Organic Orchid Grow - thoughts?

[2orchid]

Has anyone ever used this product before or have any thoughts on it?

Organic Orchid Grow by Agrarian Organics
Organic Orchid Grow | Agrarian Organics

It was recommended to me by someone at my local garden centre and I've been using it for about a month on my phalaenopsis orchids.

[katrina]

Seems very pricey for such low nutrient concentrations and for such a small amount of product.

If I'm reading the info correctly, you have less than 18oz of mixed product you are to spray on the orchids...correct? Given the spray bottle it looks like it would be more of a misting pump...and imo that's not as good as spraying the entire plant and having the solution run through and out the bottom of pot and/or drenching a mounted orchid until it's dripping.

FWIW - spraying only the foliage can work fine for fert but if done at the wrong time of the day the plant won't absorb it very well. Plus, you have to be sure to spray the undersides of the leaves for it to be of any real value.

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[tucker85]

After reading the advertisement I suspect that it's a seaweed product. I'm a fan of seaweed and I've been using Maxicrop Liquid Seaweed for several years. I think you can probably get the same results with a less expensive seaweed product, but I admit I've tried many, many supplements over the years, just to see what they would do. So if you want to experiment, go for it.

[Ray]

Personally, I'd stay away from it.

If you look at their "Assay", not only are the concentrations quite low (the nitrogen level - the most important ingredient in a fertilizer - is only 0.346 ppm, while most fertilizers are applied at about roughly 300x that.), but their ratios for the macronutrients are really screwy - for one, they list phosphorus three times, but if I ignore the two "<50 mg/L" entries, that formula is equivalent to a very diluted 5-1-335-25 Ca-3725 Mg

[2orchid]

Originally Posted by katrina

FWIW - spraying only the foliage can work fine for fert but if done at the wrong time of the day the plant won't absorb it very well. Plus, you have to be sure to spray the undersides of the leaves for it to be of any real value.

Hi Everyone, thanks for your thoughts! As I already have it I might as well use it until it's empty, Katrina, what time of day do you recommend using it? Currently I've been spraying it on after water the plants.

In future, does anyone else have a favourite fertilizer they'd like to recommend?

[silken]

I was using MSU which we bring in for our society as it is supposed to be a well balanced formula. But I recently cared for 2 C. intermedia plants for a friend. I happened to have 3 seedlings from the very same compot myself. I was shocked to see that hers looked several years ahead of mine and were blooming whereas mine have never bloomed yet. I actually bloomed hers here in the couple months I had them here. They were likely alwready headed that way so can't take full credit. There is the fact that my greenhouse is kept quite cool in winter so mine may go semi-dormant and she grew hers in her home. But it was a very disturbing comparison. So I asked what she uses and it is Plant Prod 20-20-20 Ultimate (inexpensive and found at Walmart here). Needless to say I bought some and am using it to see if I get better results. Not to say MSU doesn't work, but since all those seedlings were from the very same pot, it was a huge size difference. In Vancouver you can pick up seaweed solutions easily as there are many hydroponics places there. It works great for getting roots to grow.

I grow and bloom many different orchids on MSU but it seems the Plant Prod works just fine also and maybe better.

[2orchid]

Originally Posted by silken

I So I asked what she uses and it is Plant Prod 20-20-20 Ultimate (inexpensive and found at Walmart here). Needless to say I bought some and am using it to see if I get better results.

Thanks Silken! Could you give a bit of detail about how much/how often the 20-20-20 was used?

[wintergirl]

Brad from Brad's Greenhouse on YouTube has been using Miracle Tomato Plant food on all his orchids for a year with good results. I plan to try that.

[silken]

Originally Posted by 2orchid

Thanks Silken! Could you give a bit of detail about how much/how often the 20-20-20 was used?

I don't know how my friend watered. But the general rule for orchids is weakly, weekly. Use 1/4 to 1/2 the recommended amount on the container and use it in your weekly watering. Once a month flush the pot with clear water, to flush out any accumulated fertilizer salts. If you don't water weekly, then of course just use it as you water. Orchid roots can be more sensitive than other plants so that is why the weakly, weekly advice seems to work.

[Ray]

Fertilizer formula is very low on the plants' hierarchy of needs; there are a lot more cultural parameters that play a much bigger role in a plant's performance. Expecting a change in fertilizer to have a major effect is somewhat naive, unless you've been WAY off base with your feeding regimen (I am comfortable stating that, as I've been there myself!).