Best liquid organic fertilizer

[JMLand]

Hi all. I have been growing my orchids strictly organic for the last year now. So far it has its ups and downs. But for the most part it works much better for me than using chemical. I was wondering if anyone else grows strictly organic and if so, what liquid fertilizer do you use. And if not liquid any water soluble ones out there?
I'm just looking to mix it up a bit.

[Cym Ladye]

The primary question is what do you mean by "organic"? Most fertilizers are based on naturally occurring elements. It sounds as if you have been using slow release pellets.

There are many high quality water dissolveable brands on the market. Buying fertilizer in liquid form is generally expensive so look for crystals which dissolve. I know First Ray Orchids on this site sells several high quality formulas for orchids.

I am not sure why you feel it important to use a "liquid organic fertilizer", but to each his own. Good luck,

Cym Ladye

[JMLand]

With organic I never get fertilizer burn, I can put paphs in sphag moss, feed plants more regularly and not have to worry about the ph of my water.
I grow organic because it eliminates many growing problems and shows better and more steady growth. An orchid in the wild doesn't get its nutrition from chemicals so why feed them chemicals? Just my thoughts.

[Jayfar]

Originally Posted by JMLand

With organic I never get fertilizer burn, I can put paphs in sphag moss, feed plants more regularly and not have to worry about the ph of my water.
I grow organic because it eliminates many growing problems and shows better and more steady growth. An orchid in the wild doesn't get its nutrition from chemicals so why feed them chemicals? Just my thoughts.

I'm sorry and no offense please, but those statements are just so incorrect in so many ways that I wouldn't know where to start rebutting them, except maybe to point to a near identical thread from last week if I can dig it up. Just for starters an orchid in the wild most certainly does get its nutrition from chemicals (and sunlight). I don't think organic means what you think it does.

[Cym Ladye]

Most often, it is not the type of fertilizer used but the rate of application. If you allow orchids to dry too much between watering or use too strong a dose, the salts from the fertilizer go to the leaf tips and cause the "burn". It has nothing to do with organic vs non-organic.

If you have ever been to any areas where orchids grow wild, the condition of the plants is far less than the optimal state us hobbyists would like to see in our collections. To do well, orchids need nutrients supplied by the growers. We are not growing out in the wild with the same rains containing minute amounts of micro-elements and minute amounts of nitrogen generated by nature.

CL

[JMLand]

So an orchid gets boron, chlorine and disodium ethyenediamine tetra acetate in the wild?
True organics stay in the media and don't get washed out easily. Chemicals do. Organic is far less likely to burn chemical will burn if over used.

---------- Post added at 12:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:52 PM ----------

I'm also curious to know what organics you are familiar with. The stuff I use is composed of fish meal, blood meal, kelp and potash. Thats it. No other stuff other than some mint extract to make it smell less fishy. No salts from ammonia to build up. My plants dry up plenty and I fertilize heavy. And yet no salt build up and no burn.

[keithrs]

I use a mixture of both, organic and chemicals on my orchids... but I use strictly organics(both dry and liquid) in the garden. I feel a mixture of bat guano, fish, seaweed and worm tea are the best. If you make a tea with all the above you will have a fairly good fertilizer. I recommend you reduce your feed rate alot if your a heavy feeder. I feed my orchids @ 15ppm N every watering with K-lite and my plants are happier then when I was feeding @ 125 ppm N(recommended dosage). At the moment I'm feeding with guano, seaweed and added beneficials twice a month but that changes depending on my work load.

---------- Post added at 12:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:41 PM ----------

Originally Posted by JMLand

So an orchid gets boron, chlorine and disodium ethyenediamine tetra acetate in the wild?
True organics stay in the media and don't get washed out easily. Chemicals do. Organic is far less likely to burn chemical will burn if over used.

Use a charcoal filter to filter out those chemicals. A must if your using organics and city water.

[DavidCampen]

Originally Posted by JMLand

So an orchid gets boron, chlorine and disodium ethyenediamine tetra acetate in the wild?

Yes they do get boron and chlorine. Boron is considered to be an essential element for plant growth. No EDTA though; I use aspartic acid instead of EDTA in my formulations.

[Cym Ladye]

Thank you David for chiming in on this discussion with your technical background. I am not the chemist, only the grower who knows what works when used properly.

CL

[tucker85]

I used Merrill's Compost Tea from Merrill's Organics for about a year. Merrill's is a chicken farm and they use composted chicken manure, seaweed and humate. It's in the form of a tea bag that you put in warm water. I had decent results but the individual tea bags are too expensive to use long term. I also looked at another compost liquid called Great Big Plants but I never used it.

Merrill's Organics

Organic Gardening : Garden Soil : Plants Food : Tomatoes Growing : Easy Compost : Great Big Plants, LLC