As i have been growing orchids for a while now , i have been dabbling with ppm/PH and the affects the fertilizers have on other compounds.I have increased the ph as i use rain water,to around 6.6.Just to be inquisitive i poored my feed mix through 3 of my pots and caught the excess from the bottom.I tested this and the ph was alot lower than i thought i would be,
5.0,5.5, 6.4 all 3 of these plants grow in a bark/spag/perlite mix.The first 2 pots the ph is on the low side.So am i reading too much into this or is there a issue here.As the feed mix is becoming too acidic when poored through the bark mix,does this mean this is the ph the plants are absorbing,if so do i need to compensate this by increasing the ph further.I have only just started to take note on the ph levels,so my rain water ph is around 5.5,so what ph have my plants been getting.Going by what i have found with these 3 pots tested ,around 4.5!Way to low.It is a interesting and logical subject once you read,read again,read/read again ,it starts to sink in the affects low/high ph have on orchids. Hope you get what i mean here and i am not sounding like a obsessed nutter.My regime before was a standard fert 1/4 strength /rainwater when i could be bothered to feed.I knew this was`nt the best regime for my plants and it fitted with the time i was willing to give the plants.Things have changed and i am willing to give them more. Thanks Keith- posted
16 years ago