Watering orchids with vodka

[K-Sci]

POST MOVED PER ORIGINAL POSTER'S REQUEST...WW



---------- Post added at 01:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:33 PM ----------

Originally Posted by Ray

Concerning experiments and the use of alcohol in S/H...keep in mind that it has been shown to only work on high light plants...

What is a high light plant? Full sun? I'm not sure Cattleyas would fall into that category. Maybe some vandas do.

-Keith

[SouthPark]

I agree that it's necessary that the testing needs to be very thorough, and done with a heap of plants ------ orchids in particular --- as this thread is really focusing on application on the orchids. And the focus during testing will be on growth rate. With all orchids being the same sort - eg. seedling clones.

Also ------ another idea is the vodka martini --- one test being stirred, and the other --- shaken, not stirred.

[rbarata]

I'll add a question...why vodka?
There are better beverages...

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by rbarata

I'll add a question...why vodka?
There are better beverages...

Good question RB. Possibly due to the idea being behind alcohol. And vodka gets in ballpark of straight alcohol. And also maybe avoids having certain ingredients that could possibly create issues of some sort ..... either over the short term ... or long term.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by K-Sci

What is a high light plant? Full sun? I'm not sure Cattleyas would fall into that category. Maybe some vandas do. In some of the Jerry's Grow ads, cattleyas were pictured (but how do we know the grower wasn't spectacular even without it?).

-Keith

Vandas, for sure, but - once again - there is a gradient, not "steps" between what is a "high light" plant and what isn't.

I was giving this some more thought (hot water on head in shower) and it struck me that, generally speaking, plants will grow as well as they can, as long as each and every requirement, including individual nutritional elements, is adequately provided.

That's why a slight insufficiency in a nutrient doesn't necessarily result in a "deficiency symptom", but is more likely to manifest itself in slower growth, smaller plants, less flowering, etc.

I suspect that in an "average, intermediately-light orchid", having the relatively slow growth rate that they do, simply cannot take advantage of the added carbon (I'm assuming that theory is correct, for the purposes of the discussion), and that the plant that can tolerate higher light wouldn't be able to take advantage of it unless everything else is appropriately supplied to allow the entire system to up its game.

[TZ-Someplace]

I remember having a gallon of Jerry's Grow way back when. I totally forgot about the alcohol part.

High light on orchids makes me think of photoinhibition or downregulation reducing carbon fixation. C-C from etoh makes me think a small carbon chain from one of the pathway/cycles to make up for it, or maybe some beneficial reaction with nasty oxygen radicals from high light.

The Effect of Alcohol on Plants | Sciencing
when watered with a 5 percent solution of ethanol, plant growth slows. When a 10 percent alcohol solution is applied, the plant becomes stressed and, with a 25 percent alcohol solution, the plant dies. This can be useful if growth of the plant needs to be supressed, as is the case with many flowers. Once the flower gets larger, it wilts and loses its aesthetic value. Using ethanol, the flower can be kept smaller for a longer period of time.

The enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase is found in most living organisms, including humans, bacteria and plants. This enzyme catalyzes the reaction of an alcohol into an aldehyde or ketone by removing a hydrogen from the alcohol. ... For instance, in humans, ethanol is converted into acetylaldehyde,

The sugar content of beer and wine encourages bacterial and fungal growth, which will damage or kill the plant.

Wikipedia Ethanol metabolism
[human] processing ethanol first into acetaldehyde and further into acetic acid and acetyl-CoA. Once acetyl-CoA is formed, it becomes a substrate for the citric acid cycle ultimately producing cellular energy

[SouthPark]

An experiment with all seedling clones --- in lots of 100 ------ group A (100 orchid clone seedlings) ----- alcohol treatment, and group B (100 seedlings) ----- control with no alcohol, but are provided with adequate fertiliser and mag-cal etc --- just like group A, but with no alcohol in the mix. And Group C (100 seedlings) ----- using exactly the same conditions as for Group B, except we put a label on the watering container that says 'with vodka' ----- to mislead the orchids --- this is the placebo group.

[Dusty Ol' Man]

Originally Posted by rbarata

I'll add a question...why vodka?
There are better beverages...

White rum, for instance?

[WaterWitchin]

Originally Posted by Dusty Ol' Man

White rum, for instance?

I’m so burnt on rum I’ll never look back again. 🤮

[TZ-Someplace]

I wonder if the impurities like fusil oils that give you a hangover from the cheap stuff screw up plants any.

I love me some Popcorn Sutton shine videos.