Fertilizer dilemma

[Dollythehun]

Goldstar, what are you drinking? We plumbed the house so that our drinking water (cold) in the kitchen, is not softened. Perhaps my knowledge is out of date but, we were told soft water wasn't good for drinking health wise. Our cold drinking water then is filtered through a Pur faucet mount and the orchid water through a pitcher system or rainwater.

[Roberta]

Dolly -
Softened water just has a a bit of sodium. How much depends on how much calcium it replaced. Sodium is one of those things that we all probably get too much of. But how much is that in the water adding to total dietary load? Probably a LOT less than what comes out of the salt shaker to say nothing of processed food. If one were on a very restricted-sodium diet, drinking softened water might be an issue, but otherwise I suspect the hazard is overblown. Do you know what that pur filter is actually taking out of your water? (Like test before and after?) Looked it up, some of what it supposedly takes out may not be there in the first place, or may be quite innocent if it is is. Not going to touch the majors like calcium - to take those out with a "filter" requires a DI system. Goldstar mentioned having RO water available... the issue was just that it was so pure that possibly regular fertilizer could be an issue. Simple solution to that problem is just add back a few minerals from the outdoor (unsoftened) water and the fertilizer on hand is just fine.

[Dollythehun]

Understood, Roberta. Nevertheless, we are cautious. Our water tastes better through the Pur. And, I notice long haul that it also (iron perhaps) hindered the uptake of minerals to my ancient phals.

I have to laugh, I remember when we drank from the hose...

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

Understood, Roberta. Nevertheless, we are cautious. Our water tastes better through the Pur. And, I notice long haul that it also (iron perhaps) hindered the uptake of minerals to my ancient phals.

I have to laugh, I remember when we drank from the hose...

The pitcher system is probably DI (like ZeroWater) so that does take the minerals out. As for the hose... probably a bit chalky but otherwise fine. Calcium is good for you... what comes out of the hose is likely to be quite OK if your water provider just follows the rules and regulations. (In Flint, MI they didn't...)

[Dollythehun]

Zero water filter life is only a few gallons (according to them Indiana has the nation's hardest water). My source is 100 feet down. 😁 Our water tests around 200 TDS. My reference to the hose was from being a farm girl. Nowdays not all hoses are rated as safe for drinking water. I apologize for hijacking Goldstar's thread.

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

Zero water filter life is only a few gallons (according to them Indiana has the nation's hardest water). My source is 100 feet down. 😁 Our water tests around 200 TDS. My reference to the hose was from being a farm girl. Nowdays not all hoses are rated as safe for drinking water. I apologize for hijacking Goldstar's thread.

I would not try to remove minerals from 200PPM water before drinking. The vast majority of calcium humans consume comes from drinking and cooking water. Drinking reverse-osmosis bottled water is not healthful.

[Orchid Whisperer]

Originally Posted by GoldStar135

Hi everyone-
I have a little problem regarding fertilizer. My house uses water from a well, and therefore our water system relies on a water softener. I've been using the outdoor faucets because they bypass the softener, but however recently I found out that the water coming from the faucet is around 600ppm. With fertilizer (Miracle Gro orchid food) it's around 700ppm. Am I right in assuming that that amount is way too high for orchids? I have been seeing salt burns in the velamen of my phals.
I do have an RO system installed (9ppm), but I've hesitated in using it with my current fertilizer after learning that using fertilizer likely intended for tap water mixed with RO water could result in pH problems. I'm thinking of getting MSU fert for RO water, but that'll leave a bag of fertilizer left to waste. Is there any way I can make use of the unused fertilizer?

With some experimenting you could probably blend your well and RO water (with and without fertilizer) to achieve the TDS you want to apply to your plants.

[GoldStar135]

Originally Posted by Roberta

Absolutely the unsoftened outside water. Don't use softened water on ANY plants. You can easily get an inexpensive TDS meter online, or at a hydroponics store (I suspect easier to find where I live than where you are) But for just a few orchids, don't stress on it. It takes very little for it to manage any acidity with fertilizer. A cup a gallon should be fine. (that's 1:16, so whatever the TDS is to start with, you end up with 1/16th as much, then you add in your fertilizer and go for it)

I have a TDS meter-just bought it a few weeks ago
I tested the tap water from multiple outdoor faucets and received results around 580-610ppm.

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

Goldstar, what are you drinking? We plumbed the house so that our drinking water (cold) in the kitchen, is not softened. Perhaps my knowledge is out of date but, we were told soft water wasn't good for drinking health wise. Our cold drinking water then is filtered through a Pur faucet mount and the orchid water through a pitcher system or rainwater.

We mostly just buy bottled water from the store, but we have a jar of RO water that we drink from as well.

Originally Posted by Dollythehun

Zero water filter life is only a few gallons (according to them Indiana has the nation's hardest water). My source is 100 feet down. 😁 Our water tests around 200 TDS. My reference to the hose was from being a farm girl. Nowdays not all hoses are rated as safe for drinking water. I apologize for hijacking Goldstar's thread.

No need to apologize. Personally I love it when people hijack threads-it keeps things interesting/fun

Originally Posted by Orchid Whisperer

With some experimenting you could probably blend your well and RO water (with and without fertilizer) to achieve the TDS you want to apply to your plants.

That's what I think I'll do. Thank you all!

[GoldStar135]

Hello again-
Is there a max amount of TDS that an orchid can tolerate reasonably? Around 200-300ppm?

My current fert solution consists of around 63 tbsp in a gallon can mixed with RO water (around 143ppm). With about half a teaspoon of fert the TDS showed up at around 171ppm. Would that be okay to apply to my plants? I watered one phal with the solution yesterday and today it seems normal (aside from a few small brown marks on the newest roots).

Originally Posted by Roberta

But for just a few orchids, don't stress on it. It takes very little for it to manage any acidity with fertilizer. A cup a gallon should be fine. (that's 1:16, so whatever the TDS is to start with, you end up with 1/16th as much, then you add in your fertilizer and go for it)

I did mix up a solution with about a cup of well water+RO water-it measured around 48ppm (close enough to 1/16 of 600ppm(37.5)). I'm just a little paranoid about the pH situation and felt that it wasn't enough well water mixed in with the RO water.

Thanks in advance

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by GoldStar135

Hello again-
Is there a max amount of TDS that an orchid can tolerate reasonably? Around 200-300ppm?

My current fert solution consists of around 63 tbsp in a gallon can mixed with RO water (around 143ppm). With about half a teaspoon of fert the TDS showed up at around 171ppm. Would that be okay to apply to my plants? I watered one phal with the solution yesterday and today it seems normal (aside from a few small brown marks on the newest roots).

I did mix up a solution with about a cup of well water+RO water-it measured around 48ppm (close enough to 1/16 of 600ppm(37.5)). I'm just a little paranoid about the pH situation and felt that it wasn't enough well water mixed in with the RO water.

Thanks in advance

For what it is worth, I have been growing most orchids successfully with southern California tap water that ranges from a low of 250 ppm TDS to maybe 400 or so, average is around 300-350 most of the year. Plenty of other local hobbyists who live in nearby cities are well above that (500-600)and get away with it on a variety of orchids (Phals, Cymbidiums, and most Cattleya-type hybrids seem not to care much. Many Pleurothallids, Sophronitis species, etc are much more sensitive... grow what grows easily). Our TDS is mostly calcium carbonate - if it were sodium instead of calcium it would be pretty deadly at that level, calcium salts aren't all that soluble so they aren't very harmful either. Those numbers are before fertilizer, which I use once a week or every two weeks (whatever I get around to it) at about 1/2 teaspoon per gallon or less. Fertilizer is the least important element of culture... think of it as vitamins rather than "food"... vitamins won't make a sick person healthy. No matter what your starting point is, 1/2 teaspoon or even just 1/4 teaspoon (dry) per gallon of fertilizer at most once a week is plenty.