I started a new fertilizer regime and I’m not sure where I’ll be going with it. For the first several months I didn’t even think of fertilizing my orchids. The reclaimed water that I use for of them is supposedly high in trace elements as well as more common substances like nitrogen and calcium.
I did finally break down and bought some commercial fertilizer and started spraying with it just before the weather began to cool off. I don’t know what the orchids responded to - the fertilizer or the slightly more comfortable weather, but they really took off. New roots, new shoots, and some supposedly out of the season flowers began to show themselves. Even though this is the official “rest time“ for most of my species it seemed to me that on a warm day with temperatures in the 70s they might enjoy some water and a little bit of fertilizer.
I have to admit I kind of transgressed my own values, because I really don’t like the concept or the reality of commercial fertilizer. For one thing it leaves a salty residue on the plants that they have to get rid of by way of rainfall, which is hard to come by this time of year. But more serious I think is that using commercial fertilizers may alter the chemistry if not the anatomy of the root velamen. If that spongy layer that surrounds every root actually harbors beneficial micro organisms, organisms that fix nitrogen or benefit the plant in other ways, doesn’t the introduction of synthetic fertilizer alter that micro environment? We know that this is the case with field crops that are exposed to fertilizers. Overall they perform better, but the biology of the soil and its ability to support plants and their symbiotic micro organisms is diminished.
Also remember. I’m not asking my orchids to “perform.” Just want to see how they behave in nature.
Long story short I decided to move away from commercial fertilizers and did some reading about “organic” concoctions. Janet got enthused about this too and bought me a couple of pails and a sieve to work with.
I walked down to the landing a couple of blocks from my house picked up some seaweed that had washed up, mixed that with water, and threw in a little bit of our kitchen compost. After a day or two the liquid started to smell kind of poopy and I imagined that things had broken down sufficiently to apply it to the plants.
Along with its smell there was a kind of sticky sweetness (there were some rotting bananas and pineapple pieces in it) and I thought this might be a perfect way to attract more ants. Minus the smell, which kind of gets on me if the wind is blowing the wrong way, everything seemed like a total go. Only one problem. It seems to clog up my sprayer.
Good thing it’s the cool season right now and I don’t have to spray several times a day. I can keep experimenting with concentrations and I can work for a balance that allows me to spray evenly and consistently. I’ll let you know how it goes but right now I have to amble over to my rare Acampe papillosa That is just starting to open up in bloom.
I did finally break down and bought some commercial fertilizer and started spraying with it just before the weather began to cool off. I don’t know what the orchids responded to - the fertilizer or the slightly more comfortable weather, but they really took off. New roots, new shoots, and some supposedly out of the season flowers began to show themselves. Even though this is the official “rest time“ for most of my species it seemed to me that on a warm day with temperatures in the 70s they might enjoy some water and a little bit of fertilizer.
I have to admit I kind of transgressed my own values, because I really don’t like the concept or the reality of commercial fertilizer. For one thing it leaves a salty residue on the plants that they have to get rid of by way of rainfall, which is hard to come by this time of year. But more serious I think is that using commercial fertilizers may alter the chemistry if not the anatomy of the root velamen. If that spongy layer that surrounds every root actually harbors beneficial micro organisms, organisms that fix nitrogen or benefit the plant in other ways, doesn’t the introduction of synthetic fertilizer alter that micro environment? We know that this is the case with field crops that are exposed to fertilizers. Overall they perform better, but the biology of the soil and its ability to support plants and their symbiotic micro organisms is diminished.
Also remember. I’m not asking my orchids to “perform.” Just want to see how they behave in nature.
Long story short I decided to move away from commercial fertilizers and did some reading about “organic” concoctions. Janet got enthused about this too and bought me a couple of pails and a sieve to work with.
I walked down to the landing a couple of blocks from my house picked up some seaweed that had washed up, mixed that with water, and threw in a little bit of our kitchen compost. After a day or two the liquid started to smell kind of poopy and I imagined that things had broken down sufficiently to apply it to the plants.
Along with its smell there was a kind of sticky sweetness (there were some rotting bananas and pineapple pieces in it) and I thought this might be a perfect way to attract more ants. Minus the smell, which kind of gets on me if the wind is blowing the wrong way, everything seemed like a total go. Only one problem. It seems to clog up my sprayer.
Good thing it’s the cool season right now and I don’t have to spray several times a day. I can keep experimenting with concentrations and I can work for a balance that allows me to spray evenly and consistently. I’ll let you know how it goes but right now I have to amble over to my rare Acampe papillosa That is just starting to open up in bloom.
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