some of that energy!), out it the woods. I decided to make a bang-up fire pit and used some flat rocks, like sand stone, taken from a near-by dry creek bed to line it. It was lovely, and I figured it would maintain heat late into the night.

So, we hunted firewood and hot-dog sticks, built a big old bonfire and sat back - until the first explosion. Serious explosion with flying rock- first of about 12 (seemed like 100). Screaming kids, all of us running - luckily, no injuries.

Seems that sandstone carries water in it, enough water that when heated can break rock. Whoo boy, good times!!! My first lesson in heating sealed - or at least semi-sealed - objects.

Same thing happens in fireplaces when some one uses regular brick. Most brick is fired from clay so it's not too bad.
Sheryl,
Are you sure that didn't happen when you were telling ghost stories?

I say just stick to heavy Lard in only antique iron skillets.

Everything should be deepfried, and that is the secret to a long life as long as garlic is included.

All the old used Lard,...after you've used it;...should be poured around the base of your house to deter termites and other bugs.

Microwaves should be kept in the back shed,... and only used for terminating cockroaches for fun!

Share this information as you are sharing fried chicken with the kids and watching the roaches explode through radiation goggles.

Everyone needs a pair at the table which should be set next to the viewing window into the shed.

The secret to weed control is nuking all water in a microwave and watering weeds with it. It will end all weeds for ten years per plant!

Its a fact!

Something to think about.

Stush, from the explosions, I'd say more like war stories! Of course, that was some... yeah, 30 years (or so!) and memory doesn't always match reality exactly.... but makes for better stories!

David, you sound so much like some of my former neighbors in TN.... can I see a picture of the back of your neck???

Lard. Indeed!

Just taking a seriousness break for a second!

Hilarious! TY, David. I'm a believer, you just forgot bacon. I don't want to live if there's no fried chicken or bacon.

What bugs besides mosquito larvae would be living in plant water? They can't live in the soil once used for plants/no longer in water.

This microwaved water thing seems to be a current urban myth.
http://www.snopes.com/science/...
https://www.google.com/#q=micr...

However, I gave up trying to find any 'review' of it that mentioned tap water chemicals such as fluoride and chloride/chlorine/chloramine at all, or whether the experiment used tap water, and nothing about why anyone would want to boil water for plants by any method. What prompted such a weird comparison? Who WAS boiling water for their plants to begin with to wonder whether stove or nuker was better, and why? That's what I'm stuck on, like a hangnail.

Tiffany,
I think the result was to give an Idea of what's micro-waves are doing to us. If it can kill a plant, what about us using it all the time.
I don't beleive it but passed it on for a funny. I love my micro-wave but know others who will never use one.
Stush

Eh - yeah, it's radiowaves exciting water molecules. But to each their own, I guess!

Tiffany, the only thing bug-wise I would think of would be fungus gnats (wow, thank goodness for spell check!) but I was doing it mainly for weed seeds, hoping it would denature them.

Oh, YES to bacon. I was explaining a or-derve (spell check can't get me through that one) to a neighbor last night - it's dates (maybe figs?) stuffed with goat cheese and then wrapped in Bacon. OMD, I must have ate 20 of them. My neighbor laughed and said "Yeah, I've had them - they're called "Crack"."

No kidding.

Update, update....
The crest grew larger. Size of quarter now.





I think we can justly say this is a crest.

Very nice

Oh man!

That's one hell of a crest!

Looks great!

Now you can start hoping its stable and continues it's horizontal growth indefinatly, even if it doesn't you still got the one, and they look really cool when new vertical meristems shoot out like fingers...but a stable one you could cut of, or whittle down into more crests would be great!
I always think more is better when it comes to most plants, especially moderately small ones.

Update;
Funny thing, Crest is still growing. I would think it would stop for winter but still going. Picture soon.
Another update, started to transplant my Stapelia into their own pots. Huernias' are next. I got 23 plants out of 50 seeds. Hoping they start to bloom this year so I can see what to keep and what to give out.


Stush

They look so cute.

They look like those balloon figures at used car lots.

Update on crest;



Notice it is still growing. New sprouts all along the edge. Rest of plant is dormant. I am going to remove it very soon. Waiting for warmer weather.

Also got all my Huernia seedlings potted up. Got 30 plants altogether. My Stapeliads are also potted up. They look identical. Got about 25 of them. I still have a few Stapeliads that are just sprouting thru the soil even this late. All the Huernias has sprouted the same and no late comers. Pictures coming soon.
Stush