As to fertilizer toxicity- the biggest worry that I am aware of
would be the nitrates. People don't handle nitrates too well, and infants
are most susceptible. Look up "blue baby disease" or "blue baby syndrome,"
also known as methemoglobinemia.

Actually, methemoglobinemia has a number of causes, nitrates in
the diet being one of several.

Other'n that, most of the components are fairly safe in the
concentrations at which they would most likely be present.

The address in the header isn't valid. Send no email there.

-AJHicks
Chandler, AZ

Interesting. Thank you for the info Aaron. From what I read about
methemoglobinemia after getting your response, infant below 6 month of age
are particularly in danger, since after that the body may already be capable
of dealing with nitrates. So in the first 6 month fertilized water is more
poisonous and then it is less so. As already said, I do not intend to feed
my son fertilizer and overall I think I will keep the fertilizer solution
out of his reach, however, the cleaning supplies and other much more toxic
chemicals will take precedence in the out of reach storage -- they will have
to be placed in a spot that is completely out of baby and toddle reach no
matter what happens, whereas the fertilized solution can probably be in a
spot that is just out of reach.
Joanna

"Aaron Hicks" wrote in message
...
As to fertilizer toxicity- the biggest worry that I am aware of
would be the nitrates. People don't handle nitrates too well, and infants
are most susceptible. Look up "blue baby disease" or "blue baby syndrome,"
also known as methemoglobinemia.

Actually, methemoglobinemia has a number of causes, nitrates in
the diet being one of several.

Other'n that, most of the components are fairly safe in the
concentrations at which they would most likely be present.

The address in the header isn't valid. Send no email there.

-AJHicks
Chandler, AZ

We saw a bored-husband type walk by the the bowl,
scoop up a handful of kibble, and chomp it down. Hello dude! It's a cat
show...what you're eating isn't crackers du jour--it's cat food. Yikes.

LOL!

(((LOL))) Someone should have captured that on movie & sent it to
"Worlds funniest Videos"

--
Cheers Wendy

Remove PETERPAN for email reply

OrchidKitty wrote:
Well, you never know. A few glasses of wine and.... Actually, we went
to a cat show in Boston, and there were a lot of vendors there, as one
might expect. One of the cat food companies had a huge bowl of kitty
kibble on display. We saw a bored-husband type walk by the the bowl,
scoop up a handful of kibble, and chomp it down. Hello dude! It's a
cat show...what you're eating isn't crackers du jour--it's cat food.
Yikes.

Actually it appears from most sources that I can see that 4 months is the
major breaking point between very susceptible to acquired blue baby syndrome
and not as much in danger. Since up until about 4 months old "Higher gastric
pH in infants may facilitate bacterial proliferation, resulting in increased
conversion of dietary nitrates to nitrites. " (quote from
http://www.emedicine.com/ped/topic1432.htm)

So since babies that small will not go after fertilized solution on their
own, the main danger to baby from fertilized solution would be if anyone
were using bottled water to mix baby formula and accidentally used the
fertilized solution instead. shudder That's not going to happen here
(among other things because our baby is not on formula, and because after
the one incident when I was not quite sure whether a bottle of water was
actually bottled water or fert solution I have become even more careful), so
that's one thing I won't worry about.

Joanna

"J Fortuna" wrote in message
newsDuGf.30880$H43.20058@trnddc08...
Interesting. Thank you for the info Aaron. From what I read about
methemoglobinemia after getting your response, infant below 6 month of age
are particularly in danger, since after that the body may already be
capable of dealing with nitrates. So in the first 6 month fertilized water
is more poisonous and then it is less so. As already said, I do not intend
to feed my son fertilizer and overall I think I will keep the fertilizer
solution out of his reach, however, the cleaning supplies and other much
more toxic chemicals will take precedence in the out of reach storage --
they will have to be placed in a spot that is completely out of baby and
toddle reach no matter what happens, whereas the fertilized solution can
probably be in a spot that is just out of reach.
Joanna

"Aaron Hicks" wrote in message
...
As to fertilizer toxicity- the biggest worry that I am aware of
would be the nitrates. People don't handle nitrates too well, and infants
are most susceptible. Look up "blue baby disease" or "blue baby
syndrome,"
also known as methemoglobinemia.

Actually, methemoglobinemia has a number of causes, nitrates in
the diet being one of several.

Other'n that, most of the components are fairly safe in the
concentrations at which they would most likely be present.

The address in the header isn't valid. Send no email there.

-AJHicks
Chandler, AZ

On Wed, 8 Feb 2006 15:49:34 -0500 in Diana Kulaga wrote:
I can't speak to the matter of toxicity, but as to using orchid flowers as
garnish, I do it all the time, usually giving them a coating of egg white, a
dip in fine sugar, and letting them dry on a rack. They give a real boost to
the presentation of a fancy dessert. No one has died, LOL, but then, adults
know better than to eat them!

I must not be an adult. I would eat them.
Then again if it isn't metal, plastic, glass, or ceramic, I would attempt to
eat what's on my plate.


--
Chris Dukes
Suspicion breeds confidence -- Brazil

On Wed, 08 Feb 2006 23:16:03 GMT in TYuGf.30986$H43.25337@trnddc08 J Fortuna wrote:

So since babies that small will not go after fertilized solution on their
own, the main danger to baby from fertilized solution would be if anyone
were using bottled water to mix baby formula and accidentally used the
fertilized solution instead. shudder That's not going to happen here
(among other things because our baby is not on formula, and because after
the one incident when I was not quite sure whether a bottle of water was
actually bottled water or fert solution I have become even more careful), so
that's one thing I won't worry about.

And homemade colic/tummy ache remedies.
(Anyone else remember that from the movie Doc Hollywood?)


--
Chris Dukes
Suspicion breeds confidence -- Brazil

We have 2 kids, and until last month had about 40 orchids. Our 4 year
old helped us take care of the orchids since she was about 3 and is a
very careful with them. She loves to water (with a turkey baster) and
to help repot them. She LOVES going to shows too!

BUT, our 21 month old son started being difficult with the orchids as
soon as he could stand up -- about 10 months. He took out the tags
(irritating - so I labeled the pots with magic marker instead), he
unpotted several orchids (AAAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!! We lost 5 orchids
this way), pulled and broke off leaves and a very promising keiki,
pulled on the light cords, turned the humidifier off/on, up/down, etc.
He has put the media (spag. moss or husks) into his mouth, but usually
spit them out (or I'd catch him and make him spit them out). I finally
took all of the big pieces out. And he even chewed on the bigger
leaves of the phalenopses(?) and cattleyas. Other than aggravation, no
problems with his health.

Finally, in desperation my husband (the true orchid enthusiast) built a
wood case (about 5 feet long, 3 feet wide, 6 feet high) that he covered
with chicken wire (for circulation) to house our orchids that contained
the lights, humidifier, and 4 shelves for the orchids and the supplies,
with doors that open for watering (with 2 locks on them when he learned
to open the first lock). S-hooks, placed about 5 feet high) are great
for quite a while for locking cabinets, doors, closets, etc. (We even
put one on our bathroom door when he kept unrolling all of the toilet
paper!) At about 18 months he pulled a chair over to the case and
crawled all over it, trying to get in. We were able to park it right in
front of a window, and put 4 light fixtures in it. Unfortunately, we
had to sell all of our orchids before our move to Kansas last month,
and we sold the case too and I can't find a single picture of it.

We kept the plant food/fertilizer/etc in a sealed plastic container on
the bottom shelf of the case - those big flat ones for underbed storage
worked great.

Overall, you are right on about what you need to do. And you're doing
great job, Mom!

Cyndi

Cyndi,
Oh oh, you confirm some of my fears in your description of what your son
would do to the orchids. Let's hope that my son is more like your daughter.
:-)
Joanna

"John" wrote in message
ups.com...
We have 2 kids, and until last month had about 40 orchids. Our 4 year
old helped us take care of the orchids since she was about 3 and is a
very careful with them. She loves to water (with a turkey baster) and
to help repot them. She LOVES going to shows too!

BUT, our 21 month old son started being difficult with the orchids as
soon as he could stand up -- about 10 months. He took out the tags
(irritating - so I labeled the pots with magic marker instead), he
unpotted several orchids (AAAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!! We lost 5 orchids
this way), pulled and broke off leaves and a very promising keiki,
pulled on the light cords, turned the humidifier off/on, up/down, etc.
He has put the media (spag. moss or husks) into his mouth, but usually
spit them out (or I'd catch him and make him spit them out). I finally
took all of the big pieces out. And he even chewed on the bigger
leaves of the phalenopses(?) and cattleyas. Other than aggravation, no
problems with his health.

Finally, in desperation my husband (the true orchid enthusiast) built a
wood case (about 5 feet long, 3 feet wide, 6 feet high) that he covered
with chicken wire (for circulation) to house our orchids that contained
the lights, humidifier, and 4 shelves for the orchids and the supplies,
with doors that open for watering (with 2 locks on them when he learned
to open the first lock). S-hooks, placed about 5 feet high) are great
for quite a while for locking cabinets, doors, closets, etc. (We even
put one on our bathroom door when he kept unrolling all of the toilet
paper!) At about 18 months he pulled a chair over to the case and
crawled all over it, trying to get in. We were able to park it right in
front of a window, and put 4 light fixtures in it. Unfortunately, we
had to sell all of our orchids before our move to Kansas last month,
and we sold the case too and I can't find a single picture of it.

We kept the plant food/fertilizer/etc in a sealed plastic container on
the bottom shelf of the case - those big flat ones for underbed storage
worked great.

Overall, you are right on about what you need to do. And you're doing
great job, Mom!

Cyndi

I must not be an adult. I would eat them.
Then again if it isn't metal, plastic, glass, or ceramic, I would attempt
to
eat what's on my plate.

Gee, Chris, I don't think anyone who grows orchids can claim complete
adulthood, do you? S

Diana

On Thu, 9 Feb 2006 16:31:11 -0500 in Diana Kulaga wrote:
I must not be an adult. I would eat them.
Then again if it isn't metal, plastic, glass, or ceramic, I would attempt
to
eat what's on my plate.

Gee, Chris, I don't think anyone who grows orchids can claim complete
adulthood, do you? S

I think it would hurt my fiance's feelings if I told her that.
(She's an incurable poucher).

Then again, I want to follow in my granddad's footsteps and see how many
acres of land I can plant in camelias and gardenias or something of a similar
spirit when I retire.
--
Chris Dukes
Suspicion breeds confidence -- Brazil

Below is Glen Deckers response concerning the issue of previous owner's
usage of pesticide. According to him, it's not really necessary to worry
about it too much. So I won't.
Joanna

---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From:
Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2006 23:29:43 EST

Hi Joanna,

I really wouldn't worry about it to much. I myself, don't use pesticides
for
the simple reason that I have a 6 year old who likes to play in the
greenhouse. Once upon a time, some pesticides could stay active in the soil
for
months, but these days, you could almost drink it out of the bottle with not
much
ill effect.

So, if you purchase a new plant, you could simple wash the plant with a
little soap and water, just to remove any possible residue and if you are
very
concerned, you could repot it, and then you would have absolute nothing to
worry
about. My feeling is, like I said, just to wash the plant down you should
have
nothing to worry about. However, you do what you feel is best for your
piece
of mind.

Sincerely,
Glen Decker

"OrchidKitty" wrote in message
oups.com...
I don't know how long pesticides, etc. stay in plant matter and
media--but I know someone who does. You might want to contact Glen
Decker of Piping Rock Orchids ) and ask him. He
grows thousands of slippers (of exceptional quality) and has small
children. He's pesticide free and knows much about the dangers of
pesticides. He's a nice man and very willing to share what he knows.

BTW, Congrats on the little one, Mom.

Eforba ouya akema anea orchidea aladsa orfa abyba Obertra, ouya ightma antma ota erifyva hatta heta forementionedaa "American Medical Association Handbook of Poisonous and Injurious Plants" ctuallyaa aysa.

Bundle of thanks for the useful information about this.Can you please specify or mention the names also , which are said as poisonous ?

There are no known poisonous orchids, one of the most popular flavorings however, vanilla, comes from the seed pod of an orchid. its safe to assume that they are not poisonous, but you should still discourage kitty from chomping orchids.