Removing excess salts from media
Login
User Name
Password   


Registration is FREE. Click to become a member of OrchidBoard community
(You're NOT logged in)

menu menu

Sponsor
Donate Now
and become
Forum Supporter.

Removing excess salts from media
Many perks!
<...more...>


Sponsor
 

Google


Fauna Top Sites
Register Removing excess salts from media Members Removing excess salts from media Removing excess salts from media Today's PostsRemoving excess salts from media Removing excess salts from media Removing excess salts from media
LOG IN/REGISTER TO CLOSE THIS ADVERTISEMENT
Go Back   Orchid Board - Most Complete Orchid Forum on the web ! > >
Reply
 
Thread Tools Rate Thread Display Modes
  #11  
Old 10-09-2023, 09:22 PM
HantsomeOrchids HantsomeOrchids is offline
Jr. Member
 

Join Date: Oct 2023
Posts: 10
Removing excess salts from media
Default

If the worry is certain salts building up that could burn the roots, perhaps more specific fertilisers are needed. Talking in terms of "salts" doesnt make sense there either. If theyre becoming insoluble and are unable to be dislodged... who cares! I suppose salts that *dont get used* like chlorides and so on can build up, but if you are using low salt water like rainwater I dont see how that would happen, just dont add as much fertiliser!
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 10-09-2023, 09:40 PM
fredfarmer fredfarmer is offline
Member
 

Join Date: Feb 2023
Posts: 32
Removing excess salts from media Male
Default

Clawhammer - you raise an excellent point regarding the use of minimal but still adequate fertilizer. It may be even more important than ever to use the 1/4 to 1/2 amounts of fertilizers to reduce the salt load that apparently is difficult to deal with. Thank you.
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 10-10-2023, 11:24 AM
DirtyCoconuts's Avatar
DirtyCoconuts DirtyCoconuts is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Sep 2019
Zone: 10b
Location: South Florida, East Coast
Posts: 5,838
Removing excess salts from media
Default

here is a question i have been mulling.

if the salts and minerals are deposited on the media and they are so well stuck on/in there that they cannot be flushed out, then who cares if they are there or not? if they arent going to release into the water what negative effect is there to them being present?

basically, if they are so stuck on the media what harm do they present to the plant?
__________________
All the ways I grow are dictated by the choices I have made and the environment in which I live. Please listen and act accordingly
--------------------------------------------------------------
Rooted in South Florida....

Zone 10b, Baby! Hot and wet

#MoreFlowers Insta
#MoreFlowers Flickr
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 10-10-2023, 01:10 PM
realoldbeachbum realoldbeachbum is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Sep 2019
Zone: 7b
Location: Alabama, USA
Posts: 340
Removing excess salts from media Female
Default

Claw - 800 plants? Wow just wow! Congratulations.

ROBB
Reply With Quote
Post Thanks / Like - 1 Likes
Likes Clawhammer liked this post
  #15  
Old 10-10-2023, 01:27 PM
Ray's Avatar
Ray Ray is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: May 2005
Member of:AOS
Location: Oak Island NC
Posts: 15,191
Removing excess salts from media Male
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by DirtyCoconuts View Post
here is a question i have been mulling.

if the salts and minerals are deposited on the media and they are so well stuck on/in there that they cannot be flushed out, then who cares if they are there or not? if they arent going to release into the water what negative effect is there to them being present?

basically, if they are so stuck on the media what harm do they present to the plant?
But they DO release back into the solutions applied to the plants. It's all a matter of degree.

In my earlier sponge analogy, we were immersing a "contaminated" sponge in plain water. Consider that sponge again.

If you soak a sponge in colored water, then let it dry, upon rewetting some (not all) of the dye will redissolve and go back into solution, making that solution a bit stronger.

If every time you immerse it, it is back into the same concentration of dyed water, more and more of the dye with be deposited in the sponge, and more and more of it will come out with each subsequent immersion.

If the "dye" was fertilizer salts - and let's not forget that fertilizer are a blend of several, each with its own solubility characteristics - that concentration creeps toward toxicity over time.
__________________
Ray Barkalow, Orchid Iconoclast
FIRSTRAYS.COM
Try Kelpak - you won't be sorry!
Reply With Quote
Post Thanks / Like - 1 Likes
Likes DirtyCoconuts liked this post
  #16  
Old 10-10-2023, 05:42 PM
KatieM KatieM is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Dec 2022
Zone: 9a
Location: Northeast Florida
Posts: 114
Removing excess salts from media Female
Default

Ray, thank you for explaining that! The light bulb just clicked on. I never thought of it that way, but it all makes sense now. And I suppose the toxicity level will vary from orchid to orchid. So something like your k-lite fertilizer would possibly slow the inevitable build up to toxicity? Great science lesson for the day. I will be the first to admit when I flush, it is very randomly and our water is hard (still trying to figure out how I find the TDS in my water, report doesn't show it). That being said, with most of my 200+ orchids I haven't noticed any adverse effects. But I'm also very diligent on keeping an eye on my potting media and repotting with fresh before it breaks down, and I probably don't fertilize as often as I should. Very interesting topic!
Reply With Quote
  #17  
Old 10-10-2023, 09:49 PM
Dimples Dimples is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Jan 2022
Zone: 8b
Location: Olympia, WA
Posts: 951
Removing excess salts from media
Default

TDS isn’t a required reporting statistic so some municipalities don’t add it to their published reports. If you can call and talk to someone at the water district and explain that you’re looking for a more detailed report, they’ll probably send you one.
Reply With Quote
  #18  
Old 10-10-2023, 10:02 PM
KatieM KatieM is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Dec 2022
Zone: 9a
Location: Northeast Florida
Posts: 114
Removing excess salts from media Female
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dimples View Post
TDS isn’t a required reporting statistic so some municipalities don’t add it to their published reports. If you can call and talk to someone at the water district and explain that you’re looking for a more detailed report, they’ll probably send you one.
Thank you, Dimples!
Reply With Quote
  #19  
Old 10-10-2023, 11:23 PM
ArronOB ArronOB is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Central Coast, NSW
Posts: 517
Removing excess salts from media Male
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by KatieM View Post
Ray, thank you for explaining that! The light bulb just clicked on. I never thought of it that way, but it all makes sense now. And I suppose the toxicity level will vary from orchid to orchid. So something like your k-lite fertilizer would possibly slow the inevitable build up to toxicity? Great science lesson for the day. I will be the first to admit when I flush, it is very randomly and our water is hard (still trying to figure out how I find the TDS in my water, report doesn't show it). That being said, with most of my 200+ orchids I haven't noticed any adverse effects. But I'm also very diligent on keeping an eye on my potting media and repotting with fresh before it breaks down, and I probably don't fertilize as often as I should. Very interesting topic!
If you are potting in organic media like bark then this probably won’t be of much concern to you. The general consensus seems to be that the bark will break down before the fertilizer toxicity reaches a level that matters, and broken down bark will do far more damage then fertilizer toxicity ever will.

Ray and Fred. My understanding of how plants work is that they are entirely passive about what enters their root tissues. By that I mean they have no mechanism to select one chemical other another. If they are exposed to both the good elements of fertilizer and the bad ‘salts’ in a fertilising event, then don’t they take both into their roots indiscriminately. Isn’t the problem then simply too much fertilizer? Get the quantity of fertilizer right and there won’t be any ‘salts’ hanging around building up their toxicity?
Reply With Quote
Post Thanks / Like - 1 Likes
Likes KatieM liked this post
  #20  
Old 10-11-2023, 09:34 AM
Ray's Avatar
Ray Ray is offline
Senior Member
 

Join Date: May 2005
Member of:AOS
Location: Oak Island NC
Posts: 15,191
Removing excess salts from media Male
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by KatieM View Post
Ray, thank you for explaining that! The light bulb just clicked on. I never thought of it that way, but it all makes sense now. And I suppose the toxicity level will vary from orchid to orchid. So something like your k-lite fertilizer would possibly slow the inevitable build up to toxicity? Great science lesson for the day. I will be the first to admit when I flush, it is very randomly and our water is hard (still trying to figure out how I find the TDS in my water, report doesn't show it). That being said, with most of my 200+ orchids I haven't noticed any adverse effects. But I'm also very diligent on keeping an eye on my potting media and repotting with fresh before it breaks down, and I probably don't fertilize as often as I should. Very interesting topic!
There are several factors that control the buildup rate, and concentration of the applied solution is probably the most significant. That's one reason that frequent, dilute fertilizer applications are better than infrequent, stronger ones.

Other factors include how absorbent the medium, and how rapidly the medium dries.

K-Lite was designed to keep the potassium and phosphorus levels low, as the plants don't need a steady, heavy supply, as they store them in excess and because N, Ca, K, and Mg can compete for uptake in plants. If the concentration of particular ions in the applied solutions is raised by design, by buildup in the medium, or stored to excess within the plant, it can result in deficiencies of the others.

But yes, for the same nitrogen loading, K-Lite is likely to build up slower to most other fertilizers.
__________________
Ray Barkalow, Orchid Iconoclast
FIRSTRAYS.COM
Try Kelpak - you won't be sorry!
Reply With Quote
Post Thanks / Like - 2 Likes
Likes KatieM, DirtyCoconuts liked this post
Reply

Bookmarks

Tags
dissolved, ppm, rain, tds, water


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
How Long Does Dry Media Last? Cntry Propagation 0 11-02-2015 05:45 PM
Cattleya roots completely embedded in decayed potting media, please help! Wathepleela Potting & Repotting 27 07-12-2015 02:50 AM
Help! Trying to a 100% homemade media recipe that doen't require replating Roey.P. Propagation 14 01-12-2015 11:57 AM

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 08:30 PM.

© 2007 OrchidBoard.com
Search Engine Optimisation provided by DragonByte SEO v2.0.37 (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.
Feedback Buttons provided by Advanced Post Thanks / Like (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.

Clubs vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.