baking soda on orchids?

[Undergrounder]

Originally Posted by Donald

Why are so many people interested in chemicals. Orchids don't get them in their natural habitat. I'm no professional and all I feed my small collection is Neptune Fish & Seaweed and occasionally when I want to "bud up" an oncidium or cymbidium I'll give them 6-30-30. It's unbelievable how many orchid concoctions are out there. Sorta like fishing lures in a sportiing goods store. The fisherman gets "lured in" and the true fisher of man is the store itself. Same with orchid fertilizers. I guess whatever floats one boat. Go for it. Happy Growing and upcoming Holidays.

P.S. Oh yea! Then there's the epsom salts,listerine,409 and now on another thread beer and lord only what else.

Orchids don't get fish and seaweed in their natural environment either, so why do you use that?

The idea that the best way to grow plants is how they do it in their native environment is completely flawed. It's like saying that because native tribes live in jungles, hunt for their food and sleep in huts, then that's the best way all humans should live too.

We've risen above just 'surviving' because we've taken advantage of our chemistry to improve our health and life expectancy. We eat a healthy diet, we take medications, we go to the doctor, we treat our water, we do a whole bunch of things to live better and longer lives.

And we should do the same with our plants. If we can maximise plant health by giving them a good mix of fertilisers, water and light, while fighting off diseases, then our orchids will grow much faster, bigger, and flower better.

It makes no difference whatsoever to the orchid whether the Nitrates it takes in through its roots came from a slow process of decay of fish and seaweed, whether it came through a lightning storm or whether it was provided directly in a solution of water. It's the same Nitrate ion and its used in exactly the same way.

As I stated I'm not a professional like you are. Nor do I sell fertilizers.

That's a very cynical way of thinking. Ray's just trying to answer the question you asked, so you got the answer. Without chemicals, orchids would die. Actually without chemicals, you wouldn't have an orchid - you'd have a vacuum.

[Donald]

Good post undergrounder. I use the fish and seaweed
concoction because after using it on a few of my orchids I noticed that it does not leave a salt residue on the pots. Basically, I just am wary of using the fertilizers that look like they came from some mine. Hey! The bottom line is my plants are happy. By the way I have MSU and Grow More in my arsenal. My point at the beginning of this thread was not so much the fertilizer issue it's the use of the various "witches brews" that growers use, stuff like Listerine,409,backing soda, hydrogen peroxide etc. Heck, I was on one site where an individual was urinating on his plants for the urea content. I imagine if I had the time to experiment I might play around with them. Just no chemical genes running through my veins. Happy Growing.

[frostedeyes]

i hope no ones arguing... okay ill cut the asking about recipes on orchids! LOL! its just that i heard one of the growers in here got sick and was paralized due to inhaling fungicide... coz she frequently does the mixture..

[Undergrounder]

Originally Posted by Donald

Good post undergrounder. I use the fish and seaweed
concoction because after using it on a few of my orchids I noticed that it does not leave a salt residue on the pots. Basically, I just am wary of using the fertilizers that look like they came from some mine. Hey! The bottom line is my plants are happy. By the way I have MSU and Grow More in my arsenal. My point at the beginning of this thread was not so much the fertilizer issue it's the use of the various "witches brews" that growers use, stuff like Listerine,409,backing soda, hydrogen peroxide etc. Heck, I was on one site where an individual was urinating on his plants for the urea content. I imagine if I had the time to experiment I might play around with them. Just no chemical genes running through my veins. Happy Growing.

For sure, there are so many snake oil products out there, especially for hydroponics! So many additives and chemicals and very little known about them.

[stefpix]

for humans is better to get nutrients and vitamins through food rather than synthetic supplements.

there are numerous studies available that show that.

taking vitamin pills is good but taking vitamins by eating produce, meats, fruits is better

[Joseph Siddron]

Try quantum orchid..get from repotme.com

[Ray]

Inocucor Garden Solution is actually a much broader-spectrum probiotic than Quantum Orchid, as it contains many more species of beneficial microbes.

[Orchid Whisperer]

There is no reason to believe that baking soda will do anything other than damage your plants. The sodium alone could kill them.

[Joseph Siddron]

Baking soda deplete the pH level

[Joseph Siddron]

What ever you do ... don't purchase your Orchids from Brookside Orchids..they arrive with crown rot..sure they r nice at first...like cut flowers,but in time they die off and you have to nurse them back...