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09-23-2008, 08:29 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2007
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And the winner is (bugle fanfare) TechniGro (at least for right now)! I am currently using their 17-5-24 Plus. Why TechniGro? Because I can get it delivered for less than a buck fifty/lb! Before that was MSU for tap water; before that was BetterGro; before that was Dyna Gro 10-5-10; before that was the old standby, Peters 30-10-10. Basically, I look for the following;
1. No urea. So that leaves the old standby Peters 30-10-10 out.
2. Basic formula of ~2 or 3:1:2or 3.
3. Nitrogen mainly from nitrate instead of ammonia.
4. High solubility.
5. Last (and certainly not least) price, price, price.
Last I knew, nitrogen still has the same chemical symbol, valence (did I just date myself here) and chemical properties.
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09-23-2008, 08:54 PM
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Join Date: Sep 2006
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jerry Delaney
And the winner is (bugle fanfare) TechniGro (at least for right now)! I am currently using their 17-5-24 Plus. Why TechniGro? Because I can get it delivered for less than a buck fifty/lb! Before that was MSU for tap water; before that was BetterGro; before that was Dyna Gro 10-5-10; before that was the old standby, Peters 30-10-10. Basically, I look for the following;
1. No urea. So that leaves the old standby Peters 30-10-10 out.
2. Basic formula of ~2 or 3:1:2or 3.
3. Nitrogen mainly from nitrate instead of ammonia.
4. High solubility.
5. Last (and certainly not least) price, price, price.
Last I knew, nitrogen still has the same chemical symbol, valence (did I just date myself here) and chemical properties.
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Why is this the winner? There are a couple better choices out there for orchids. One of which is MSU blend. I have shown blooms that folks went gogga over. I have shown roots and growths that have been really gangbusters. I get blooms all summer long on cacti that normally only bloom once in spring. What more do I need to do to convince you?
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09-23-2008, 08:57 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2008
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09-23-2008, 09:01 PM
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Doc, it's the 'And the winner is (bugle fanfare) TechniGro (at least for right now)!' From Jerry that prompted this post. No, his is not the winner, by any stretch of the imagination. If there is a "winner" (I doubt there is) it wouldn't be that fertilizer. I suspect a popular vote would yield MSU blend, but that's just me!
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09-23-2008, 09:09 PM
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Join Date: Feb 2008
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I would agree with you on that choice also. Even though I use the Better~Gro product line, MSU developed a great plant food; for me it's all about how easy is it to obtain and the cost....like I said 5 minutes to Lowe's and CHEAP! And it is a reasonably balanced product, also. The only negative about the Better~Gro product is the formulation for leaf growth (20-14-13) provides about 256ppm N so I use less/vol of H2O
Last edited by BikerDoc5968; 09-23-2008 at 09:17 PM..
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09-23-2008, 09:28 PM
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: McMinnville, OR
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I think poor Jerry meant that TechniGro was the winner for him, not for everyone on the board!
Rosie, I also use Orchid Focus Grow here in the states and love it! A hydroponic store down the street carries it. I've had very good results with it. I haven't tried the Bloom formula though. I'm hesitating spending the money on it when the Grow formula might be fine to use all year round.
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09-24-2008, 12:49 AM
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Join Date: Nov 2007
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ross
Doc, it's the 'And the winner is (bugle fanfare) TechniGro (at least for right now)!' From Jerry that prompted this post. No, his is not the winner, by any stretch of the imagination. If there is a "winner" (I doubt there is) it wouldn't be that fertilizer. I suspect a popular vote would yield MSU blend, but that's just me!
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Golly Ross, I certainly didn't mean to get anyone angry! Maybe I misunderstood the question. I thought that the question was what was MY favorite and why. If you notice I stated this was my CURRENT favorite and the why was because of the price. You don't have to "convince" me Ross about MSU. If you note, I used it just prior to switching to TechniGro. I think it is an excellent fertilizer. If someone would be willing to furnish the MSU fertilizer at $1.38 a pound delivered, I will switch back. As you notice, there are a number of different fertilizers being used in just this small # of posts. We all have our opinions and that does not necessarily make any of us right or wrong, just opinionated. Sorry if I upset you Ross.
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09-24-2008, 12:55 AM
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Join Date: May 2008
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Out of all these brand names/fertilizer types being tossed around, can any of you folks recommend a favorite fertilizer for use specifically with distilled water? I have a relatively small collection (about 50 plants) and so far it's economically viable to water with bottled distilled water from the grocery store, since my tap water sucks -- but I've heard I should be using a fertilizer that supplies the missing minerals not present in distilled water. Thanks!
Last edited by boytjie; 09-24-2008 at 01:07 AM..
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09-24-2008, 01:06 AM
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Stephen, if you use distilled, deionized or RO water nearly all of the minerals are removed. It then becomes necessary to replace the essential minerals necessary for growth. You will find any number of fertilizers out there who add these minerals to their fertilizer. Look for one that mentions "contains trace elements" or I think that some of them may call them "micronutrients".
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09-24-2008, 02:10 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2008
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Location: Munich, Germany
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Here's a question that's a bit off-topic from a newbie:
What is the best method for watering?
One method I have seen mentioned is to allow the orchid to soak in a container of water for 10 minutes or so followed by draining for 15 minutes before putting it back in it's pot. I can see the advantage of that being you can use distilled water mixed with fertilizer on all your orchids, but couldn't fungi or viruses be spread that way?
Up until now I just ran tap water from the sink through the orchid pot for a few seconds. I don't fertilize yet, and am not sure about how to do it accurately with this method.
Any thoughts?
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