water and feed - Orchid Board

pattieclemm · #1 10-02-2013, 06:45 PM

hello; I am slightly new. had a problem with my catt's but, I need watering advice. when I water I put all genuses and all potting types directly under the faucet for about 1 min. then feed with food or fertilizer while soaked wet and drained. biweekly for food or fertalizer. do you need to feed one week and fertalize the next. or what is best method? should I measure the amt. of water? I rinse them well. we have ground well water and soft water. I worried about salts building up. I have an aqua vie that demineralizes the water but only a 1/2 gallon at a time I use that water for the food/fertalizer to mix with the food/fertazer.any I make sure all plants are dried out before fert or food or the next watering. I don't want to use run off for watering the rest of my plants. please any Ideas, any and all will be excepted.

tucker85 · #2 10-02-2013, 07:29 PM

I'm confused about your statement concerning feeding and fertilizing. Those two terms usually mean the same thing. How are you differentiating between feeding your orchids and fertilizing your orchids?

kindrag23 · #3 10-03-2013, 02:13 PM

I agree with @Tucker85, um, what kind of fertilizer do you use?

cbuchman · #4 10-03-2013, 02:17 PM

I'm confused too.

kindrag23 · #5 10-03-2013, 02:29 PM

okay when you say fertilize what do you mean? What type are you using. Do you mean you sprinkle it on there and then rinse it out?

My method is the weakly weekly method. I use .25 the recommended amount on the back of the bag. That is per gallon of water used. So say I put all my oncid/odontoglossum in a bucket or container and place 5 gallons of water to soak for 15 min or more . So I only use 1/2 the recommended amount of that. I use better gro orchid food plus. It is water soluable. I also have well water and hard water. I do do a flush out once a month to make sure that the build up isn't getting to bad. Is this what you were asking about.

RandomGemini · #6 10-03-2013, 02:45 PM

Pattie, it's completely okay to be new at this.

Some companies market fertilizer as two separate products and try to get you to do both things, so they can sell you more stuff. You really only need one product. Not two, but miracle gro and the companies that make these products, would love to make as much money off of you as they possibly can, so they label their products this way. I had to have a landscaper explain this one to me when I bought my first home. I had no idea that it was a marketing scheme. I can never thank those guys enough, they saved me a lot of money and a lot of stress and all I called them for, was a sprinkler blow out.

I use the same method that kindrag uses for her orchids, but I water the plants individually. I have a whopping total of 8 orchids in my collection, she has a LOT more than I do. If she did it the way I do, she'd be watering plants all day and wouldn't have time to have a life.

For fertilizing, I run water through the pots for about a minute, just to open up the surface on the roots, then I pour my very weak fertilizer into the pot and let it drain completely. I have no idea if this is how it's supposed to be done, but it's working! I've got root and leaf growth on all of my phals that are no longer in bloom, so I'm going with it!

Hope this helps.

pattieclemm · #7 10-03-2013, 04:09 PM

thank you every one I now uderstand the meaning food/fertilizer. there one in the same. I guess I thought to fertalize meant to me like a vitamin to us as a supplement and food as to us like as in food as a meal. I tried to relate it like humans, now do you get what I meant. "boy that makes me sound like a dummy or look stupid.." I guess the CO's. found a dupe. and I'm it. I have been fertilizing by weekly (full rinse 1-2 min flush- the next watering I use food diluted mist spray on the leaves. Mist daily with water as well as use a humidity tray Am I over doing the feed process? Our water here is high in mineral content. and salt from our water softner. so I thourghly flush during watering once every 2 weeks. (same week I fertalize.) (post watering)

tucker85 · #8 10-03-2013, 05:10 PM

Don’t worry about asking basic questions. We all started out not knowing anything about orchids. After ten years I’m still learning new things all the time. Fertilizing ever two weeks is probably fine this time of year. In the fall and winter orchids don’t grow much and don’t need as much fertilizer. During the summer you might want to consider fertilizing with a light dose once a week rather than every two weeks but some people don’t fertilize often even during the summer.

There’s disagreement about watering before fertilizing. I always water my plants before using fertilizer but some people feel that the plants should be dry when you fertilize. It’s probably fine either way. Whatever you prefer.

Although plants actually make their own food through photosynthesis, fertilizers provide the minerals necessary to build new plant tissue and to carry out metabolic functions. Fertilizers are often called plant food although that’s not exactly what it is. Some fertilizer is necessary to grow orchids well. There’s also a whole array of supplements available. You can think of supplements like vitamins for humans. None of them are absolutely necessary. You’ll see many of us recommending supplements and you can try them if you want to but they aren’t essential. Some of the supplements are seaweed extracts, Superthrive, Megathrive, KLN, Protekt and many more. Supplements don't replace fertilizer. You still need to use fertilizer. Initially it’s probably more important to concentrate on learning how to manage light, water, and fertilizer. Later you can get more advanced if you want to. Good luck.

Island Girl · #9 10-03-2013, 06:53 PM

You're not a dupe... A lot of us believed that in the beginning! There's no such thing as a "dumb" question! We are all learning here, even the most experienced of us, as well as the rest of us (which is where I fall, btw, soo not an expert yet! ...need another decade at least, lol). Besides, when anyone, & everyone here was just starting to grow orchids, myself included, we didn't know jack-squat! Ya gotta start somewhere, and if you don't ask a question, then how would you learn?

...this is a great forum, btw, because everyone here is so very nice, and everyone loves to help! So, please don't feel stupid for asking something! No one thinks that.

MrHappyRotter · #10 10-03-2013, 06:56 PM

I think it's a good idea to soak the plants with water, then feed with a diluted fertilizer (usually 1/4 to 1/8 the recommended dose). When you pre-soak, it's flushing out some of the excess built-up nutrients/salts, so that's good. I am of the opinion that most commercial fertilizers' recommended doses are just too much, based on simple TDS measurements.

But to be honest, I almost never pre-soak. For one thing, I have too many plants for that to be practical. I also stick with the weakly weekly/bi-weekly feeding method where I mix in a very small amount of fertilizer when I water. And then once a month, I do a flush. That's where I run a high volume of pure water through the pots to help flush out any built up nutrients and salts.

The thing is, everybody's growing conditions and care is going to be a little different. What works for me might not work for you, and vice versa. What it really comes down to is that you have to experiment a little and see what works best for you. But to keep it simple, for most orchids, keep the feeding very light (especially if you're watering with tap water that typically already has a fair amount of nutrients and minerals in it), flush often (which you're already doing) and your plants will be happy assuming they've got the light, temperatures and humidity they need.