Gosh I just love love your garden! I've always wanted to get an orchid. Whats a good orchids for beginners. I live in Northern Mississippi and will be growing mine inside because I don't have a sanctuary like you. Please tell me a good one to start with. Thanks so much for your videos.
great info! this was the first video of yours that I want and it was really good. so I subscribed I can't believe that I've been on here since April and I had not seen your video. happy growing and you've got a new watcher
Nice video - I am so jealous of you amazing jungle! Wow. I just wanted to add one comment to your discussion, depending on where you live, the easiest (and cheapest) way to find out about your water is to talk to people in your local orchid society. They will know about the water quality and if you should test your water or if it is pretty standard throughout the area, in which case they will be able to tell you exactly what it is like. But I totally agree it is important to know what you are dealing with.
I use Calmag pro formula from Blue Planet Nutrients. It is powdered supplement that has 8% Nitrate Nitrohen, 15% Ca, 5,5% Mg and other trace elements. As far as I know, orchids cannot absorb Ca from the tap water. They can absorb chelated Ca that comes in the calmag fertilizer. I have just lost one orchid due to rot and my other orchid is on her decline also because of rot issues. It had floppy leaves, but the leaves became firmer after the very first feeding with calmag water. I hope, she will recover.
What I am struggling to understand is what level is "too low" if I do have my water tested? Also, I am not able to get the same type of cal mag where I am so is there some sort of measurement per gallon of water that is ideal? Or does each brand have a different strength/density? I have a vanda and I am suspecting cal mag is the deficiency but I don't want to overdo something. Thanks for any tips!
I bought powdered calmag on Amazon and I can see the results after first application. I have a TDS tester. I started testing my water first (I use distilled water which starts with zero TDS). After that I added a tiny pinch of calmag to about a quarter of a gallon. I let it dissolve completely and then checked the TDS number again. I fed my orchid with 200 ppm calmag water. The floppy leaves became firmer the next day. I could see it.
Your tap water Ca is useless for orchids unless it's chelated Ca. I don't know what Ca is in my tapwater. So I use tapwater and distilled water with supplements and I adjust the PH of water to have it around 5,8 - 6,8
I have no idea. If your source of magnesium is Epsom salt, then I'd mix them separately for sure just to keep the dilutions consistent and then you won't have to worry as much about the Ph of solution swinging as much.
Libby's Little Garden well it could be a variety of things but the most likely factors are usually temperature and lighting. With a Phal it is possible that it's just receiving a smidge too much light.
1 love the pinky nail polish. And second i have phals bieng loads of purple. Sue lee said i might have a mag def. They do not get to much light..if you watch my orchid collection update part 3 you see where i keep them. I have a calcium for canabis supplement because my feed have 2%magnesium. I habe epsom salt and rickl gave me measurements 1/2 tsp per gallon. Still need to mix that and test ph and tds. But i saw this video i will save in my favorites. But want to give calcium 3 times a year spring summer and fall. I water with rain water. Do i need to get my rainnwater tested at the pet shop? I can... but its rain water with a tds of 14... you give calcium often in winter can you do me a big big solid and email me so i can type easier and explain my still evolving fertilizing regime. Because there is soooo much out there and everyting contradicts eachother i know you have little time and have a party right now so party on darling. But any help would be greatly appriciated. I like to get as many expiranced growers there routine and mix that to fit my plants and style and what i have What is a 20 20 20 from a nursery but lacks calcium. I do not want to over dose my plants. But love to get your 2 cents. I feed weakly weekly at 120 tds and flush week 4 annd gabe calcium last week at 200 tds ph 5.9 or 6.2 have to look that up. Also need to study the mobile immobile nutrients and de benefits of calcium... but my main question is epsomsalts how you apply that for orchids... Will watch this 3 times. Much love and kind regards rose
Wow! You are the first comment i'm getting to respond to in over a week and you've given me quite the doozey! lol. Your grow space looks nice! You are right, there is a ton of info out there, and everything contradicts each other! The supplement i use is also a cannabis supplement, made for hyrdoponics, it is working well so far. To be 100% honest, i have never given tds a thought when it comes to my phals! I check it periodically just because it is routine for my aquariums to stay ontop of it, so perhaps thats why i never worried about it. I supplement calcium often in winter because the water i use in winter is from my aquaponics tub, which i fill with deionized reverse osmosis water, which is void of all nutrients. Though it gets replenished by the fish with nitrates and phosphates, calcium and other trace minerals are lacking in that water. You tds of 14 is just fine, that is very, VERY low! If there is ever a worry about rainwater not being clean, it can always be run through a carbon filter to remove impurities/ pollutants, such as a brita filter pitcher. There are also filter pads called, POLY PADS, that u can just float in the collection barrel and theyll soak up pollutants as well. Fertilizers and supplements are a tricky topic bc there is a lot variability in conditions which influence results. Like if an orchid is in lyca or lava stone, or moss, then it will need to be flushed more often to avoid salt accumulations. A 20 20 20 that lacks calcium? Got me there! Im always trying to find 20 20 20 that has as much in it as i can get! lol. Personally i prefer any fert made my J. Peters, they have lots of nutrients and dissolve quickly and consistently. Your tds, p.h and fertilizing regime sounds on point! Also rick said 1/2 teaspoon per gallon, or 1/2 tablespoon? Ive always confused the abbreviations for the two! I would think teaspoon. Epsom Salts are great! I have to some math to break down the dose i use... 3 cups into my 500 gallon aquaponics tub.. 3 cups contains 48 tablespoons of salts so that is almost 1 tablespoon per ten gallons... so what is 1/10th of a tablespoon? Eek math! 1 tablespoon is roughly 3 teaspoons... so .3 teaspoons should be in 1 tablespoon... my dose is low also, i should be giving just over 3 cups of salts, to 1 tablespoon for each ten gallons.. which means 1/2 to 1/3(on the lower side) is just right. PHEW! You are giving my brain a workout this morning! ... so basically, i am giving about the same dose as rick suggested, but, my ph is higher, about 7.0... the initial p.h before i add acids to lower it is 8.6...getting from 8.6 to below 7.0 is very hard to do and keep stable, and because of the fish in the aquaponics, i settle at 7.0 because water parameters being stable is important to their health and 7.0 is fine, id prefer 6.5 but hey, is what it is. So in a nutshell, during late summer to mid winter, i hyper dose the following: magnesium, calcium, pottassium and silica. I do this because a lot of research suggest that these all play an important role in strengthing the walls of plant cells, and therefore should increase resistance to cold temperatures. I have to stay concerned about cold all winter because my growspace is my garage, and when it is below 10f outside it is then around 35 to 45f in the growspace. luckily that kind of cold usually only last a day or so where i live and doesnt happen often. I rambled so much here, i have no clue if ive answered you or not! lol. Im so sorry! I just saw your video about the palm at the hospital, it is very pretty! I hope you feel better soon! xoxo- Jeff
Tropical Plant Party o my lord.... in a nut shell he says 😂😍😂 you are my peeps👊 you ramble just like me... i just wished you emailed.... i can not copy past your info. And o hell no that I'll remember all this....when you have time... Would you be a doll and copy past this to Roosjevdijk18@hotmail.com. And yes you answered most... 1 why calcium and why so often stucture of cell walls resisting cold same goes for magnesium and silica what that is... i dont know but he google is my friend right ). Mega math epsomsalt 0.3 tsp teaspoon tbs is table spoon. 😜 But do you water with that or foliar feed ? And how often and do you feed al those ? Like 1 week calcium 1 week magnesium 1 week silica and flush week 4 ? I do flush well multiple glasses of rain water trough the pot sometimes i boil my rainwater for 10 min and pour it trough a coffee filter once cooled of to kill bacteria I'm not concerned about pollution i live in the greenest part of the neterlands. also My cats drink my rain water so i am not comfortable putting anyting in my rain barrel. So my plants will have to do with what ever i give them lol... I do like to learn a bit about nutrients so I'm studying like mad. But i love to know what expiranced growers do for their plants and why. The why is actualy more important.. in a few weeks when you have a bit more time i hope you can explain... or just do another video about it so everybody can learn. Thanks for the well wishes. Im not feeling okay and it might be the medication im on.. or its just that my batteries are depleted...like i hade nuclear spliced atom power and now i run on a cheap dollar store button battery... I'm not used to feeling verry weak...😕🤔 but no worries they're ontop of it.. i have amazing dokters and therapists. So i trust they do the right thing and patch me up... but for now im bored out if my head. 😂😂 Thanks for watching my vids btw. Love rose And dude.. mega thanks for the big ass reply. ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Lots of great information! Rick L mentioned your channel and I am so glad he did. I’ve subscribed so I won’t miss any of your new videos.
+Susan Moisey well thank you, Susan! Welcome to my channel! Rick is the best!
Gosh I just love love your garden! I've always wanted to get an orchid. Whats a good orchids for beginners. I live in Northern Mississippi and will be growing mine inside because I don't have a sanctuary like you. Please tell me a good one to start with. Thanks so much for your videos.
Thank you for your video. Very informative
Well thank you so much for the compliment! happy growing!
great info! this was the first video of yours that I want and it was really good. so I subscribed I can't believe that I've been on here since April and I had not seen your video. happy growing and you've got a new watcher
+Libby's Little Garden thank you so much! I'm really glad that you liked it and thank you for commenting! Happy gardening!
Nice video - I am so jealous of you amazing jungle! Wow. I just wanted to add one comment to your discussion, depending on where you live, the easiest (and cheapest) way to find out about your water is to talk to people in your local orchid society. They will know about the water quality and if you should test your water or if it is pretty standard throughout the area, in which case they will be able to tell you exactly what it is like. But I totally agree it is important to know what you are dealing with.
Thank you SO much! Great information!
Sherry Walker well thank you!
How do you know your orchids needed calcium and magnesium? And how do you know if you're using too much fertilizer?
Hey TPP 😁 is rain water good for orchid ?Cause I mix my ferti with rainwater.Great vandas you have out there .
I use Calmag pro formula from Blue Planet Nutrients. It is powdered supplement that has 8% Nitrate Nitrohen, 15% Ca, 5,5% Mg and other trace elements. As far as I know, orchids cannot absorb Ca from the tap water. They can absorb chelated Ca that comes in the calmag fertilizer. I have just lost one orchid due to rot and my other orchid is on her decline also because of rot issues. It had floppy leaves, but the leaves became firmer after the very first feeding with calmag water. I hope, she will recover.
What I am struggling to understand is what level is "too low" if I do have my water tested?
Also, I am not able to get the same type of cal mag where I am so is there some sort of measurement per gallon of water that is ideal? Or does each brand have a different strength/density? I have a vanda and I am suspecting cal mag is the deficiency but I don't want to overdo something. Thanks for any tips!
I bought powdered calmag on Amazon and I can see the results after first application. I have a TDS tester. I started testing my water first (I use distilled water which starts with zero TDS). After that I added a tiny pinch of calmag to about a quarter of a gallon. I let it dissolve completely and then checked the TDS number again. I fed my orchid with 200 ppm calmag water. The floppy leaves became firmer the next day. I could see it.
Your tap water Ca is useless for orchids unless it's chelated Ca. I don't know what Ca is in my tapwater. So I use tapwater and distilled water with supplements and I adjust the PH of water to have it around 5,8 - 6,8
Big help Thanks
no problem Bernadette! happy growing!
great video ♥
could you mix calcium and mag together?
I have no idea. If your source of magnesium is Epsom salt, then I'd mix them separately for sure just to keep the dilutions consistent and then you won't have to worry as much about the Ph of solution swinging as much.
is it possible to mix calcium carbonate with epsomsalt together and if possible 20-20-20
do you know what it means when, my window sill phalaenopsis leaves are coming out too reddish. is it a lack of sun or lack of minerals any suggestions
Libby's Little Garden well it could be a variety of things but the most likely factors are usually temperature and lighting. With a Phal it is possible that it's just receiving a smidge too much light.
1 love the pinky nail polish. And second i have phals bieng loads of purple. Sue lee said i might have a mag def. They do not get to much light..if you watch my orchid collection update part 3 you see where i keep them. I have a calcium for canabis supplement because my feed have 2%magnesium. I habe epsom salt and rickl gave me measurements 1/2 tsp per gallon. Still need to mix that and test ph and tds. But i saw this video i will save in my favorites. But want to give calcium 3 times a year spring summer and fall. I water with rain water. Do i need to get my rainnwater tested at the pet shop? I can... but its rain water with a tds of 14... you give calcium often in winter can you do me a big big solid and email me so i can type easier and explain my still evolving fertilizing regime. Because there is soooo much out there and everyting contradicts eachother i know you have little time and have a party right now so party on darling. But any help would be greatly appriciated. I like to get as many expiranced growers there routine and mix that to fit my plants and style and what i have
What is a 20 20 20 from a nursery but lacks calcium. I do not want to over dose my plants. But love to get your 2 cents. I feed weakly weekly at 120 tds and flush week 4 annd gabe calcium last week at 200 tds ph 5.9 or 6.2 have to look that up. Also need to study the mobile immobile nutrients and de benefits of calcium... but my main question is epsomsalts how you apply that for orchids...
Will watch this 3 times.
Much love and kind regards rose
Wow! You are the first comment i'm getting to respond to in over a week and you've given me quite the doozey! lol. Your grow space looks nice! You are right, there is a ton of info out there, and everything contradicts each other! The supplement i use is also a cannabis supplement, made for hyrdoponics, it is working well so far. To be 100% honest, i have never given tds a thought when it comes to my phals! I check it periodically just because it is routine for my aquariums to stay ontop of it, so perhaps thats why i never worried about it. I supplement calcium often in winter because the water i use in winter is from my aquaponics tub, which i fill with deionized reverse osmosis water, which is void of all nutrients. Though it gets replenished by the fish with nitrates and phosphates, calcium and other trace minerals are lacking in that water. You tds of 14 is just fine, that is very, VERY low! If there is ever a worry about rainwater not being clean, it can always be run through a carbon filter to remove impurities/ pollutants, such as a brita filter pitcher. There are also filter pads called, POLY PADS, that u can just float in the collection barrel and theyll soak up pollutants as well. Fertilizers and supplements are a tricky topic bc there is a lot variability in conditions which influence results. Like if an orchid is in lyca or lava stone, or moss, then it will need to be flushed more often to avoid salt accumulations.
A 20 20 20 that lacks calcium? Got me there! Im always trying to find 20 20 20 that has as much in it as i can get! lol. Personally i prefer any fert made my J. Peters, they have lots of nutrients and dissolve quickly and consistently. Your tds, p.h and fertilizing regime sounds on point! Also rick said 1/2 teaspoon per gallon, or 1/2 tablespoon? Ive always confused the abbreviations for the two! I would think teaspoon. Epsom Salts are great! I have to some math to break down the dose i use...
3 cups into my 500 gallon aquaponics tub..
3 cups contains 48 tablespoons of salts
so that is almost 1 tablespoon per ten gallons... so what is 1/10th of a tablespoon? Eek math!
1 tablespoon is roughly 3 teaspoons... so .3 teaspoons should be in 1 tablespoon...
my dose is low also, i should be giving just over 3 cups of salts, to 1 tablespoon for each ten gallons.. which means 1/2 to 1/3(on the lower side) is just right. PHEW! You are giving my brain a workout this morning! ... so basically, i am giving about the same dose as rick suggested, but, my ph is higher, about 7.0... the initial p.h before i add acids to lower it is 8.6...getting from 8.6 to below 7.0 is very hard to do and keep stable, and because of the fish in the aquaponics, i settle at 7.0 because water parameters being stable is important to their health and 7.0 is fine, id prefer 6.5 but hey, is what it is.
So in a nutshell, during late summer to mid winter, i hyper dose the following: magnesium, calcium, pottassium and silica. I do this because a lot of research suggest that these all play an important role in strengthing the walls of plant cells, and therefore should increase resistance to cold temperatures. I have to stay concerned about cold all winter because my growspace is my garage, and when it is below 10f outside it is then around 35 to 45f in the growspace. luckily that kind of cold usually only last a day or so where i live and doesnt happen often.
I rambled so much here, i have no clue if ive answered you or not! lol. Im so sorry! I just saw your video about the palm at the hospital, it is very pretty! I hope you feel better soon!
xoxo- Jeff
Tropical Plant Party o my lord.... in a nut shell he says 😂😍😂 you are my peeps👊 you ramble just like me... i just wished you emailed....
i can not copy past your info.
And o hell no that I'll remember all this....when you have time...
Would you be a doll and copy past this to Roosjevdijk18@hotmail.com.
And yes you answered most...
1 why calcium and why so often stucture of cell walls resisting cold same goes for magnesium and silica what that is... i dont know but he google is my friend right ).
Mega math epsomsalt 0.3 tsp teaspoon tbs is table spoon. 😜
But do you water with that or foliar feed ? And how often and do you feed al those ? Like 1 week calcium 1 week magnesium 1 week silica and flush week 4 ?
I do flush well multiple glasses of rain water trough the pot sometimes i boil my rainwater for 10 min and pour it trough a coffee filter once cooled of to kill bacteria I'm not concerned about pollution i live in the greenest part of the neterlands. also My cats drink my rain water so i am not comfortable putting anyting in my rain barrel. So my plants will have to do with what ever i give them lol...
I do like to learn a bit about nutrients so I'm studying like mad. But i love to know what expiranced growers do for their plants and why. The why is actualy more important.. in a few weeks when you have a bit more time i hope you can explain... or just do another video about it so everybody can learn.
Thanks for the well wishes. Im not feeling okay and it might be the medication im on.. or its just that my batteries are depleted...like i hade nuclear spliced atom power and now i run on a cheap dollar store button battery... I'm not used to feeling verry weak...😕🤔 but no worries they're ontop of it.. i have amazing dokters and therapists. So i trust they do the right thing and patch me up... but for now im bored out if my head. 😂😂
Thanks for watching my vids btw.
Love rose
And dude.. mega thanks for the big ass reply. ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Where are you?
Sherry Walker I'm in My garage, which is where I overwinter my tropicals. 😊