I do the same for my indoor growing area except that I should get a bigger
bucked. I make up 4 or so 4 gallon buckets and use the sump in one 5 gal
bucket and just keep filling it. Works fairly well. Now the part I did
wrong was to not build in a way to drain the collection reservoirs
(currently I siphon and use a different pump that can run unsubmersed) and
not make the bottom shelf at floor level (no way to siphon the water out).
Also, when I siphon the resevoirs, I dump the contents outside in the garden
/ yard rather than down the drain which I'd be less likely to do if I had a
drainage system...

In my greenhouse, I use a hozon siphoner which seems to work just fine. The
vandas get fertilized the 2x per week that everything else gets it. The
daily misting is just with water. If you don't have enough pressure or a
large enough dia hose or try to use a small dia on/off valve at the end of
the hose, it won't work. I bought one of those fancy coiled hoses and it
didn't work w/ the siphoner

"Gene Schurg" wrote in message
rthlink.net...
Oh Bob....I had the same problem about a year ago and we discussed it at
length here on RGO.

I tried the siphon type.....with a water break there wasn't enough
pressure
to suck out the fertilizer mix. I tried a couple of different water
breaks
and a large diameter hose, that finally worked but I was unhappy with the
result. I wasn't sure how much fertilizer was being applied and if it was
being applied evenly.

What I finally ended up doing was getting a 32 gallon plastic trash can
for
$10. Mark the side of the trash can at 5 gallon increments so you don't
always have to fill it to the top. I fill it with water and add the
liquid
fertilizer to the concentration I want to use that day. I drop a $50
sump
pump into the bucket and plug the sump pump into a GFI plug. For 600
plants I use one trash can (32 gallons) of mix in the winter. During the
summer I am using 2 trash cans full to water. I think I am moving slower
during the summer.

Good growing,
Gene





"Bob Bailey" wrote in message
om...
I am looking for a simpler way to fertilize my orchids. I have about 60
plants. I want to get some type of fertilizer injector (siphon) that I
can
hook to my hose to water/fertilize. I have a wand on the hose with
about
6
different settings. I want something cheaper, I'm not looking to spend
$100
on something. I've read that the siphons do not work well if the hose
attachment has a mister attachment. I would like something that will
work
well if I am "misting" vandas or "showering" cattleyas. Any
recommendations
are appreciated.

Bob
Clearwater, FL