hydroton vs. prime agra?

[orchidjunky]

Originally Posted by Ranchnanny

Irrka, This is what I use for my 'chids' in the S/H medium. I get them at the local Cash and Carry grocers or even a resturant supply. They are 32 oz. deli containers and they are clear so I can see everything growing. They are large enough and similar in size to the two I recieved from First's Rays. I got 25 of them for under $10 . Check out the They are working great for me and I don't have a problem with them tipping over.:

TTFN - Sheridan

These kinda look like the party cups you get at any regular store? Are they bigger than those?

[Ranchnanny]

Orchidjunky, I use two sizes of containers one is a 32oz deli container and the other is a 16oz clear plastic cup. The larger ones I get at the cash and carry and the smaller ones you can get at any grocery. Its true that they may get brittle and crack but that's an inexpensive fix. I use the smaller ones for my mini catts. I did order Firsts Rays larger containers for my large Phal. Right now I am trying to conserve $$$ if you know what I mean.

Sheridan

[orchidjunky]

Originally Posted by Ranchnanny

Orchidjunky, I use two sizes of containers one is a 32oz deli container and the other is a 16oz clear plastic cup. The larger ones I get at the cash and carry and the smaller ones you can get at any grocery. Its true that they may get brittle and crack but that's an inexpensive fix. I use the smaller ones for my mini catts. I did order Firsts Rays larger containers for my large Phal. Right now I am trying to conserve $$$ if you know what I mean.

Sheridan

Cool! so I found the cups at smart and final and have already pre-soaked my hydroton.. im just curious.. so as for watering my orchids.. do you fertilize every watering.. and how exactly do i know when to water.. is it when the reservoir looks low or when the balls on top look dry? or both??!

Can you plant orchids with pseudobulbs/canes in s/h? Im just wondering cause these plants need to dry between waterings if im correct? so if the balls are always moist won't that affect the plants that have natural water storage? Maybe Ray can answer this one for me?

[Ranchnanny]

Orchidjunky - I don't fertilize every watering every third watering the rest of the time I do a water run through. I just fill up the container then let it run out. You can tell when it needs water as the bottom water depletes. What I like about it is that the medium isn't soaking wet its moist so you really can't overwater. I have Phal., Catts, Dens all in S/H and I having great success. However, the 'chids' in the orchidarium don't get watered as often due to the humidity and they are growing faster then the 'chids' out in room temps/humidity. Well maybe Ray can answer the question about psuedo bulbs. I have one and it is in s/h and I do a water run through every day and its putting out sprouts and roots all over. Those are hard because before I repotted them I had problems with pleated leaves not I don't. I sure hope this helps you. Take some so we can see your progress
I hope I answered your questions. I am sure others will give you some pointers as well. We all do things differently. What works for one doesn't always work for others.

TTFN - Sheridan

[Ranchnanny]

Orchidjunky don't forget to add some SuperThrive or KLN to stimulate root growth.

Sheridan

[John]

Originally Posted by Ray

Two things to keep in mind:

1. the virgin PETE or PS may not be very good against UV, so might become brittle fairly quickly, so watch out for that, and
2. because you're being cheap, you are taking jobs out of the hands of the mentally handicapped that drill the pots for me. Just "busting you" a bit.

Hi Ray, I just wanted to thank you for all the great things that you have done for this board and your local community by sharing your advise and supporting programs for the disabled. Sometimes money isn't as available for our hobbies as we would like and we have to cut corners and buy cheap. I have been on your site this morning and placed an order for pots and supplies as a way to say thanks and I hope to do it again soon.

Thank you Ray.

John

[Ray]

John, sometimes I gotta go on the cheap too! There's no crime in it.

[orchidjunky]

Originally Posted by Ray

John, sometimes I gotta go on the cheap too! There's no crime in it.

Ray, a few questions..

do you fertilize every watering.. and how exactly do i know when to water.. is it when the reservoir looks low or when the balls on top look dry? or both?

Can you plant orchids with pseudobulbs/canes in s/h? Im just wondering cause these plants need to dry between waterings if im correct? so if the balls are always moist won't that affect the plants that have natural water storage?

[irrka]

Sheridan-
mumble mumble--the one i tipped over (and was racing rolling clay all over the apartment) WAS just that container. the taller version not the little squat version (a-la olives, salad bar etc size) both of them you usually see at salad bars or whatnot. The bottle cut versions tend to be shorter just because their diameter is a bit smaller so not as tippy.
i've catts and phals and oncs growing rooting like flies in S/H. wishing for less algae though. strange, some of my pots get it and some don't. even when they sit right next to each other. Anyone else get that?
I fertilize with every watering. Except when i'm too lazy to mix, then i just flush with water (works out to about once or twice a month... i hope).

irene

[terryros]

I think of the medium as the stabilizer for the plant roots. For me, with an indoor growing setup under lights, humidity is helped by having all the pots sitting in a saucer of fluid. I never let the fluid get more than half way down from the starting point which is about 1 inch up. Because of my indoor situation I use a 3 gallon pump sprayer and use fertilizer solution to go around and top the plants off about every 2-3 days. Some go down more quickly than others. I am using reverse osmosis water for everything (buy at the grocery store for about $0.40 per gallon refill).

I have started doing a water/Physan only flush every 3-4 weeks thinking I am preventing any salt build up. I, too, have algae appearance in some pots and not others. I have put a small amount of Physan 20 in the fertilizer mix but there were opinions to just use Physan with the periodic flushes. I am sort of experimenting with this to see what keeps the algae down but doesn't mess up growth. I don't think anyone has a controlled trial on this.