Seaweeds may drastically lower PH to dangerous levels?

[DavTom]

Originally Posted by Roberta

There's Paphs and then there are Paphs... Maudiae-types can indeed bloom on small plants, and spikes are pretty quick to develop. Then there are the mutiflorals that don't even think of blooming until they are big with multiple fans, take 3 years from the start of a fan to rooting to blooming, and take several months to develop a spike to flowering. (Thinking of Paph rothscildianum or sanderianum... 10-15 years or more from seedling to blooming size) Enjoy those Maudia types!

Thanks Roberta, good to know...
But I think that I will love the Paphs. Their flowers appear somehow royal to me...but also a bit mysterious.


Dav

Dav

---------- Post added at 12:15 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:12 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Shadeflower

that is true Ray but you are possibly making it sound like DavTom should provide better care when I think he seems to be doing really well.
Young plants flowering for the first time will never flower as long as an older more mature plant..

Thanks, I did not find anything wrong in Ray's reply.

Dav

---------- Post added at 12:32 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:15 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Ray

Most of my collection is paphs and phrags - they get a monthly Kelpak treatment all year.

I will be potting up some deflasked paph seedlings tomorrow. They are currently submerged in a Kelpak + probiotic bath overnight.

I have got a Bulboph. (Senne Frost) that is not in good shape. When I repotted it in S/H it did not have very healthy roots. But maybe another reason why it is struggling is that the roots are quite horizontal (i.e., not deep at all) and they probably do stay in the least moist layers of the pot. I have removed some leca from the pot and now the roots are much closer to the reservoir.

Do you think that a bath in seaweed + probiotics may help? If so, as you may remember from other posts, I do not have Kelpak and Quantum, but I have a generic seaweed product and on Monday I will get EM-1 probiotics. What dosage should I use with respect to the instructed doses in the labels and for how long should I keep it (fully immersed, leaves included?) in the solution?

Thx,

Dav

---------- Post added at 12:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:32 AM ----------

Originally Posted by Ray

Well…. That certainly wasn’t meant as a criticism of Davide’s cultural practices, but as an observation of the progression of my own! (I may have been growing orchids for 50 years, it that doesn’t mean I don’t know how to do it wrong sometimes!). Davide and I have had enough direct conversations that I expect he understands that.

Sure, no worries at all.

Dav

[Roberta]

A thought with regard to the Bulbophyllum... is it staying wet enough? They need air around the roots, but most also like being WET. Ray can advise on managing semi-hydro to achieve that, since I don't grow that way.

[DavTom]

Originally Posted by Roberta

A thought with regard to the Bulbophyllum... is it staying wet enough? They need air around the roots, but most also like being WET. Ray can advise on managing semi-hydro to achieve that, since I don't grow that way.

Hi Roberta,

Indeed, I will keep it more wet. I suspect the roots were not deep enough to get enough moisture in my s/h pot.

Dav

[Ray]

Originally Posted by DavTom

I have got a Bulboph. (Senne Frost) that is not in good shape. When I repotted it in S/H it did not have very healthy roots. But maybe another reason why it is struggling is that the roots are quite horizontal (i.e., not deep at all) and they probably do stay in the least moist layers of the pot. I have removed some leca from the pot and now the roots are much closer to the reservoir.

Do you think that a bath in seaweed + probiotics may help? If so, as you may remember from other posts, I do not have Kelpak and Quantum, but I have a generic seaweed product and on Monday I will get EM-1 probiotics. What dosage should I use with respect to the instructed doses in the labels and for how long should I keep it (fully immersed, leaves included?)

I cannot tell you the dosage to use, but manufacturer/label recommendations are likely not risky.

The reason for total immersion is because, with no roots, the plants cannot easily take up much of anything, so the extra exposure can help.

Do not let the solution get cold while the plants are soaking. I forgot to move my paph seedlings from the garage work are into the house, and they got into the upper 40’s(F), and sustained some leaf damage.

[DavTom]

Originally Posted by Ray

I cannot tell you the dosage to use, but manufacturer/label recommendations are likely not risky.

The reason for total immersion is because, with no roots, the plants cannot easily take up much of anything, so the extra exposure can help.

Do not let the solution get cold while the plants are soaking. I forgot to move my paph seedlings from the garage work are into the house, and they got into the upper 40’s(F), and sustained some leaf damage.

Thanks, should I keep it immersed for 12h or more?
Minimum temp at night is 65 F (18 C), so that should be fine I guess.

Dav

[Ray]

Originally Posted by DavTom

Thanks, should I keep it immersed for 12h or more?
Minimum temp at night is 65 F (18 C), so that should be fine I guess.

Dav

I don’t know that 12 hours is really necessary

[DavTom]

Originally Posted by Ray

Most of my collection is paphs and phrags - they get a monthly Kelpak treatment all year.

I will be potting up some deflasked paph seedlings tomorrow. They are currently submerged in a Kelpak + probiotic bath overnight.

Pardon me Ray as probably you have already responded to the same question here or on your website.

Do you apply Kelpak, Quantum and K-lite in the same watering solution, or you prefer to keep Kelpak and Quantum separated?

Thx.

Dav

[Ray]

Originally Posted by DavTom

Pardon me Ray as probably you have already responded to the same question here or on your website.

Do you apply Kelpak, Quantum and K-lite in the same watering solution, or you prefer to keep Kelpak and Quantum separated?

Thx.

Dav

When I still had my greenhouse, K-Lite was automatically metered into my RO water, so I put Kelpak in a hose-end sprayer the first watering of a calendar month, applying both at once, then the second watering of a month, I did the same with the probiotic.

However, I did that only for convenience, as the hose-end sprayer only held enough Kelpak for 64 gallons of solution, or 32 gallons of probiotics.

Now that I have a much smaller collection, and that sprayer has sufficient capacity to water the whole collection while they’re out on my deck in the summer, I feed weekly using only K-Lite, and apply the two supplements together a week later. In winter, when they’re indoors, I water using a 4-gallon, battery-powered sprayer, and I mix all three together one week a month, followed by weekly, fertilizer-only treatments.

Here’s the bottom line - they are synergistic. Sure, we focus on the three components being beneficial to the plant, but the nitrogen in the fertilizer also stimulates growth and reproduction in the microbes, and the Kelpak ingredients feed them as well (kelp extracts are part of the feed stock when producing the products in the first place). By using all three together - or as close to that as you can conveniently do so - you are maximizing their overall benefits.

[thefish1337]

Originally Posted by DavTom

---------- Post added at 12:32 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:15 AM ----------
Do you think that a bath in seaweed + probiotics may help? If so, as you may remember from other posts, I do not have Kelpak and Quantum, but I have a generic seaweed product and on Monday I will get EM-1 probiotics. What dosage should I use with respect to the instructed doses in the labels and for how long should I keep it (fully immersed, leaves included?) in the solution?

Thx,

Dav

---------- Post added at 12:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:32 AM ----------

EM-1 is a good product as long as its manufactured by an approved maker by the EMRO (EM research organization), make sure it has an expiration date as it will not be as effective when older. It's a mixture of lactobacillus, yeasts and photosynthetic bacteria. You can look online how to multiply it by fermenting it with molasses and can amplify 1L into 20L of solution. Keep in mind that you must always ferment with the original manufactured product because the ratios of organisms will drift over time and the product will not be reproducible. The amplified product is good for about 3-4 months in the fridge.

[DavTom]

Originally Posted by Ray

When I still had my greenhouse, K-Lite was automatically metered into my RO water, so I put Kelpak in a hose-end sprayer the first watering of a calendar month, applying both at once, then the second watering of a month, I did the same with the probiotic.

However, I did that only for convenience, as the hose-end sprayer only held enough Kelpak for 64 gallons of solution, or 32 gallons of probiotics.

Now that I have a much smaller collection, and that sprayer has sufficient capacity to water the whole collection while they’re out on my deck in the summer, I feed weekly using only K-Lite, and apply the two supplements together a week later. In winter, when they’re indoors, I water using a 4-gallon, battery-powered sprayer, and I mix all three together one week a month, followed by weekly, fertilizer-only treatments.

Here’s the bottom line - they are synergistic. Sure, we focus on the three components being beneficial to the plant, but the nitrogen in the fertilizer also stimulates growth and reproduction in the microbes, and the Kelpak ingredients feed them as well (kelp extracts are part of the feed stock when producing the products in the first place). By using all three together - or as close to that as you can conveniently do so - you are maximizing their overall benefits.

Thanks

---------- Post added at 11:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:45 PM ----------

Originally Posted by thefish1337

EM-1 is a good product as long as its manufactured by an approved maker by the EMRO (EM research organization), make sure it has an expiration date as it will not be as effective when older. It's a mixture of lactobacillus, yeasts and photosynthetic bacteria. You can look online how to multiply it by fermenting it with molasses and can amplify 1L into 20L of solution. Keep in mind that you must always ferment with the original manufactured product because the ratios of organisms will drift over time and the product will not be reproducible. The amplified product is good for about 3-4 months in the fridge.

Thanks