Let's Talk Orchid Fertilising & Watering | My Current Nutrient Mix & Watering Routine in Semi-Hydro
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- Опубликовано: 11 июл 2024
- Hi everyone, it's Annabel, welcome back to my channel! Today we are going over my updated nutrient mix (including; rain mix, seaweed, silicon, & fulvic acids), how I make it up, and my watering routine for fertilising orchids. I hope you enjoy the video!
Background Info + Links below!
Previous videos referenced here:
pH + equipment : • Video
My original nutrient video: • Let's Talk : Orchid Nu...
Rhy. retusa SH conversion: • Rhynchostylis Retusa :... (Sorry, Bad Audio!)
Here...but Not's blog post on experiences with Phosphoric acid as pH down: bit.ly/2YeJOR8
I'm not saying it is bad or I wouldn't ever use it, but something to be careful with. I've always used Citric anyway, something to bear in mind.
Info on Silicon by St. Aug Orchid Soc. : bit.ly/2Sl2if0
ResearchGate Submission on Si in Phals, Datnoff. et. al : bit.ly/3c05jJq
Info on Humic vs Fulvic acid and roles: www.earthgreen.com/humic-vs-fu...
Time stamps:
00:00 Introduction
02:00 Mixing the Fertilisers
18:47 Watering the Orchids
Music @Ikson
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Instagram: / the.orchid.room
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❀ My Orchid Room ❀
UK Spare Bedroom
Temps- 18-35C
Humidity 50-75%.
Artificial lighting
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✩ Plant Products I Use & Love ✩
Quick Disclaimer - These are products I genuinely love, buy and use- I wouldn't list something I didn't use regularly and purchase myself. I've provided links to try and make them easier to find, some of these are Amazon affiliate links. If you choose to purchase any of these products through the Amazon links below, I may get a small percentage towards future purchases, which helps me continue this passion! If you choose to not purchase through these links though, I totally understand! Thank you for supporting me if you do ♡
Today's Products:
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💧Water & Nutrients🌱
ZeroWater Filter: amzn.to/2KaaYjP
Rain Mix, UK: bit.ly/2yaTfX5 or Akerne: bit.ly/2XEj3W3
Silicon: amzn.to/2K41IxJ
Seaweed: Maxicrop Original/with Iron : amzn.to/2VbQ0rv
pH Down: amzn.to/3cWgZNA
Fulvic Acid: amzn.to/2SgUVFm
or Orchid Focus: amzn.to/3aU4sJi - I will probably go back to just Fulvic next time, Humic is supposed to have solubility issues at lower pH...
Equipment:
pH Meter: amzn.to/2VZf6Zw
pH Storage/Cleaner duo: amzn.to/2xNI0nE
Distilled/Deionized Water: amzn.to/2KIrkRn
Glass Jars: amzn.to/351bR8d
Replacement Calibration Sachets: amzn.to/2xNI0nE
❀ Inorganic Media ❀
RHS Alpine Horticultural grit or washed gravel- non wicking pebble top layer
LECA - Canna Aqua Brand: amzn.to/2Z5sPPy
or IKEA
Pumice : Medium grade ~10mm : amzn.to/3aTCIFn Or Kaizen bonsai, small or large grade: bit.ly/3aeYKRW
Synthic: UK supplier bit.ly/2RCb4oI
US: Glassbox Tropicals : bit.ly/2wHy2na
Seramis : amzn.to/2QdyP59 or bit.ly/2V90RSJ (cheaper)
❃ Organic media ❃
Sphagnum moss by Besgrow
Orchiata bark (Both from Orchid Acc. UK: bit.ly/3elQItD )
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🐛Pest Control🐛
Pink Sun Neem Oil/Soap duo: amzn.to/39qyPam
Systemic insecticide Bug Clear Ultra (5g/l Acetamiprid): amzn.to/39nTzzS (10ml/litre)
💡 Lighting 💡
Lower Light Orchids (Phalaenopsis, Oncidiums)
IKEA Tertial Lamps: bit.ly/2Vs492t
Fitted with Amazon Basics 1500 lumen cool white LED bulbs: amzn.to/36RnRsG
High Light Orchids (Vandas, Cattleyas)
GEMMA Lights: bit.ly/34CqY7Z , 10% discount with code 'OrchidRoom'
Mars Hydro TS600
MARS HYDRO TS600 Amazon Link: amzn.to/3bagRcS
❃ Shelving ❃
Wire shelving, Hartleys direct: bit.ly/2REpeWl
Metal shelving IKEA Mulig : bit.ly/3bkUjGc
✩ Pots ✩
13cm Buckets Amazon: amzn.to/2V92cci (£~20 for 35)
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Cheaper alternatives to Elho outers:
14cm white pot cover: bit.ly/2XBmGMo
16cm white pot cover: bit.ly/2VwLti0
18cm white pot cover: bit.ly/3cmwTRb
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DIY Self-watering:
15cm (White outer) made with IKEA Nejkon outer mask: bit.ly/2VuSu2S
and various 15cm clear internal orchid pots
Larger made using elho brussels outer pots: amzn.to/2QxPhwT (20cm)
with orchid focus inner pots: amzn.to/2ZAW0KX (21cm) Or larger.
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Wick for self watering pots: amzn.to/2sMuWM7
Self watering pots with water level gauge: amzn.to/2S5o4UL
Lechuza mini deltini: amzn.to/2sKHuny
#FeedingOrchids #OrchidNutrients #Watering #TheOrchidRoom Feeding Orchids
Something I forgot to add here, but once a month I feed at a more neutral pH, just over 7, to boost absorption of phosphorous - which stops being absorbed well under a pH of 6.5, as well as increasing magnesium and calcium absorption. Since the LECA raises the pH by about 0.3 and the pumice raises it slightly more, my actual pH in the posts will probably be around 6 3 in 4 waterings, and around 7.5 1 in 4 waterings. I forgot to mention in this video, but I mention in the first nutrient video I did. Sorry about that! 🙂
Hello Annabel,
I´m impressed. What you do is professional. Actually I´m testing more expensive vertilizers, based on your hints. Many thanks. You inspired me lot.
Thank you for the info. Very interesting. Loved it. All your orchids seem to be loving their feed as well as they seem to be doing very well. Have a great day.
Thanks Kim!
Thanks for all the detail on ingredients and your process. Very well explained!
Thankyou, I'm happy you think so and glad it was useful! 😀
Great video! Lots of good information. Happy growing! 💜
Thankyou! Happy you found it informative! Happy growing to you too 🙂
Excellent video Annabel, thanks. 🌞
Thanks Margaret! 🙂
Great. Absolut professional. My respect.
Thank you for that video! A great one and very helpful!
Thanks! I'm glad it was useful 😀
Great demonstration!
Thanks 😀 I wasn't sure if it was needed, but thought I'd make an updated video with my current method!
I almost ordered a Zero Water container over the weekend - the larger one. Glad to hear your opinion on the ease of use of the smaller one. I will go with that one for now.
Your plants are beautiful. And not just the flowers, the plants themselves are beautiful. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks again for a great and informative video
Thanks! Thought I'd make an update since I'm going to start trying this superthrive thing and I've been adding in the fulvic 🙂 Maybe not needed, but I don't like referring people to older videos that may have filming issues I'm not so happy with! 😂
Great video Annabel! I recently bought the zerowater filter and it works great - brings my tap water down from 360 to 0 ppm! I've meant to ask you when you change filters, and now I know 😘
Great video very informative thanks and have a great day.
Thanks, I hope you have a great day also 🙂
Great video. Very informative.
Thanks! Glad you found it useful! 🙂
I am sorry that I do not leave comments that much, but this time just have to! This video is what i needed! Turns out I do have the same problems with my pH down solution as "Here.. but not" had!!! Same brand, same problems. But I couldn't lay my finger on it, until now. So BIG BIG thanks!!!!! (btw, I watch all your vids, thank you so so much...)
I'm glad if this video helped you at all, and thankyou for watching and sticking with me 🙂 I think Dustin ended up with some sort of odd secondary fungal infection with most of his collection too, as well as nasty blackened roots, maybe due to stress that the acid caused with root damage? If it's the same problem you may need to get an antifungal in too, I think his plants are all on the mend now and there seems no definite answer to the cause, but it does seems to have been linked to the phosphoric acid so I steer well away, even if it was a complete fluke, or a build up caused by the product, or just a contaminated batch. I hope your plants all recover soon!
Hi Annabel, great video very informative 😃 would love to see a video of your Autumn and winter regime. I'm a very new orchid grower and I have no clue how orchids are fertilised in the colder darker months, and indeed if they really should be during that time of year. Thanks for such a great video!
Hi! Thankyou 🙂 Maybe this video will help to explain how I water and fertilise year round : ruclips.net/video/BLca9G9LVxM/видео.html . Light provides energy which drives growth, less light, less growth, less nutrients needed. Temperature will also affect your watering and therefore how often you can fertilise. This will differ for all of us. I provide extra supplemental light and heat in winter, so my care doesn't differ dramatically. Hope that helps!
@@TheOrchidRoom great thanks so much Annabel! I live in Ireland so I have a similar climate to yours and will be growing some of my orchids, mainly Cattleyas under lights😁
Hi Annabel. I really love your videos dear just keep them coming. I would like to ask you one thing though? I would feed with around 300ppm every watering or every month? I am soon starting to convert into semi-hydro and this is the only thing for now that I cannot figure out. Thanks for your help dear I appreciate xxx
This is such a lovely and informative video I have to come back to it few times . Thanks for sharing your routine fertiliser and watering with us. Hopefully we all get a lot more blooms with adjusting the pH. Do you know if you leave a fertilised water for a week, does it go acidic? For example a keep my vanda bucket for a week, so do you think it will go acidic?
Hi! Thankyou, I think maybe my routine is more complicated than is strictly needed, but I like to try new products and see how my orchids respond, and then if it seems good I keep adding it in, so I end up with maybe a more complicated routine than is necessary. But it works for me so thought I'd share it 🙂
Ok so this is something that does concern me a bit about reservoirs, the pH may well fluctuate due to the interaction the roots have with the media- roots can actually alter pH in the 'rhizosphere', as well as the microbiome involved, bacteria or algae interacting with biologicals in there, like seaweed, and nutrients . So the pH in the reservoir can change over time if it is left, but fortunately since it is continually going up and down and in some cases with me, nearly drying out, and being topped up with fresh, ai think that's the best we can do.
But your actual question about a bucket of fertiliser being left. Yes the pH can change, depending what is in there. Bacteria may breed in there, the mix may deteriorate. The best bet is to store in a cool dark space for a maximum of a week really. Hope that helps!
@@TheOrchidRoom I bought one of those filtering jogs and used the filtered water with my nutrients. It looks amazing. I'm sure my orchids love it . Thanks for making this video. I am ordering orchid focus stuff too. Have you noticed any difference when you using it or when not using it?
Ha! I gave my orchids absolute smorgasbord a couple of days ago just before you uploaded this video. About the only difference was I added an antifungal
I usually do the spray antifungal, wear a mask, open all the windows and hold my breath scenarios 😂 Hadn't thought about adding a systemic into the reservoirs, do you think it would go off or be bad leaving it in? I got desperate and did that with a systemic insecticide once, it nuked the thrips in the pots but then I was so worried about what if it kills the roots being sat in the reservoirs that I only fed pure water for like the month after that...
May I ask: how do you use silicon as a ph-up if your other nutrients are already mixed? How do you prevent it from sludging? I ask because my ferts are pushing my RO water's ph way down, and I would like to be able to use silicon to adjust after mixing.
Adding it after will still raise the pH, but any you add after may precipitate, it depends on your nutrients. It actually doesn't for me but it depends what you are using, best practice is to always add before other nutrients, which is what I do. If it does precipitate it won't be in solution so probably won't be usable by the orchids, it will still have raised the pH though. Better to add it before nutrients and then slowly pH down, so that you don't need to pH adjust upward. You don't want to be adding loads or it can affect absorption of calcium. Take your RO, add silicon at the recommended dose by the manufacturer, aiming for around 40-50ppm probably, pH will be raised to around 8. Add your other nutrients, then pH back down if still necessary. If your fert is lowering the pH to below 5.5 then probably worth changing fertiliser.
Hi Annabel... It was very informative on feeding orchids in self watering pots... How do you do the flushing in those?? Some of the pots which have pumice mix might be heavier... It would be nice to see a small video on that portion.
Nice videos. ❤️❤️
Hi! Thanks for your comment!
Every 3 or 4 waterings I water with pure water, that's my flushing.
Many of the ones in this video are in mixes of pumice and LECA, they all get fed the same. I don't do anything different for seramis, pumice, leca etc, I only adjust based on the orchids in the mixes and what they are doing. Have a great day/ evening!
@@TheOrchidRoom Thanks for the input... I'm trying to convert some of my orchids to semi hydro... So all the information is crucial and valued.
Have a Good Day.. it's actually 2 in Morning here.
Very educational - as usual, thanks Annabel.
I hope this is not too off the point of your video, but I have seen that lately you are growing African Violets in leca and wonder whether you use this same nutrient mix for them?
I currently wick-water them and have a mix for that, but I wonder should I use that or my orchid nutrient mix for the ones in leca?
All get the same nutrients 🙃
@@TheOrchidRoom Thank you. I will do the same with mine 👍
If you get a mixer tape hose adapter and connect to the ro that will work
I am just in the process of converting to SH on leca, I will probably look for the products you are using soon, but for now I will finish what I have. I hate to throw them away. Thank you for this excellent video👍🏼🍀
I agree on using up what you have! I love rain mix and seaweed, If I had to simplify I would just use those two products. Rain mix has Si in anyway so I am reducing my Silicon feeds since realising I was giving a lot with the combination!
I started using Superthrive a few months ago and saw notable root improvement in a few weeks. One aspect of fertilizers i would love your take on is foliar vs watering. I like to take some of my Semihydro orchids to the office and also just got promoted to an office with a window to make it easier to take more but flushing is a huge burden with chlorinated city water and an office setting. Was debating switching to straight distilled water in the reservoir and foliar spray but I’m thinking that won’t give all the nutrients they will need. Thoughts?
Hi! With regards to your query, I don't believe foliar feeding has significant enough absorption for most elements, with the exception of magnesium, so I don't do it at all. Every time you spray something onto the orchids, there is a risk of rot if the air movement isn't high enough. Every time I do a spray treatment all my fans and heater have to go on to get the orchids dry asap. There is very limited evidence for efficient uptake for the other major nutrients by foliar feeding, so IMO It should never be used as a replacement for providing nutrients through roots. Maybe buy a zero water filter jug for your office?
My query with superthrive was really if it holds any advantages over seaweed, since the only ingredients I can see immediately that are active in it are the hormones present in seaweed.... but the full ingredients list doesn't seem to be published so maybe they have put something else in it.
That was truly my thought as well, was just hoping. And being as i started using Superthrive as a seaweed substitute b/c it is easier for me to get here in the US since they have started selling it in some chain stores i think you will find they are fairly similar.
Dear Annabel, I've watched your video maybe 10 times till now and am really very impressed! So many thoughts on the subject! And you're very good at explaining things.
Now after 10 times I'm ready to ask you 2 questions:
1) Citric acid for ph- no matter what kind? Even as powder?
2) I can't get it, why do you fertilize that much higher than American growers recommend? I don't mean youtubers only, but also and foremost those like, say, Fred Clark. The recommendation is about 100ppm, 150ppm for Catasetinae and Vandas. And flash after 30minutes. Of course, you make your own experience, that's not my question, but have you learned this formula from someone before trying? I know many people in Germany fertilize higher, too. I just can't find a solution for me. I have my hard water with 300ppm or 250ppm after filtering with Brita, so I can't really add much fertilizer to it anymore. My problem is: my orchids roots which lay on the substrate and my sphagnum moos get salt on them and become brownish. But yours look absolutely fine!
I've now bought reverse osmosis filter and I don't get it how to make the water right for orchids. 🤷♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️ Would you say your fertilzing formula - despite higher ppm - is not that salty to damage the roots, because the salts in the fertilizers you use are "good salts" for orchids? 🤷♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️
Thank you very much in advance@
Hi Julia,
I think this video may answer many of your questions 🙂 ruclips.net/video/XefXQHrtmGo/видео.html . You can skip to the start of the watering and fertiliser section by dragging the timeliness to those chapters.
There is also this video with more supplemental info responding to people's questions on fertiliser ruclips.net/video/_mBy-mPURFM/видео.html . The first video answers your questions more specifically with regards to water quality and amount of fertiliser.
Citric acid is a good pH down - many pH downs labelled as organic will be citric acid based. Alternatively you can use other acid based pH downs designed for hydroponic use.
Fertiliser goes hand in hand with light and temperature. You need to seperate it out by looking at individual nutritient PPM , not overall PPM. I can't imagine many professional greenhouses feed much less than 30ppm Nitrogen for vandas and phalaenopsis- if your fertiliser is 10% N, then that's 300ppm. There are many research papers showing phalaenopsis need 30-50ppm N. This is all dependant on light and other cultural factors. If using tap water you'll need to be very careful with fertiliser addition and flush religiously- rain or RO water are much better options so you should see improvement with RO. This is all explained in more detail in the first video linked, so I hope that helps you 🙂
@@TheOrchidRoom thank you very much Annabel for your detailed answer. Now I get that with higher nitrogen. That makes the difference, of course! I watched both recommended videos and got me seaweed and citric acid. Full ready to start with the water preparation! Wish me luck! 🍀))
Have a nice beginning of a year and I'm looking fwd to new exciting videos from you 🌺🌺
Thanks Julia, I hope it helped clarify 🙂 I think that much of the confusion between different growers comes from all the different fertiliser brands we use with different individual nutrient composition, and then only stating the total ppm they use. I know a popular brand In the US and florida is Peters, which uses ammonia and urea based nitrogen, which is absorbed more effectively at higher temperatures. Nitrate based Nitrogen is less likely to cause root burn at lower temperatures as it has overall better absorption, and so is more user friendly if growing below 25C. I digress- my point was, I suspect many US growers use Peters or similar. Peters is 20% Nitrogen- so 150ppm would give you 30ppm N, same as me Fertilising with 300, except my Fertiliser contains many more nutrients at lower amounts. So always take what people say with a grain of salt- look at what they say their total ppm is, then look at the fert brand and the percentage of each element- N, P, K, Ca and Mg, and see if they are also using one with micronutrients like silicon etc. Then look at what their actual individual ppm of each nutrient is. St augestine orchid society has a good pdf with recommended element levels- they go as far as to suggest 60ppm N or over, but Ibimagine they are growing hotter and with higher light. Good luck and happy growing 🙂🌱
@@TheOrchidRoom seems like I have to revise my maths with all that % ☺☺☺ My new rain ferilizer will have low amount of nitrogen -
NPK 14+7+22+5CaO+2MgO+TE. I might have to add more CalMag to it, too.
Good luck to you too! 💖💖
Its super easy 🙂 Yours is 14% N, so in 100ppm total it would have 14ppm N 🙃 best to start off low, so for that I'd personally probably start off at 150ppm total, and then work your way up during the peak growing season when they need more, or if you notice any leaf yellowing or patching at all, or other signs of nute deficiency 🙂💗🌱 Extra cal mag at every few waterings wouldn't hurt for sure. See how you go 🙂🤞
Hi Annabel. Is there a difference between PPM and TDS. A TDS meter shows Total dissolved solids. I was under impression that TDS and PPM are different measurements.
Hi! So PPM - parts per million, TDS- Total dissolved solids / solutes. So with a TDS meter we are measuring the total dissolved solids, and the unit of measurement is parts per million. So total dissolved solids in parts per million. People often refer to the unit alone, for example 50ppm Nitrogen, which may be where the confusion comes from. Hope that helps!
Hey Annabel, thanks so much for these very useful videos! I am super rookie and I tend to be a little erratic at times, just trying my best luck. So, the first time I started watching this video I had to stop immediately to go search for Zerowater, which I didn't know at all. I had no idea there's a system filtering out so much out of tap water. Now, I would like to hear your thoughts about the durability of the cartridges since I read a few negative comments on Amazon: people saying that the water reading spiked high above zero after just three weeks. I would not use the Zerowater that much: I guess these people relied on it as their main system for drink water and that has quickly depleted the cartridge functionality. What is your experience with that? Would you say that this is true? I might be cheap, but at 26 EUR a cartridge I would be slightly pissed to change it so often!
Gosh, I always write so mush... sorry about that and THANKS for your videos! You are the reference when it comes to media choices!!
Hi there! So it will completely depend on the TDS if the tap water you put in and how much you use it. I use about 20-30 litres a week in summer and every 2 weeks in winter, supplemented with rain water where I can and split across 2 filters. Each filter lasts a few months. The tap water TDS I put in varies between 250-280, the higher the solute count in your tap water the shorter the filter will last. So if your ppm is around 500 it will last you half the time it lasts me, if that makes sense. And like you say, when using it for drinking water people change it out when it gets to 6ppm, and I keep going until around 40ppm usually, depending on how acidic the water gets. And that does seem to fluctuate a bit, so if you go out into this zone I would double check with a pH pen just to make sure, I've had some filters acidify down to around pH 4 after they have gone to around 30ppm, while some change the pH only slightly. Hope that helps!
Sorry, replying on mobile so I can only see bits at a time! Yeah the filters aren't cheap, I bought an 8 pack on a black friday deal direct from zerowater last year (if black Friday I guess that was november?). So I have lots left from that, as my watering increases over summer the whole filtering thing is going to get more intense though, so not sure if they will quite last a year. But that's because I have too many orchids to be sensibly filtering water for them all really 😂 🤦♀️ And thanks for the complement, it means alot to me, and I'm glad you are enjoying the videos! 🙂
@@TheOrchidRoom Thanks so much for your very kind reply - very important the note on the pH: I would have run the risk to fry those poor roots! So, I'll get for the Zerowater + a pH pen! And when the shops will reopen (Milan, Italy here) I'll visit the pet supply store to look for the small gravel you use on top of your media set ups.
Keep up the great work!
Wishing you a lovely weekend,
Marco (sorry I didn't sign my first message :-))
Hi Annabel, can silica be used with bark and moss mix? thanks
No reason not to 👍
@@TheOrchidRoom are you familiar with the BudLink silicon?
Unfortunately not. Most are 6% potassium silicate though so should be identical, with the exception of rhinoskin which is pre- pH buffered so doesn't increase pH as much. The best form is silicon is monosilicic acid though, as it is bioavailable immediately without conversion required. Expensive and hard to get however. For more info on the different types: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6027496/ , info on root uptake and some results with foliar feeding. Best uptake through the roots, foliar feeding ineffective but as a topical application can control some pests and diseases- not absorbed well however compared to roots
@@TheOrchidRoom yeah, BudLink does raise the pH, by about 2. But it says that it is a third part nutrient, and I have slow release fertilizer in the pot already, so I am mixing it with sea weed and some additional calcium, magnesium and iron. The problem is that I am not sure how much to delute as the instructions are for as third part nutrient. Should I use ppm as reference? 2ml of this silica raises ppm by about 20 in 1l of water.
Back again dear Annabel !!
What’s the percentage of nitrogen you fertiliser has ? Do you use cal nitt and potassium nitt ??
Edit #1
Ok I found from your link your Rain mix has 11.8 % nitrogen !
Do you increase value of nitrogen time to time ?
When you move more in to your growing seasons ? Or this % remain throughout?
My last quarry is :
Do you feed Rain mix to the plants you just repotted ? I mean until you see your plants pushing out growth . Do you feed rain mix ??
Can you explain the growth cycle-starting from calcium pilling than forming bob than nubbin and nubbin has two three leafs and finally the growth pushing out tender . Can you explain each stage care how you are taking for your orchids May be in a batch !!
If you wish may skip my question . It might sound complicated to you if you are not use to these cycles of treatments in semi hydro
Hi Hamim,
If you look in the video I put the Nitrogen, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium and Phosphorus percentages of rain mix up on screen, on the intro to it.
As I say, I feed more when the plants are growing more.
Im confused as to why would you like me to explain plant growth cycles, when you just explained them to yourself....When plants are putting out new growth, they need more nutrients, so I feed more nutrients. I do address these queries in this video, I've said I adjust according to growth and explained why. This is just how I do things, you can judge how my orchids respond.
Thanks for watching.
Great info.
Tho why not use hydroponic nutrients design for water growing? Ive just started semi hydro and just using hydroponic nutrients as its quick and easy will see how they go and change and adapt once I have more experience.
Why would thay be better than rain mix? Rain mix offers the best balance of nutrients I've seen available here and has worked well for me long term in semi hydro for orchids, most of the other hydroponic nutrient mixes I have seen lack enough calcium and magnesium at the least so would need supplementing for my conditions... I like rain mix and I like that it contains micronutrients as well, so until I see something better I see no reason at all to change? It's also very economical. If there was a hydroponic feed that contained more than 10% nitrogen and Calcium, as well as good doses of Magnesium, phosphorus and potassium, including micronutrients that was cheaper than rain mix and lasted as long, of course I would be open to changing.
@@TheOrchidRoom I neeed to see if its available here in Australia and try it.
You just want a general balanced fertiliser, in hydroponics they manually control nutrients by using a NPK and adding calcium nitrate and magnesium sulfate to fine tune exactly as required- you can do that instead, but your question was why dont I, and the simple answer is I just don't need to. Maybe check the MSU research on the benefits of regular complete balanced fert. In Aus orchie dee uses a product that is complete, I think the nitrogen in it is urea rather than nitrate but in hot temps that should be fine. This is the one she uses which I thought looked quite good: www.australianorchids.com.au/products/2782897 . Or like you say, buy a hydroponic NPK and then add in extra Calcium and Magnesium. Hope that helps.
I used Rhino Skin (pricey) for years, then went for a cheaper option and the ph was affected ... it’s not a big deal to ph down but Rhino Skin doesn’t alter the ph , so... I’ll go back to that when I’ve used up the cheaper stuff.
Oooh I just looked into it and it's readily available over here too, thanks for the tip off, I will be sure to try that one out next once this bottle is used up! How much do you use of the silicon? I've always just added a ml per litre roughly and never checked, but it seems to fluctuate between 50 and 100 ppm sometimes after having been asked to check it a few times 😂 still think I'm going to carry on with 1ml/L since I've been naively doing it for so long 🤦♀️😂
The Orchid Room i use 2ml / liter but only in the summer. I will only now start applying it to my vandas in my next jacuzzi mix for them. And only until October. So, I guess it’s the same if you just use 1ml consistently
Ok thanks, I'm just going to keep going with ml, good to hear about other ways to use it. I figure since I'm pushing mine for year round growth with all the lights etc, they get a baseline level year round, then top-ups in really active growing points. It's always fun to see what other growers use, look forward to your Vanda tub video 😀
Thank you for the update and the info. I’m wanting to try the rainmix, but I’m wanting to use up my other fertilizers first. They can get expensive.
If you are in the US, I would go for MSU 🙂
I like when my water turns brownish/yellow like this after I put the fertilizer in... literally like JUNGLE WATER for EXTRA GROWTH haha 😆 🌱
Jungle juice 🤣🤣🤣 It's what they like 😆
where is your muffin?😅😅😅😍😍😍
Probably asleep knowing him 😂😂😅😴🐈
The Orchid Room 😍😍😍😅😅😅
I enjoyed this! Around :20, I think you mean "regimen" vs "regime". 😊
Oops 😅😂 Thanks!
Hi annabel
What’s up. !!
I am on board your video . As usually I do . Shall continue seeing ad witting my points . If I need to shall edit in my second view .
You could take a bit if water in a cup and measure it separately while you can use your bulk solution for other word . Any way if you are comfortably comfortable it’s finer. But I do like that when I take ph reading .
Edit # 1
I see you are showing the changes in oh keeping the oh pen holding on bulk water? That’s ok 👌
Edit # 2
What’s your temperature while you mixing ? It looks too high . 400 ppm for phelo / vada / catacitum are ok but for Catt , den, ms it’s too high at my weather where my temperature is 30-34c humidity 85-90% .
Edit#3
So you already mentioned about high feeding plants . It’s ok 👌 sound good .
Edit #4
As you are in semi hydro and self watering culture , so my way may not / should not be similar or close to yours ixture :/ ppm as I grow inorganic at out door in a clay pot .
What’s your ppm level for Catt den ons ?
Hi Hamim,
In this video I describe how I feed my orchids, it was not meant to be taken as a tutorial. Thank you for watching!
The Orchid Room
Thanks for explaining things further !!
I really forgot you are in door . Mine has in door and out door too .
My out door getting natural light and occasionally rain ☔️ too. This is my growing season too . What I mean by growing cycle that’s for out door .
During this growing season at out door I do not feed any nitrogen . They get some tinny bit of calcium and magnesium . Sometime humic acid and super thrive for vandals only !!
Do you think for out door during this season my casual are ok 👌?
Feel free to tell me if you know about out door feeding orchids .
Thanks for your support . It was a nice video and I saved it as m Referance .
Don't even bother with SuperThrive. I used it for a year and noticed zero difference. It costs way more than seaweed and less effective, IME.
How funny that you use Si as a pH up, I will sometimes do the same if I want the nutrients to go in at a higher pH (say 7.0-7.2) to boost Ca uptake. I sometimes wonder if I shouldn't just add a wee bit in every time I water, there is no resource on how much is beneficial or if it even is. Some of the sources I've read say that DE powder is a more beneficial source of silica, especially for Paphs and Phrags.
I have been very intrigued by it after seeing alot of people saying how amazing it is... but not really any before/ afters with untreated plants... I'm still figuring out how to do it and which plants to match up. I guess I would need to do an untreated, a seaweed and a superthrive group... but I don't want to stop giving my plants seaweed 😂 maybe I'll buy some grocery store phals to try it on, but then there's the whole conversion to SH thing. Or I could use a few complex hybrid phals that I care less about, but they wouldn't really be matched. Meristem clones would be the ideal scenario I guess. Or divisions... maybe I could take some tenuifolia divisions and use them.
I also do a neutral-ish pH feed occasionally for the nutrients that get absorbed at higher ends, but I need to start doing it more 🙂
I'll look into the DE powder, haven't heard of that, thanks! 🙂
@@TheOrchidRoom just be aware there are two types of DE, one made from marine diatoms, one from freshwater, it has to be the freshwater type. I've been wary of using it because it does retain a high volume of fertilizer salts.
On the SuperThrive, I'll be interested to see a comparison group between the three. MOG did an experiment with seaweed and she didn't see any difference between seaweed treated and non-treated. I don't use it as much as I used to, since changing fertilizers and calmag it hasn't seemed necessary. I mostly use it on seedlings, struggling plants and for soaks on new bare root plants. And on my roses, they frigging love it. You want a lot of blooms on a rose, add seaweed when you water them, no joke. It isn't easy growing and blooming them in this climate, seaweed has definitely made a huge difference.