Watering schedule? homemade orchid food? - Orchid Board

jh0330u · #1 10-15-2016, 03:34 AM

Hello, please share your watering schedule/techniques as I am new, confused, unsure, and unexperienced. If you could share any homemade fertilizing techniques it would be greatly appreciated as well!

I have a white moth phalaenopsis orchid currently suspending in air over water. The plant was originally struggling from severe root rot in sphagnum moss but through open air ventilation, less waterings, it seems the rotting has been contained.

I live in Vancouver, Canada where it is very rainy (common vancouver winter/fall weather) but it feels very dry in humidity. In a matter of few hours after watering, all the roots are completely silver.

I think my phal will eventually need some more nutrition especially while recovering from mass root loss. So I've decided to make something to add nutrition to my phal's diet.

careforyourorchids.com/Homemade-Orchid-Fertilizer-Recipes.html stated that:
-Nitrogen is for foliage, stem and shoot growth.
-Phosphorous aids healthy root growth.
-Potassium promotes flowering.

-also calcium seems to be important as well.
-magnesium as well

My Watering Schedule
I alternate from running tap water through the roots and soaking tips and up to 1/4 of roots in tap water for roughly 30min daily.

My plan:
Although I want higher levels of phosphorous, if I am correct, all those nutrients and others are all still important and beneficial.

Ingredients (with nutritional ratios according to each individual ingredient where available):
-water from cleaning rice (nitrogen from tap water, calcium and traces of other nutrients)
-dried kelp (?nitrogen, 4calcium, 3magnesium, 1phosphorus, and 2potassium) (nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2617/2)
-dried sardines!!! (?nitrogen, 1calcium, 4phosphorus!!, 2potassium) (Anchovy Nutrition Information - Eat This Much)
-green tea bag (nitrogen)

I could add sugars, chicken bones, and other ingredients but I want to keep my phosphorus levels relatively high so I will keep it at just this.

First, I will lightly boil dried sardines and kelp in a pot then remove the water to ensure I rid of any salt. I will then add water which I used to clean my rice and boil. I will boil as long as I think I can get something out of the sardines or kelp. I will dip the green tea bag in for a few minutes before cooling. I will remove all of the solids and move the concoction into a container and let still for a few days (I will most likely leave the lid loosely on top).

I believe I should also be vigilant of over-fertilizing and burning roots. It will depend on how concentrated my fertilizer looks but I plan to begin by diluting my homemade mix at a 1:6 ratio with water and soak the roots in the diluted solution for roughly 30-60min every 2-3 days (with tap water misting in between and flushing every month as needed). Also making the fertilizer slowly more concentrated over 2 weeks maybe up to stronger ratio.

Four Questions
1) Does my watering schedule seem okay? (I know by using medium my phal will require much less attention but currently, I don't mind)
2) Does my homemade orchid fertilizer food and logic surrounding orchid nutrition seem okay?
3) What is an acceptable concentration of N-K-P so I can roughly determine what a safe concentration of my feeding can be? (I have a feeling though that each plant is going to have different tolerances. However, I don't even know what scale is acceptable for orchid roots)
4) What is an acceptable pH?
Lacks orchid data but 6.1pH should be safe