Roots and calcium

[Kollba]

Hi.

I have noticed that the roots of my mounted orchids (free hanging roots, no media) are getting more and more grey and no longer get real green when I water them.
I think it is calcium deposited because of too heavy (hard ?) water since my water boiler and my shower head have this problem too. And from that you understand that I am using tap water from my own well.
Is there any way to avoid it and maybe even clean the roots (and some leaves)? Putting vinegar or lemon juice in the water or...?
Reverse osmosis is not an option for the moment. I cannot afford it because of high medical costs.
Neither is rain water because here (Thailand) it stop raining in the beginning of December and it will stay dry until mid-March, some years even longer.
It is the dry season that causes the problem because I have to water my Vandas 2-3 times a day.

P.S. No, I have not tested the water. I don't even know if there is any lab here that can do it.

[SouthPark]

How about a solar powered system that produces a bit of heat to distill some water?

Probably depends on the number of orchids you have.

Some basic systems have a tub that sits out in the sun with a sloped glass sheet at the top of the tub. The water in the tub evaporates, and then condenses on the glass ..... and the water runs down the slope and somehow can be collected by a bottle. As for the technical details ----- not sure. I haven't tried that yet.

Another option could be to use solar panels to generate some electricity for heating water ----- and then gather the evaporated (then condensed) water from that.

Check this link out ----- link

[Kollba]

Originally Posted by SouthPark

How about a solar powered system that produces a bit of heat to distill some water?

The idea is good, but the cost for the material would probably be higher than for buying the equipment for reverse osmosis. Big glass. water tray (concrete ?).
All kinds of plastic will get ruined by the sun in 3-4 months.

I have about 60 mounted orchids (and 250 in wooden baskets).

[Orchidtinkerer]

Hi Kollba,
I don't like you reasoning too much for concluding it is a calcium toxicity.
Calcium toxicity is not a very common thing so without any evidence to just guess out of a million things it could be that instead of a zink toxicity it is a calcium toxicity is not a logical process.
You cannot wash damage away. So we would have to see said damage otherwise we would just be guessing more.

I would estimate for every 99% of times people have suspected calcium to be an issue it is in fact their PH that is the issue. Calcium is easy to fix (or attempt to) - a decent ph meter costs 50 euros and the budget ones are completely inaccurate so most of the time it is PH that is out of a growers control.

If you cannot get a ph meter or take a sample to your local aquarium store for them to test it for you then there is probably not much more we can do from this side of the world.

It could of course still be a calcium toxicity which would be most likely in a well but a picture would help judge this better.

In future you need to get a rain collection barrel.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Kollba

The idea is good, but the cost for the material would probably be higher than for buying the equipment for reverse osmosis. Big glass. water tray (concrete ?).
All kinds of plastic will get ruined by the sun in 3-4 months.

I have about 60 mounted orchids (and 250 in wooden baskets).

Not sure how much the rough cost would be for a solar distiller that can accommodate the number of orchids you have.

It may turn out that a reverse osmosis system is what you need - even though you mentioned affordability already.

Are your 250 wooden basket orchids doing ok with the same sort of water?

[PhoenixIndo]

Hi Kollba,
I don't know if you have it in Thailand, but in Indonesia they sell reverse osmosis water in plastic container (we call it galon here but it's about 19 Liter) and it's very very cheap at about USD $0.40 (yes about 40 cents). The ppm is not going to be 0 but it's somewhere between 80 to 130ppm. It's an alternative drinkable water to mineral water/distilled water which is more expensive per 19 Liter. We also have small kiosk where you can bring empty plastic container and refill (basically the whole kiosk is just FRP tanks and filters inside of a glass case).
On the other hand, here they sell under the sink Reverse osmosis filter from USD 100 and up depending how many liter per hour you need.
EC/TDS meter is very cheap, yes they are not accurate but I use it to have a ballpark to either use my tap water or to buy RO water. At one point my tap was coming in at 1500ppm-2500ppm, but I think there was a leak in the water company pipe, it's around 200-350ppm now.

On the subject of roots, my hanging vanda roots get shrunken, grey and brittle when I just acquire the plant. The roots will eventually dry up and die within 2-3 months but by then there will be new roots from the base of the plant. I think it is the difference in humidity and temperature from the nursery and our growing space. Not to mention the stress of the roots being folded and cramped into a box for shipping. At least that's what happen to my orchids.

[Ray]

If you are in a dry season, the roots could simply be reacting to a reduction in humidity.

[Kollba]

Originally Posted by Orchidtinkerer

Hi Kollba,

If you cannot get a ph meter or take a sample to your local aquarium store for them to test it for you then there is probably not much more we can do from this side of the world.

It could of course still be a calcium toxicity which would be most likely in a well but a picture would help judge this better.

I can order a PH meter online but I do not trust their accuracy since most of the online crap is made in China.
I got some strips of PH test papers (made in China) and the expiration date was already 3 months passed when I got them, but they showed about PH 7.
There are no such things as a local aquarium store here since I am living in a rural area.

Attaching 2 pictures. One is dry and the other is after watering. You can see the difference in color between the new root and the old.

[Kollba]

Originally Posted by SouthPark

Are your 250 wooden basket orchids doing ok with the same sort of water?

Some of the leaves are getting a bit grey, but not even close to the roots of my mounted orchids.

---------- Post added at 09:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:51 PM ----------

Originally Posted by PhoenixIndo

Hi Kollba,
I don't know if you have it in Thailand, but in Indonesia they sell reverse osmosis water in plastic container (we call it galon here but it's about 19 Liter) and it's very very cheap at about USD $0.40 (yes about 40 cents).

On the other hand, here they sell under the sink Reverse osmosis filter from USD 100 and up depending how many liter per hour you need.

On the subject of roots, my hanging vanda roots get shrunken, grey and brittle when I just acquire the plant.

I can buy water (18-19 liter plastic bottle) from "the water guy", but I have no idea about what quality it is.
When I first moved here we bought our drinking water from him, but you could never trust him to show up in time, so I got pissed off and bought a water purifier (not osmosis) that we have used for 7 years by now.

If I can store the water I will not need many liters per hour but, as I said in my first post, right now and for some more months I have very little money left over for things that are not very important - like food.
So I was looking for some simple solution - at least to start with. If lowering the PH will stop calcium (or whatever it is) to accumulate on the roots I can lower it with vinegar. And I have money enough to order a cheap PH meter. (BTW what is EC/TDS meter ? Same as PH or...?)

Some of the vandas with grey roots I have had for months, and it is not until recently, after the rainy season when I started to water them 2-3 times a day, that I have noticed their ugly grey color.

OH, I almost forgot. When you are using the root booster (Kelpmax was it ?). Do you mix it with water together with fertilizer or do you spray fertilizer one day and Kelpmax another day ?

---------- Post added at 09:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:05 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Ray

If you are in a dry season, the roots could simply be reacting to a reduction in humidity.

That could be true, but... They do no longer get a healthy green color when I water them. More of a green-grey tone.

[Mr.Fakename]

I agree with Ray that it might just be related to low humidity.

I have a lot of roots like look like crap because RH is below 30%, and yet they're functioning and branching out without issues.