And the 'Best' fertilizer for orchids is...

[gonewild]

I really can't see how or why I would come up with a set watering schedule to account for all the variables of my growing conditions, or to increase the efficiency of management so I can spend more time at work and less with the plants.

Then I suggest you water at least twice a day. One hour less work and one hour more passion. :clap:

 

[Trithor]

Size of collection is a concern in figuring out time constraints, but I spend about an hour a day watering/pruning/feeding/....my orchids. I use a pump sprayer, and kind of take care of all three simultaneously. Also during that hour of watering/poking, I identify conditions that will take more serious time (for the weekend), plus enjoying whatever is flowering. But my collection fits in a 12X12 GH so if it was bigger, then time expenditure would go up, and I'd never get to work.

In some ways, the orchid growing is the fun/passion in my life, so I consider the watering aspect as much of an excuse to spend time appreciating and keeping tabs on the plants rather than a chore that gets in the way of some other aspect of growing. I really can't see how or why I would come up with a set watering schedule to account for all the variables of my growing conditions, or to increase the efficiency of management so I can spend more time at work and less with the plants.

Agreed, my problem is that without some automation, when I return home from a trip, I will find that I have a lot of room for new plants, and a lot less space on the compost heap.

 

[Rick]

This nutrient supply issue continues to vex planted aquarium folks. You can find lush, algae free, plant growth in Amazon basin with virtually zero NPK but if you try maintain an aquarium with anything less than a constant 10 ppm N and you get an algal mess.

Not only an algae mess but sick/dead fish.

I just saw (another) sustainability program that uses water from a fish aquaculture application as a sole source of water/nutrients for crop production.

Yes you can effectively grow plants on water that has fish living in it, without further supplementation. And if the fish are alive and healthy, then I can guarantee that NPK are going to be what orchid growers would consider "extremely low" compared to the fert concentrations we have historically applied.

 

[Rick]

Then I suggest you water at least twice a day. One hour less work and one hour more passion. :clap:

That's a good dream for sure Lance:wink:

 

[Rick]

Agreed, my problem is that without some automation, when I return home from a trip, I will find that I have a lot of room for new plants, and a lot less space on the compost heap.

Understood

Besides the WET wall, I also have a fogger tied to a humidistat. And wife/friends to cover in my prolonged absences:wink:

Extended trips are rare for me, and cause other areas of consternation

For instance "you love your orchids more than your grandkids"!!!

 

[Trithor]

Not only an algae mess but sick/dead fish.

I just saw (another) sustainability program that uses water from a fish aquaculture application as a sole source of water/nutrients for crop production.

Yes you can effectively grow plants on water that has fish living in it, without further supplementation. And if the fish are alive and healthy, then I can guarantee that NPK are going to be what orchid growers would consider "extremely low" compared to the fert concentrations we have historically applied.

I have started a trial 'aquaponic' program up at the farm. I have been trying to set up a system that will provide my staff with a source of protein and vegetable. We culture 'duck-weed' in a water reservoir, this water overflows into the fish dam (tilapia), and the duckweed is fed to the tilapia. The water from the fish dam percolates through a SH grow bed (currently chillis), and is returned to the water reservoir. Not a great success at the moment. The chillis are not thriving, although they are growing, and birds eat my fish before they grow large enough to warrant me eating.

 

[Trithor]

Understood

Besides the WET wall, I also have a fogger tied to a humidistat. And wife/friends to cover in my prolonged absences:wink:

Extended trips are rare for me, and cause other areas of consternation

For instance "you love your orchids more than your grandkids"!!!

......and the problem with that is?:rollhappy:

 

[Rick]

......and the problem with that is?:rollhappy:

Rolling pin to the Head:sob:

 

[gonewild]

I have started a trial 'aquaponic' program up at the farm. I have been trying to set up a system that will provide my staff with a source of protein and vegetable. We culture 'duck-weed' in a water reservoir, this water overflows into the fish dam (tilapia), and the duckweed is fed to the tilapia. The water from the fish dam percolates through a SH grow bed (currently chillis), and is returned to the water reservoir. Not a great success at the moment. The chillis are not thriving, although they are growing, and birds eat my fish before they grow large enough to warrant me eating.

Need a croc to eat birds and add them to the water fertility.

 

[Rick]

I have started a trial 'aquaponic' program up at the farm. I have been trying to set up a system that will provide my staff with a source of protein and vegetable. We culture 'duck-weed' in a water reservoir, this water overflows into the fish dam (tilapia), and the duckweed is fed to the tilapia. The water from the fish dam percolates through a SH grow bed (currently chillis), and is returned to the water reservoir. Not a great success at the moment. The chillis are not thriving, although they are growing, and birds eat my fish before they grow large enough to warrant me eating.

Dang. Need birds that poop without eating fish!! Then you need to worry about snakes and turtles (or crocs?!?!)

 

[Trithor]

I just need to refine the system. I think I need a larger biomass of fish to SH grow bed. The problem is that a small pilot hobby project has an alarming tendency to become a venture which makes you realize that it would have been better to have simply continued buying chicken and veg for the staff. Some projects are best left for NGO's and Startrek.
(Fortunately I have no crocs to contend with, but snakes, birds and genets take their toll)

 

[TyroneGenade]

I just need to refine the system.

Your mistake is using chillies. These plants want to be cool which is hard in the African sun. May I suggest tomatoes or zucchini? Beans may also work (high in protein).

You need to put some mesh or chicken wire of the dams to keep the birds out. The problem with this solution is that leaves etc... accumulate on top and make an ugly mess. Deeper ponds are another solution. Tilapia remain mostly at the bottom of the pond. I would ditch the duckweed (horrible stuff!) and switch to kitchen scraps.

Back to orchid fertilizer: I would continue to use the Seagrow if I weren't not thinking about growing indoors (bad smell...). So I am now planning to get K-light from Ray as well as Agra etc... I have a nice wide windowsill which is North facing (and one which is South facing for winter). (Ray, if you are back from holiday let me know!) I'm in Iowa so the tap water is liquid rock... Not sure how much K-light to add to that... But I would be spraying it on one day and then the next day spraying plane water and then just alternate like that and see how it goes. In the end, the plant will tell you whether it is happy or not.

 

[gonewild]

Look closely at the bark of the trees you are putting orchids on and you will see Lichen as well as moss.


The white stuff on the tree bark is Lichen.

Dendrobium cuthbersonii that was all but dead. Stuck it in the moss on the Macnut tree. It had zero roots, and was losing leaves...

Less than 3 months later it has a bud developing and is locked in...

 

[Trithor]

Do you generate a lot of kitchen scraps by some chance? Chillies seem to grow just fine in Mexico, I assume it is not too different from Africa climatically? Chilies grow well in open ground, but not so well under my aquaponics. I assume you have never tried to grow tomatoes in Africa (as opposed to Cape Town)? You might find that monkeys, antelope and nearly every other African wild animal would prefere them to chillies!
Chilies were a trial, I would not expect my staff to survive on a diet of chilies and fish alone, even if the thought makes me smile a bit.:rollhappy:

 

[Rick]

Your mistake is using chillies.

They grow pretty good in the desert SW of the US (with appropriate water availability). That's probably comparable to African sun!

I was thinking he should try Disas if the water was cool enough:rollhappy:

 

[TyroneGenade]

Oops... Sorry, was thinking of peppers.

I understand your problem with tomatoes. Hmm...

 

[NYEric]

There probably is a best fertilizer but it is probably made from and extract of Dali Lama poop! I would love to grow all my orchids naturally , on moss and lichen in the trees, but I dont live anywhere that that is possible. Therefore, I must supplement with man made products.

 

[gonewild]

There probably is a best fertilizer but it is probably made from and extract of Dali Lama poop! I would love to grow all my orchids naturally , on moss and lichen in the trees, but I dont live anywhere that that is possible. Therefore, I must supplement with man made products.

That is why we need to figure out what the best fertilizer is and not just assume the old ones are the best. There is no way to replicate Nature because there are too many variables. So we need to figure out what is the best substitute. Ricks use of the leaf litter ratios are probably correct. But if we consider the living moss and lichens there may be some tweaking to do.

 

[Stone]

That is why we need to figure out what the best fertilizer is and not just assume the old ones are the best. There is no way to replicate Nature because there are too many variables. So we need to figure out what is the best substitute. Ricks use of the leaf litter ratios are probably correct. But if we consider the living moss and lichens there may be some tweaking to do.

Leaf litter is a good start but you must also take into account nutrients from rain, wind deposits, soil and rock minerals, N fixing bacteria and algae, exudations from living leaves including moss and lichens, mycorrhiza and other fungi, dead soil animals, various droppings, nitrifying bacteria, the effect of neigbouring plants, etc. so off you go Lance.....figure it out

 

[gonewild]

Leaf litter is a good start but you must also take into account nutrients from rain, wind deposits, soil and rock minerals, N fixing bacteria and algae, exudations from living leaves including moss and lichens, mycorrhiza and other fungi, dead soil animals, various droppings, nitrifying bacteria, the effect of neigbouring plants, etc.

Leaf litter is a way to measure all the things you list except soil and rock deposits, but epiphytes grow above the soil and rock. Everything else that comes from above winds up in the litter. But the leaf litter may actually be low in content since all the epiphytes above have absorbed a lot of incoming nutrients. The open question is how accurately the leaf litter measurements compare to the actual root area of the orchids growing above.

so off you go Lance.....figure it out

I already have.