I have two rain barrels. The run off here in My area of the UK seems to be
more than I can use.

The question is tho, after a few days it starts to have an odor. I know this
is bacteria and
that it should be flushed. BUT
Is this type of water good for the orchids? With all the organic matter in
the water
it can only be good, right?
I have a very small budget so I have not purchased any orchid food as of
yet.
Am I right in thinking the water will offer a bit of food for them?

MLL

It is unlikely the water will be a problem for the plants. If the odor gets
to be too much, a small dollop of liquid bleach in each barrel ought to kill
the culprit organisms.

It is also unlikely that the water contains any appreciable nutritional
value, so some sort of fertilizer is in order.

--

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

.. . . . . . . . . . .
"MLL" wrote in message
...
I have two rain barrels. The run off here in My area of the UK seems to be
more than I can use.

The question is tho, after a few days it starts to have an odor. I know
this
is bacteria and
that it should be flushed. BUT
Is this type of water good for the orchids? With all the organic matter in
the water
it can only be good, right?
I have a very small budget so I have not purchased any orchid food as of
yet.
Am I right in thinking the water will offer a bit of food for them?

MLL

what about distilled water from the dehumidifier in the basement?
"Ray" wrote in message
...
It is unlikely the water will be a problem for the plants. If the odor
gets
to be too much, a small dollop of liquid bleach in each barrel ought to
kill
the culprit organisms.

It is also unlikely that the water contains any appreciable nutritional
value, so some sort of fertilizer is in order.

--

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

. . . . . . . . . . .
"MLL" wrote in message
...
I have two rain barrels. The run off here in My area of the UK seems to
be
more than I can use.

The question is tho, after a few days it starts to have an odor. I know
this
is bacteria and
that it should be flushed. BUT
Is this type of water good for the orchids? With all the organic matter
in
the water
it can only be good, right?
I have a very small budget so I have not purchased any orchid food as of
yet.
Am I right in thinking the water will offer a bit of food for them?

MLL

I thought that chlorine was bad for the orchids. I do have some Miracle -
Gro all purpose 15 30 15.
Can I use that until I can budget in some Orchid food?

MLL

If the odor gets
to be too much, a small dollop of liquid bleach in each barrel ought to
kill
the culprit organisms.

"MLL" writes:
I thought that chlorine was bad for the orchids. I do have some Miracle -
Gro all purpose 15 30 15.
Can I use that until I can budget in some Orchid food?

If you want to use bulk-bought fertilizer, try to get one that has
been made for Rhododendrons or other low ph loving plants, and use it
at a quarter strength or thereabouts. Regular fertilizers may contain
ingredients (Lime? The stuff you put on lawns once a year, anyway)
that interfere with the acidity of your media.

I have been using Rhododendron fertilizer the last four months or so
without noticing any ill effects at a third of the price of orchid
fertilizer. Caveat emptor, though.

Some orcids prefer higher Ph values. I don't know if any of yours do.

Geir

I thought that chlorine was bad for the orchids.

If you do as Ray suggested - just a small amount to kill off the nasties -
it won't be a problem. Sitting overnight, chlorine dissipates in an open
container.

Diana

I recall somewhere that the Miracle Grow for Acid loving plants was
originally created for orchids. Later they repackaged this variety for the
Rhodies and Azaleas.

I think there was an ad or article in one of the dozen or so magazines I
get.

I used MG for many years on my orchids until the local Southern States was
going out of biz and I picked up DynaGrow for 75% off.

Gene




"Geir Harris Hedemark" wrote in message
...
"MLL" writes:
I thought that chlorine was bad for the orchids. I do have some
Miracle -
Gro all purpose 15 30 15.
Can I use that until I can budget in some Orchid food?

If you want to use bulk-bought fertilizer, try to get one that has
been made for Rhododendrons or other low ph loving plants, and use it
at a quarter strength or thereabouts. Regular fertilizers may contain
ingredients (Lime? The stuff you put on lawns once a year, anyway)
that interfere with the acidity of your media.

I have been using Rhododendron fertilizer the last four months or so
without noticing any ill effects at a third of the price of orchid
fertilizer. Caveat emptor, though.

Some orcids prefer higher Ph values. I don't know if any of yours do.

Geir

A little chlorine will not hurt them. Use the Miracle Grow at about 1/4 the
label concentration

--

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

.. . . . . . . . . . .
"MLL" wrote in message
...
I thought that chlorine was bad for the orchids. I do have some Miracle -
Gro all purpose 15 30 15.
Can I use that until I can budget in some Orchid food?

MLL

If the odor gets
to be too much, a small dollop of liquid bleach in each barrel ought to
kill
the culprit organisms.

Yep, Mir-Acid was created for orchids. However, it was created back when
straight fir bark was the norm for media, and when it started to break down,
the microorganisms that did do consumed a lot of nitrogen. The extra
nitrogen in the 30-10-10 was there to compensate.

In more modern media that don't break down as quickly, or if we're good boys
and girls and repot soon enouogh, that's not a concern, so the extra N2
isn't necessary.

--

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

.. . . . . . . . . . .
"Gene Schurg" wrote in message
k.net...
I recall somewhere that the Miracle Grow for Acid loving plants was
originally created for orchids. Later they repackaged this variety for
the
Rhodies and Azaleas.

I think there was an ad or article in one of the dozen or so magazines I
get.

I used MG for many years on my orchids until the local Southern States was
going out of biz and I picked up DynaGrow for 75% off.

Gene




"Geir Harris Hedemark" wrote in message
...
"MLL" writes:
I thought that chlorine was bad for the orchids. I do have some
Miracle -
Gro all purpose 15 30 15.
Can I use that until I can budget in some Orchid food?

If you want to use bulk-bought fertilizer, try to get one that has
been made for Rhododendrons or other low ph loving plants, and use it
at a quarter strength or thereabouts. Regular fertilizers may contain
ingredients (Lime? The stuff you put on lawns once a year, anyway)
that interfere with the acidity of your media.

I have been using Rhododendron fertilizer the last four months or so
without noticing any ill effects at a third of the price of orchid
fertilizer. Caveat emptor, though.

Some orcids prefer higher Ph values. I don't know if any of yours do.

Geir

Dehumidifier water IS NOT DISTILLED. The water from a dehumidifier is
full of whatever is floating in the air in your basement! I have found
lots of bad things in that water. If you distill it after it comes out
of the dehumidifier then it is fine. For years I ran a distiller and
used dehumidifier water, rain water and tap. This year I switched to
RO and pump the waste water up to the distiller and reclaim as much of
it as I can. I have used dehumidifier water right out of the machine
on some house plants without any adverse problems,( sometimes I use a
drop or two of water purifier for fish tanks in it before I pour it on
the house plants). but I would never use it straight onto orchids.


On Wed, 20 Aug 2003 11:29:08 GMT, "Diane Mancino"
wrote:

what about distilled water from the dehumidifier in the basement?
"Ray" wrote in message
...
It is unlikely the water will be a problem for the plants. If the odor
gets
to be too much, a small dollop of liquid bleach in each barrel ought to
kill
the culprit organisms.

It is also unlikely that the water contains any appreciable nutritional
value, so some sort of fertilizer is in order.

--

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

. . . . . . . . . . .
"MLL" wrote in message
...
I have two rain barrels. The run off here in My area of the UK seems to
be
more than I can use.

The question is tho, after a few days it starts to have an odor. I know
this
is bacteria and
that it should be flushed. BUT
Is this type of water good for the orchids? With all the organic matter
in
the water
it can only be good, right?
I have a very small budget so I have not purchased any orchid food as of
yet.
Am I right in thinking the water will offer a bit of food for them?

MLL

I didn't think the water would be ok- typical musty basement, if you
wouldn't drink it, don't put it on a plant or float a fish in it

Diane


"nanook" wrote in message
...
Dehumidifier water IS NOT DISTILLED. The water from a dehumidifier is
full of whatever is floating in the air in your basement! I have found
lots of bad things in that water. If you distill it after it comes out
of the dehumidifier then it is fine. For years I ran a distiller and
used dehumidifier water, rain water and tap. This year I switched to
RO and pump the waste water up to the distiller and reclaim as much of
it as I can. I have used dehumidifier water right out of the machine
on some house plants without any adverse problems,( sometimes I use a
drop or two of water purifier for fish tanks in it before I pour it on
the house plants). but I would never use it straight onto orchids.


On Wed, 20 Aug 2003 11:29:08 GMT, "Diane Mancino"
wrote:

what about distilled water from the dehumidifier in the basement?
"Ray" wrote in message
...
It is unlikely the water will be a problem for the plants. If the odor
gets
to be too much, a small dollop of liquid bleach in each barrel ought to
kill
the culprit organisms.

It is also unlikely that the water contains any appreciable nutritional
value, so some sort of fertilizer is in order.

--

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

. . . . . . . . . . .
"MLL" wrote in message
...
I have two rain barrels. The run off here in My area of the UK seems
to
be
more than I can use.

The question is tho, after a few days it starts to have an odor. I
know
this
is bacteria and
that it should be flushed. BUT
Is this type of water good for the orchids? With all the organic
matter
in
the water
it can only be good, right?
I have a very small budget so I have not purchased any orchid food as
of
yet.
Am I right in thinking the water will offer a bit of food for them?

MLL