baking soda on orchids?

[Undergrounder]

Originally Posted by Donald

Why are so many people interested in chemicals. Orchids don't get them in their natural habitat. I'm no professional and all I feed my small collection is Neptune Fish & Seaweed and occasionally when I want to "bud up" an oncidium or cymbidium I'll give them 6-30-30. It's unbelievable how many orchid concoctions are out there. Sorta like fishing lures in a sportiing goods store. The fisherman gets "lured in" and the true fisher of man is the store itself. Same with orchid fertilizers. I guess whatever floats one boat. Go for it. Happy Growing and upcoming Holidays.

P.S. Oh yea! Then there's the epsom salts,listerine,409 and now on another thread beer and lord only what else.

Orchids don't get fish and seaweed in their natural environment either, so why do you use that?

The idea that the best way to grow plants is how they do it in their native environment is completely flawed. It's like saying that because native tribes live in jungles, hunt for their food and sleep in huts, then that's the best way all humans should live too.

We've risen above just 'surviving' because we've taken advantage of our chemistry to improve our health and life expectancy. We eat a healthy diet, we take medications, we go to the doctor, we treat our water, we do a whole bunch of things to live better and longer lives.

And we should do the same with our plants. If we can maximise plant health by giving them a good mix of fertilisers, water and light, while fighting off diseases, then our orchids will grow much faster, bigger, and flower better.

It makes no difference whatsoever to the orchid whether the Nitrates it takes in through its roots came from a slow process of decay of fish and seaweed, whether it came through a lightning storm or whether it was provided directly in a solution of water. It's the same Nitrate ion and its used in exactly the same way.

As I stated I'm not a professional like you are. Nor do I sell fertilizers.

That's a very cynical way of thinking. Ray's just trying to answer the question you asked, so you got the answer. Without chemicals, orchids would die. Actually without chemicals, you wouldn't have an orchid - you'd have a vacuum.