'What Orchids Eat', importance of calcium

[samarak]

That was an interesting article, and there's a thread on that subject which I'm planning to jump into after it cools off a little. It hasn't been active lately so maybe now is the time.

By coincidence, we had already gone from using straight MSU to less MSU + some CalMag + some micros, which since we start with RO water has the effect of increasing the concentration of Ca and Mg and reducing K (and P), before reading the Lockwood article, and were/are pretty happy with the results. Not drawing any conclusions yet, just saying .... I've since bought a small bottle of the K-Lite from Ray which we're trialing.

Alan Koch, whose advice has generally worked very well for us, is a big believer in the value of plenty of calcium for orchids, especially in the form of dolomite. He feels it's harder to burn plants with dolomite than other forms. In the one conversation I had with him about the potassium issue, he was not in favor of reducing it, though we didn't have time to discuss it in much depth. In addition to all of his growing experience, one of his degrees is in plant physiology, an area I'm just starting to study.

Steve

[Island Girl]

Originally Posted by samarak

[.....] Alan Koch, whose advice has generally worked very well for us, is a big believer in the value of plenty of calcium for orchids, especially in the form of dolomite. He feels it's harder to burn plants with dolomite than other forms. In the one conversation I had with him about the potassium issue, he was not in favor of reducing it, though we didn't have time to discuss it in much depth. In addition to all of his growing experience, one of his degrees is in plant physiology, an area I'm just starting to study.

Steve

This is an interesting discussion (I believe I read the same article, in "Orchids" Magazine?)... Can't wait to read more from y'all!

Wierd question tho, can you use dolomite lime as a source of calcium? (can it be mixed w/ water to do this?)

[tucker85]

Originally Posted by Island Girl

This is an interesting discussion (I believe I read the same article, in "Orchids" Magazine?)... Can't wait to read more from y'all!

Wierd question tho, can you use dolomite lime as a source of calcium? (can it be mixed w/ water to do this?)

I haven't used dolomite myself but I know some growers do, especially for paphs.. Here's an article where the author mentions using dolomite.

http://www.staugorchidsociety.org/PD...ps-Calcium.pdf

---------- Post added at 03:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:35 PM ----------

It just occurred to me, as I watch a tropical storm move into South Florida, that much of my water during the summer comes from rain. I grow outdoors and it rains a lot in Ft. Lauderdale. Rain water doesn't have any calcium in it and that may be one reason that I see good results when I use calcium.