I was asked for an update so I will show a latest update.
It isn't much change, the toshie's magic flowered so that's 4 of them that flowered in total and the anosmum against the left wall is producing a bud.
Otheriwse I aint coming back. I left in a huff and there was a good reason for it. This site is mainly used to wannabe growers trying to prove their knowledge.
The problem I have with this is most these OB experts spend more time on OB than growing orchids and my big gripe was coming to the realization that after spending a year listening to the experts on OB I had picked up so much bad misinformation along with the good that I would have ended up a worse grower because of it!
I said a while ago how I have been testing different wall reflectivity for years, longer than Ray has been growing with artificial lighting and I was the one who told him it makes so little difference which is why I don't even bother yet as soon as I leave he "meaningfully" points out I need to use reflective paint.
Have you started stocking it then Ray? But that is not why I came back here for. I just want to point out the biggest observation I made. Listening to the advice here made my plants suffer terribly in hindsight so much so I would have had to buy expensive probiotics and enzymes and kelpjuices just to make my orchids grow properly.
I tried it. It's a bogus way of growing but I know that is a matter of opinion just like I believe an apple a day keeps the doctor away yet other people prefer to see the doctor and get as many prescriptions as possible and if that causes a new sideeffect the doc will have a pill to treat that too.
Different opinions and there are just far too many of those all clashing with each other on here. I am far happier not trying to bark my opinion over others the loudest. I know I will not be the last to realize that actually using msu all year does not result in very good results. Even a basic 10-10-10 fertilizer is better imo.
But again difference of opinion. So having said all that how are the plants doing? It's still middle of winter here so not much. But 10 orchids are producing spikes. It's hard to quantify what that means as every year new orchids start to bloom regularly at mine as they mature but it's a new record...
But I myself still have so many questions I cannot answer I have decided I cannot promote my beliefs until I understand what I have observed better.
I am at the moment comparing my new orchid focus fertilizer to my new improved blend and both are showing improvements over the old msu formula alone but both are growing very differently so it will take more time to observe.
Then another thing I mentioned was that I started feeding my phals a bloom feed all year long instead of a grow feed all year long.
Why? I still don't know but I am very happy with the results so that is still an experiment I have to complete, a phal grown on grow feed and a phal grown on bloom feed all year long.
So then the question arises if phals grow better on a bloom feed all year long what about other orchids. If phals benefit from a bloom feed more than a grow feed what about other orchids, particularly other monopodial orchids like vanda's? I do not have the answer yet and need to investigate further.
But these orchids have all been on the new feed for several months, roughly 4 by now. So far so good.
Sorry about the long post but I feel I had to explain a bit better why I am not coming back anymore. When a grower gives you advice that you end up believing causes a couple orchids to die, well I hold a grudge like that! IT's something we don't think about much willingly giving out "meaningful"advice all day long. If said advice is not right for siad person or siad climate then an orchid can and usualyly does literally die. The people that goe the advice what happens with them? Well either they think it was their fault or something else, rarely do they think they got bad advice. Well I know on two occasions I got bad advice whch ended up costing me a coule of orchids and when that happens, well I am generally quite a grumpy person but I kind of hold a grudge towards that. And then you see these people giving out the same bad advice over and over again. You point out their flaws and get accused you are not an icconoclast and so don't know what you are talking about.
I'm sure plenty can relate, others will say I'm just a wannabe grower but that is why I am happier not arguing over how to grow them. I know my tehniques are invaluable, heck I still can't water orchids. Judging how much each orchid drinks and which like to dry out and whch like to stay wet I am frankly clueless on those things. Hence I do my own methods where that is not too important. But hey I don't know what I'm doing so I will carry on doing my own thing. I don't want to start a fight here. I honestly wish there was a nice place with nice people where I could discuss grwoing my favorite plants. But I pointed out all the flaws these long standing members have it is easy to fall into the trap that they are the only people that know what they are talking about.
The only thing I have not been doing as much as a result of leaving OB is take as many pictures which is a shame, that is the only thing I miss so here is a picture
Take care everyone
3'x1.5' Growbox
Linear Mode
