Actually Joe, each living creature has its own nutritional needs, in terms
of both amount and formula.

"Weekly, weakly" is, in my opinion, another underdefined overgeneralization
aimed at protecting folks from themselves. That vanda in full sun in your
back yard needs one hell of a lot more food than the identical plant would
need up here, and their needs would eclipse any masdevallia in J&L's
greenhouse.

If we had the scientific knowledge and inclination, each and every plant we
grow would get a customized feeding regimen, adjusted based upon the water
supply, conditions, the plants' health, stage in the growth cycle, maturity,
medium, etc., etc.

Unfortunately, there's both truth and fiction is damned near everything
we've ever been taught about orchid growing, nutrition being but one
example.

Others include "overwatering causes root rot" and "you should water first,
then rewater with fertilizer solution". In the first case, it's not the
amount of water that's the issue, but how it bridges the particles of the
growing medium and blocks airflow, which suffocates the roots. Yeah - too
much water may have been the apparent cause, but it's the nature of the
unnatural medium that was the real issue. Grow in a medium that does not
allow such bridging - mounting being the penultimate example - and you
cannot overwater.

And that fertilizing thing may be true if you feed once a month at 1000 ppm,
but if you're a frequent feeder at moderate rates, it's not needed and is
actually a wasteful and bad practice.

Anyone think of other examples?

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info!


"jtill" wrote in message
ups.com...
"Which of your two plants do you think is getting it's optimal amount
of
fertilizer? " Al asks.

Hopefully both but that is open to question. I did burn the pepper
early on, probably the fertilizer I mixed into it's soil. I enjoy these
discussions, "Water weekly weakly" is probably correct but it is pretty
bare bones for one that is curious.

Joe T
Houston