Help with ppm and fertilizer

[LadyOrchid]

Hello to everyone,

This is my first post ;-) I just registered.

Please I don't know is it because of English language or I'm really stupid but I CAN'T figure out how to count doze for fertilizer.

My plants are in semi-hidroponic and I choose to follow what Ray say and water with fertilizer at each watering but I can't understand how to count.

Ok my label say that there is 13% of N.
I think my target for watering should be 35 ppm.

How to count how much granules put in 1 gallon of water?

Please if there is someone who is willing to explain me more further I will be soooooo grateful.

Wish you all great blooms

[estación seca]

Welcome to the Orchid Board! Your English is great.

There is a fertilizer calculator here:
Nitrogen Management Calculator - First Rays LLC

If I put in your figures 13% N, target 35 ppm, it shows 0.20 teaspoons per gallon of water or 0.27ml of granules for 1 liter of water.

I don't know what kind of small measuring spoons you have. In the US measuring spoons for cooking usually are sold together in a set with 1 Tablespoon, 1 teaspoon, 1/2 teaspoon, 1/3 teaspoon, 1/4 teaspoon and sometimes 1/8 teaspoon.

[LadyOrchid]

Thank you so much!

Also thank you about compliment about my English. I really give my best. Actually it is harder to read articles than write like this.

Ok so acctualy if I understood correctly 3.5 is divided with 13 and I got 0,26. Is that correct? I just wish to understand process of getting this result.

So this will be acctually even low than half gram? Is that so?

I'm really learning so much, night and day and some things are simply hard for beginners.

No, never saw that teaspoons in Croatia. I really don't know how much this will be in my home teaspoon which is 5 gram. I will find out some solution.

Thank you so much for posting ;-)

[estación seca]

Originally Posted by LadyOrchid

...3.5 is divided with 13 and I got 0,26. Is that correct? I just wish to understand process of getting this result.

Yes, I think that is the method. The calculation is much easier with SI units but the result will be the same with English units.

Cooks in the US measure most ingredients by volume. In Europe it's by mass. However, a US teaspoon contains about 5ml of water, and that would be 5 grams of water. Other things have different densities so the mass would be different.

[Tony Meola]

Convert teaspoons to grams - Conversion of Measurement Units

Try this link. You should find it helpful.

[estación seca]

The problem is different substances have different densities. A cubic foot of feathers does not have the same mass as a cubic foot of flour; another way of saying it is that a gram of feathers does not occupy the same space as a gram of fertilizer powder. The smaller the quantity, the smaller the error, but it is still there.

[LadyOrchid]

I knew this will be a problem ;-)))

Ok let see if I got it now.

At Rays page I put 13 for N% and 35 for target ppm, and it says: Teaspoons per Gallon - 0,20 and Mililiters per Liter 0.27.

If I understood correctly I'm looking Teaspoons per Gallon (fertilizer is granules).

And Tony Meola when I write in your convert 0.20 teaspoon he gives me 1 gram. Is this final result???

Can I have 1 gram in ever watering? If I water them twice a week this should be really good for them.

Just please tell me 1 gram is target haha

Thank you all for doing your best to help me. I really like semi-hydro and I really wish to make all this come true and I don't want my orchids in other media. So learning soooo much in few days is not easy at all. I'm really doing my best.

Thank you!!!

[estación seca]

Yes, you are learning a lot fast! Yes, it's best to keep it simple and learn things one by one.

Different people use fertilizer differently.

When your plants are growing you can use low amounts of fertilizer once or twice a week. With even lower amounts, like 20 ppm, you can use it every watering. This is about 1/8 teaspoon per gallon. Most sets of measuring spoons in the US have a 1/8 teaspoon.

When orchids are not growing they need very little fertilizer. Many people fertilize once a month, or less, in the winter. It will depend on your plants.

For one gallon of 35 ppm nitrogen you would use 1/5 of a teaspoon. Standard sets of measuring spoons do not have a 1/5 teaspoon. But it is a little less than 1/4 teaspoon. So you could measure 1/4 teaspoon and remove a small amount of it (one part out of five.)

Or you could decide to use 45 ppm nitrogen and put 1/4 teaspoon in one gallon.

There is not much difference to orchids between 35 ppm and 45 ppm, so do whatever is easier for you.

[LadyOrchid]

estacion seca you are right!!! I will do so and as they are in semi-hydro I guess they really won't know the difference.

Glad to solve this as I have soooo much things to learn hope I won't kill many Orchids until I learn everything I should.

Thank you very much for your time and wish to help me.

[estación seca]

You are welcome. There are a lot of people here to give help!

I use 1/8 teaspoon of 13-3-15 per gallon of rain water at every watering with my plants in S/H. Once a month I water with pure rain water to flush out the salts.