Question concerning s/h

[20jlr]

check out www.firstrays.com he has tons of information on his site. There is info for pure water concentrations as well as well/city water. The msu fert we are talking about is Michgan State University.

[wallyworld]

OK....I am trying this!! I planted one cattleya in this and have placed in the the shaderoom with the vandas. I am hoping that using this, the water will run through and not break down. I am going to use the method of covering the holes and watering and them letting go when I got it full. Thanks guys!!

[Ray]

Courtesy of a PC crash, followed by a trip out of town for a week, and then a zillion orders sparked by Charles Rhodes' article in Orchids magazine, I've had a tough time keeping up with forums!

Tindomul... The target fertilizer concentration for most of us growing in the home or even in greenhouses here in the northeast is 125 ppm N - it matters not what your water source is. Divide 10 by the %N in the fertilizer formula to determine the teaspoons per gallon to use. I used 50 ppm N for years and did OK with it, but have seen better growth and blooming since upping the concentration.

[Ross]

Now I am confused. The sheet that came with the starter kit I got from you says "...which equates to about 1 teaspoon per gallon for every 10% N in the formula..." If I use a granular mix with 20% N do I use 2 teaspoon per gall or 1/2 teaspoon per gallon? Dividing 10 by the % N is very different than 1 tsp per 10%. Please clarify. Thanks.

[Ray]

I guess I'll have to clarify that, Ross. If it's one teaspoon for a 10% nitrogen formula, it's 1/2 teaspoon for a 20% N formula.

Think about it - if you have more in the concentrate, you need less in solution to give the same final concentration.

I thought that was fairly self-evident - must be the years of engineering school.

[elona]

I recently started using s/h and am amazed. I knocked over a mini phal I had in s/h and was surprised at how thick and green the roots were. The plant sulked for a couple of months when I first planted it in s/h but now it seems deliriously happy.