K-Lite-EA

[Ray]

All of the discussions about fertilizer recently, especially Xavier's comments about growqers supplementing the MSURO with MSUWW periodically, has gotten me curious about paphs and nitrogen source.

Comparing nitrogen in MSUWW with about 30% of the nitrogen being ammoniacal to MSURO and K-LIte at about 5%, I have had a batch of "Enhanced Ammonium" K-Lite made that is at 15%, and it should arrive tomorrow.

I would really like to see a side-by-side comparison, but I certainly don't have a big enough collection to do that any longer. Anyone interested?

 

[gonewild]

Is the enhanced ammonia from urea?

 

[Ray]

Ammonium nitrate.

The rhizosphere pH efffect is the same, though.

 

[kman]

The UREA monster stalks . . .

 

[Ozpaph]

let us know, if/when, its commercially available, please

 

[SelectOrchids]

That promises to be interesting, the plants will perform way better with the extra ammonium. It could go higher even.

Some of the fertilizers used in the 90s and 2000s were even half ammonium half nitrate ( the Jerry's Wundergrow was a good example).

 

[Djthomp28]

This sounds like a really interesting experiment. I am looking forward to learning what differences you and others see in the side by side. If I were more consistent these days, I would throw my name in the ring for the trial.

 

[Ray]

I am not going to be able to do a side-by-side experiment, having duplicates of only two plants. After 50+ years of growing, I am pretty observant of changes, but considering I’m about a month from moving plants indoors for the winter, that possibility is out the window.

 

[Ray]

 

[CharlesD]

Dyna-gro 7-9-5 seems like a similar concept with lower cal-mag. But for tds it adds to the fertilizer solution it doesn’t have that much nitrogen. I think your formula would be better in that respect.

It would be great if there was also a commercially available orchid fertilizer with an adjusted iron, manganese, zinc ratio per Xavier’s formulas

 

[Ray]

But for tds it adds to the fertilizer solution it doesn’t have that much nitrogen. I think your formula would be better in that respect.

I think folks get unnecessarily hung up on "TDS". Plus, most so-called "TDS meters" give crap results anyway.

I don't know what a 100 ppm N solution of this "EA" formula or the Dyna-Gro may be, but if you compare the MSU formulas with K-Lite, you get:

MSUWW 19-4-23-2Ca 530 ppm
MSURO 13-3-15-8Ca-2Mg 740 ppm
K-LIte 12-1-1-10Ca-3Mg 770 ppm

If I forget to feed my plant one week, I'll double the rate, meaning that, including the water, I'm pouring a 1650 ppm solution on them - and there has never been an issue.

 

[CharlesD]

I think folks get unnecessarily hung up on "TDS". Plus, most so-called "TDS meters" give crap results anyway.

I don't know what a 100 ppm N solution of this "EA" formula or the Dyna-Gro may be, but if you compare the MSU formulas with K-Lite, you get:

MSUWW 19-4-23-2Ca 530 ppm
MSURO 13-3-15-8Ca-2Mg 740 ppm
K-LIte 12-1-1-10Ca-3Mg 770 ppm

If I forget to feed my plant one week, I'll double the rate, meaning that, including the water, I'm pouring a 1650 ppm solution on them - and there has never been an issue.

That is a good point - I guess what I meant is that with higher nitrogen ratio the total ppm of fertilizer added (ionized or not) will be lower for the amount of nitrogen provided. I don't have RO where I am but I have decent well water and I continuously feed my paphs so I try to limit using higher concentrations or else I start to get salt accumulation.

Being the devils advocate I think you should bite the bullet and have 50/50 nitrate/ammonium but that might require using ammonium nitrate.

 

[Ray]

I'm gonna give this stuff a ride and see if I can see any differences.

ANyone else out there wanting to jump in, drop me an email.