RJS CalMag Paph-MX-6.0..Goood, Bad, or DEADLY?

[RJSquirrel]

I came up with my own paph mix fertilizer

Im Out of collected RW now and I move to tap water. It is running 7.5 to 8.0 on the PH scale.


Of course that doesn't tell you whats in the water only the condition the waters in when you tested it. From all I have been finding leans to the water and soil being slightly on the acid side of the PH scale for most plants to be able to use the nutrients you are giving it. High PH means to me that your are wasting fertilizer on your plants bec they cant pick it up or pick up very little. Your just watering them not FEEDING them.
So I made me some Paph mix from stuff around the house..So you guys and girls that are good at this let me know here before I use too much

RJS PAPH MX-6.0 (1 gallon)

1/4 teaspoon Orchid Plus 20-14-13...the standard weakly weekly base I use monthly on paphs and weekly on everything else.

1/4 teaspoon SuperThrive...everyone uses this stuff,just vitamins.

1 tablespoon Pelletized Lime...for Calcium needy paphs, remember they live on rocks

1/4 teaspoon Magnesium...Epsom Salt..Dont drink this yourself unless...supplies magnesium to the paphs being a small ingredient in OP bec Im giving it only 1/4 the full dose. I supplement magnesium.

1 tablespoon Lime juice...ahh this drops the PH to 6.0 of my MX Paph mix enabling the plant to use what I have just given it...

1 gallon of crappy tap water..any tap water will do just test the PH and add Lime juice to get the level you want..I wanted 6.0 so thats what I got


and if this doesn't work Margaritas For Everyone!!

[RJSquirrel]

please dont encourage me anymore

[monna lisa]

Hi,
Just a few question to be sure you're doing the right thing for your Paphs:
1) did you measure the electrical conductivity of your solution? Too much dissolved salts would be dangerous for roots...
2) are you sure Paphs thrive with a water pH around 6?
I read most of Paphs like a bit more basic pH to adsorbe nutrients, especially Magnesium. If you've got other information about pH issue I'd be very glad if you could post it here...I can't take any more of doing different pH solutions for my mixed plant collection!!!
Good growing!

[RJSquirrel]

no measure EC....have to borrow a meter for that or do the math on all the ingredients...


This is a monthly mix..it gets 2 irrigation waterings in between. Should be no build up of salts in the substrate. The PH of the water mix only makes the nutrients available to the plant, it doesn't live in a 6.0 state. Now I need to test the bark mix to actually see what it is, as low PH soil is bad indeed. Rainwater here is 5.5 to 6.0 so Im making my tap water PH more like rainwater. Ever wonder why plants seem to do better after a rain? Its because the PH makes the micro/macro nutrients more available in different ranges.

This is getting complicated real fast but the lime leeching thru should raise the PH of the soil back up after the plant has picked out what it needs..I sure wish a few experts would help me out ....I'm kind of out on a LIMB dangling



hmmm now Im reading "hardness is actually a measure of calcium and magnesium in the water bec it is insoluble salts of ions"...I don't have to do any of this it looks like..I really wantto make a secret sauce for paphs

" * Macronutrients tend to be less available in soils with low pH.
* Micronutrients tend to be less available in soils with high pH.

Lime can be added to the soil to make it less sour (acid) and also supplies calcium and magnesium for plants to use. Lime also raises the pH to the desired range of 6.0 to 6.5.

In this pH range, nutrients are more readily available to plants, and microbial populations in the soil increase. Microbes convert nitrogen and sulfur to forms that plants can use. Lime also enhances the physical properties of the soil that promote water and air movement."

[Ray]

Originally Posted by RJSquirrel

" * Macronutrients tend to be less available in soils with low pH.
* Micronutrients tend to be less available in soils with high pH.

Lime can be added to the soil to make it less sour (acid) and also supplies calcium and magnesium for plants to use. Lime also raises the pH to the desired range of 6.0 to 6.5.

In this pH range, nutrients are more readily available to plants, and microbial populations in the soil increase. Microbes convert nitrogen and sulfur to forms that plants can use. Lime also enhances the physical properties of the soil that promote water and air movement."

Oh? And you're growing orchids in soil, are you?

What makes you think such "soil" info is pertinent?

[RJSquirrel]

it was just a quote from an Aggie Land management page to show how the PH affects nutrients your plant has available to it...you can plant things in whatever you want to plant em in...if the PH isnt right it isnt going to get fed what it should be getting fed..

Orchid bark mix or its substrate should be neutral itself.

Are you telling me this doesn't apply to orchids?
maybe I should have used the word Substrate?

I tested the Rainwater today cus we had some and its PH was 6.3- 6.6...

AC condensor water has even lower PH and I don't know why that should be..I have to test another bucket of it when it fills up.

All I was trying to do with the mix was equate RW acidity...and tailor it for my paphs. We all hear our plants do so well after a good rain..I thinks its bec the PH is lower than your tap water or your AC condensor run off and therefore the plants are able to pick up more nutrients..

all water is not the same the rain I get tomorrow could be less or more on the PH scale

[RJSquirrel]

I guess if Im going to play mad science lab I need some mad science tools got me one of these. And eventually Ill find someone to help me somewhere, maybe not here but somewhere someone will assist me in my endeavour.


I realize gloating over blooms is more important.

[tucker85]

That's a lot of Superthrive. I thought it was supposed to be one or two drops per gallon.

[Call_Me_Bob]

Originally Posted by tucker85

That's a lot of Superthrive. I thought it was supposed to be one or two drops per gallon.

thats what i thought too. my bottle says 1-5 drops per gallon, when watering sensitive plants and orchids. there are different instructions for hardier plants

[Ray]

SOIL has a lot of minerals with lattice sites capable of interacting with the chemistry of solutions dumped into them. The vast majority of orchid media have relatively few - essentially none - so do not affect nutrient availability.

If the ion is in solution, it's probably available to the plant.