My Osmocote fertilizer application

[Orchidbyte]

I like Osmocote but I can't stand the leftover empty shells, so I came up with this solution.



Cut a piece of landscape clothe to size, fill with Osmocote, tie top with some wire, leaving enough to tie onto a mounted plant or cut off and set pouch on potting media.



I think this will work very well for mounted plants and pots also, ya I know the lazy persons way to fertilize.



I still will fertilize the way i'm use to but this will help to give the plants a more even fertilizing in between.

[Leafmite]

Clever!
I use the stuff for my non-orchids but I can't use it for the orchids with the LECA, red lava rock and mounts as it just goes through. They have little baskets and I may just have to buy them. If I had landscaping cloth on hand, that would be even better....

[estación seca]

The idea behind Osmocote is that the fertilizer leaches out of the balls slowly, down a concentration gradient, when in contact with moist soil. No soil contact, no leaching. No movement between Osmocote particles because the fertilizer concentration is the same in adjoining particles, so no concentration gradient down which to flow. Osmocote works better with smaller soil particles than larger particles, because there is more contact with the little ball, and Osmocote would be expected to do nothing useful in large chunky mixtures like orchid bark. This is why they recommend mixing it into soil and not sprinkling on the surface. It is a fertilizer for terrestrial plants. A mesh bag above the soil would be expected to provide almost no useful fertilizer to the plant beneath.

Higher temperatures lead to even more rapid bacterial decomposition of nitrogen fertilizer into nitrogen gas, so keeping the Osmocote warm and moist out in the air would not be a good idea.

[Ray]

I don't think that's entirely correct, "ES". It is my understanding that once the pellets have absorbed water, the contents will exude through the porous polymer coating, where subsequent waterings can carry it to the plants.

Pieces of panty hose are also often used for the technique.

[katrina]

The main reason it is recommended they be mixed into the soil is because the vast majority will break down quicker in warmer conditions and the soil cover helps to keep them a bit cooler thereby (hopefully) avoiding a nutrient dump when temps soar.

The 2 main (and maybe the only?) factors in dissolving the granular/time release are heat and moisture. The product still works in a chunky mix...the problem is keeping it from rinsing out of the pot.

[Orchidbyte]

Well I made 30 of these pouches and hung them over mounted orchids and other epiphytes, they are in GH as well as outdoors, I will be monitoring them to see if there is any difference.

I tested one under some running tap water, it looked like the glass that was capturing the water was slightly darker, maybe the fertilizer?

[gnathaniel]

I've put nutrient pouches like this (I use fine-textured tulle fabric) on mounts and in pots for a couple of years and they definitely seem to be delivering something. Plants with pouches grow bigger, faster, and seemingly healthier than similar plants without, based on some sloppy control groups I've done with flaskmates and divisions. It's possible that some slow-release products perform better than others this way, but I've variously used Osmocote, Nutricote, and one Ray used to sell without noticeable difference. IMO this is a decent approach to continuous low-dose fertilizing for those of us who don't always water with solubles.