Using rain water

[ALToronto]

Yove never seen a raccoon on a roof? I guess you've never been to a Canadian city - or else you've never looked up. And that's a big problem for rainwater collectors - raccoons are the only meat-eaters, in the cities or the wild, who poop above the ground. Profusely, I might add - their diet consists of a never-ending supply of waste food from compost bins. And Toronto accepts meat waste in its composting program, so they've developed quite a taste for spoiled hot dogs.

Sure, rainforest rain contains traces of poop from the canopy - but it's poop of vegetarians and insect eaters, birds, bats and lizards, perfectly safe to use as fertilizer. Dilute raccoon poo will kill dandelions.

And don't underestimate degradation of asphalt shingles - maybe I notice it more because my business is in the construction industry. The reason they have a limited lifespan is because the asphalt tar which holds the stone pebbles together slowly evaporates and washes out with rain, and then guess where it ends up. Metal and concrete shingles have an unlimited lifespan, and if your roof is covered with either, and you don't have brazen raccoons in your area who can climb a vertical brick or stucco wall, I hope that you collect rainwater for your orchids.

As for tree leaves, they certainly contain molds - my husband cannot bag leaves in the fall because he's so allergic to them. And yes, city trees do get viruses - ever heard of Dutch Elm Disease? It wiped out all the elm trees in Toronto back in the 1960s - 1970s. Less virulent pathogens attack from time to time, and Toronto residents get alerts about them from the city.

Everything I wrote is from my own personal experience. It's different from your experience, but that doesn't make it invalid.

[Leafmite]

Just a small correction: Dutch Elm Disease (DED) is caused by a fungus. I have a chestnut that is inflicted with American Chestnut Blight. Most of the big tree diseases seem to be caused by fungus, bacteria, or boring insects although one hears of citrus and theobroma cacao production being harmed by virus.

[zxyqu]

You can make a correction without putting someone down. That's my honest opinion.

[Ray]

An orchid can go for months and months with NO fertilizer, but if you mix a non-pure-water formula with RO/DI and end up with an extremely low pH, it may be only a matter of weeks before you see the roots start to react negatively.

[Ordphien]

Originally Posted by goodgollymissmolly

Ordphien,

I'm not sure where your post expressing your opinion on my postings went, but I saw it once. I have absolutely no problem with what you said. You expressed the opinion that my posts were too severe (my words) for your taste. That is a perfectly acceptable point of view which I have no argument.

To clarify...you expressed an opinion on a matter of opinion. To use that too often utilized expression, "Everyone has a right to their own opinion, but no one has a right to their own facts". You rightfully expressed an opinion.

The difference between what you said and some other things here is that some people made up false facts. I've said enough about them and I'm not going to say more. However, in my opinion, it is not the correction of false information that makes someone a bad guy. It is the posting of nonsense as fact that is the wrong thing to do.

So if someone looks bad because they posted nonsense it is their fault for posting nonsense. They are the bad guy, not the person who made a valid correction. That just MHO.

I felt terrible...
It occurred to me that I was being harsh and very judgmental...
So I deleted it.... I'm embarrassed you saw it.

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[Ordphien]

Originally Posted by Ray

An orchid can go for months and months with NO fertilizer, but if you mix a non-pure-water formula with RO/DI and end up with an extremely low pH, it may be only a matter of weeks before you see the roots start to react negatively.

Should I test the pH of the water with fertilizer in?

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[zxyqu]

Absolutely!

[Ordphien]

Originally Posted by DavidCampen

You should be able to go a number of months with no ill effects; it would be good to not go through a whole growth season without a properly formulated fertilizer.

Oh dear.... I've gone through the past growth season and a half with this fertiliser.



Ok so... what am I missing and what should I be looking for when I next go fertilizer shopping?
Attached is a picture of my two orchid fertilizers.
Some give me the break down on them...

Also... I do water every so often with a mix of RODI water and my extremely hard tap water.

Had this been helping? Is it beneficial? Sorry.... I'm confused...

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[zxyqu]

As Ray has said, using RO water and an non-specific RO fertilizer can drive the pH of the mix very low. This is because there are no buffer ions in RO water, as it is, by definition, without buffer salts. The ferts Ray recommends are solid, and I use the K-lite. But yours may be ok. it's tough to say without knowing the pH. Buy some cheap pH strips, or pH paper, and let us know.

[Ordphien]

Originally Posted by zxyqu

As Ray has said, using RO water and an non-specific RO fertilizer can drive the pH of the mix very low. This is because there are no buffer ions in RO water, as it is, by definition, without buffer salts. The ferts Ray recommends are solid, and I use the K-lite. But yours may be ok. it's tough to say without knowing the pH. Buy some cheap pH strips, or pH paper, and let us know.

I have a test kit...
I'll do that now..

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