Watering

[bh4bhwgm]

Thanks, Becky. I had thought about watering so I could reuse the water that drained from the plant but since I'm new at this didn't know if that would be a good idea. Thanks. I don't want to be wasteful either -especially since water is so precious. Thanks.

[Jkelee]

Des, this is SUCH a Great idea!! I gotta try this for my Catts!!!! Thanks for such a cool trick!!

Originally Posted by Des

I think that catts can be strange plants as their roots actively look for water, I place up turned up bottle caps in the baskets at different levels in the bark chunks when repotting . it is something to see how the Catts roots will grow into the bottle cap and go round and round inside the cap taking up the water!!

[Jkelee]

Becky, I gotta ask about the kitchen water though? I thought we can't use "Softened water"? As that will kill? Is that true?

And IF your kitchen is softened water, which I think it is, How are your chids doing with softened water??

Originally Posted by Becky15349

I grow mostly catts, and I also try not to waste so much water when I'm watering my orchids, so what I do is fill up my kitchen sink with warm water about 4 inches, a tiny bit of fertilizer and about 5 drops of super thrive. I then bring all my orchids to the sink and put them in the water, and I also pour water over them with a measuring cup. I grow in hydroton, so I like to try to get all the hydroton wet, and pouring water over it helps to do that as well as get water to the roots. Also, this way, I don't waste water, because I keep reusing what I have in the sink. I think when I used to water, I would waste gallons and gallons just pouring it through the plants, and I realized how terribly wasteful that was, so I now use this sink-filling method instead

[bellina9]

I also fill up the sink, but I only water plants that sit together. You have to be careful not to spread anything when you reuse the water.

[bh4bhwgm]

Thanks folks for your ideas on watering. I'm sure I'll be able to do the job correctly now. Your much needed help is greatly appreciated.

[sucuz]

Originally Posted by bellina9

I also fill up the sink, but I only water plants that sit together. You have to be careful not to spread anything when you reuse the water.

I agree with that. Short soaks in the sink works fine if you have only a few orchids that have been together for a some time. Do NOT include a brand new plant in your pool party until it has been through some kind of quarantine period and you are sure that it is disease/pest free. Otherwise you can spread all kinds of problems to your healthy orchids. It is easier to deal with problems with one plant rather than with your entire collection.

[Becky15349]

Hey all - sorry, I should have mentioned, I live in Chicago where we have unsoftened city water, so salts are not a problem for me generally. However, if you live in a suburb and have a septic system, I would recommend using water from the store, or getting a brita...something like that. And yes, if you have new plants, keep them apart from the rest of your chids until you are sure they are clean

[cirillonb]

Not everyone on a well needs to condition their water and there are conditioners that do not replace the Calcium with Sodium. Again, generalizations are dangerous.
Furthermore, the Brita-type filters are great for removing chlorine and chlorine compounds and bad tasting and smelling stuff but not calcium.
Nick

[Ross]

Originally Posted by cirillonb

Not everyone on a well needs to condition their water and there are conditioners that do not replace the Calcium with Sodium. Again, generalizations are dangerous.
Furthermore, the Brita-type filters are great for removing chlorine and chlorine compounds and bad tasting and smelling stuff but not calcium.
Nick

Right on Nick! Britta is really a "notta" for orchids. Doesn't do anything useful for plants (in my opinion). Better off using an RO unit for water filtration.