Kelpmax use with S/H

[smokinjoe52]

I jumped in the whole 9 yards with s/h back in March. I have an enclosed grow chamber that is working out great.

I am currently using Solo, but need a little help to interpret the instructions.

First a little back round. I am using the 2 pot system with water gauges. I am also using the clear, 1" bigger diameter saucers for the reservoir. If I fill to the OPT. line on the water gauge, it is only 3-4 days before most of them are registering at the low water level on the gauge.

Now, Solo (and the Kelpmax) instructions say to use "once a month".

So, does that mean I should use Solo for 3-5 days, until the gauge is at LOW, then back to normal fertilizer.

OR

Should I use SOLO for 2 weeks, (watering several times) then switch to normal fertilizer water for the remainder 2 weeks of the month.

MAYBE 3-4 days of full strength Kelp in the water is all that is needed, but I would like to know exactly what the successful s/h'ers are doing.

Thanks,

Joe

[estación seca]

Hi Joe, I don't know what the 2-pot system is. I use MSU fertilizer diluted to about 20 parts per million nitrogen almost every watering. This is about 1/8 teaspoon / 0.6ml powder in 1 gallon / 3.78 liters. I use KelpMax about one watering every 4-6 weeks. I'm not familiar with Solo.

You can read a lot about S/H on the First Ray's Web site, and there is an S/H forum here on Orchid Board.

[smokinjoe52]

Just to clarify my question...is 3-5 days (one watering) of a Kelpmax solution adequate? That is how I am currently interpreting Ray's "once a month" recommendation.

I am good to go on regular fertilizer use, and there is no additional definition of use on Ray's site beyond "once a month". At least not that I could find.

-Joe

[estación seca]

Yes, I think that's what it means.

[Ray]

KelpMax use and fertilizer use are independent.

[smokinjoe52]

Solo contains fertilizer AND KELPMAX, so I assume I should not use SOLO for all waterings. What I am doing now is to use SOLO for 1 watering a month, and for all the rest I am using JACKS fertilizer.

Is one watering of SOLO, that lasts 3-4 days, enough from a KELPMAX perspective?

I apparently am not making myself well understood here. I apologize for that.

-Joe

[estación seca]

I haven't used SOLO.

[Ray]

SOLO was a stop-gap measure for the causal-, or downright lazy grower. It was designed to be used every two weeks with nothing but plain water in between. That was accomplished through the compromise of containing more fertilizer than I recommend for frequent application and less KelpMax.

If you're using up a bottle, I would not use other fertilizers in between applications.