baking soda on orchids?
 

has anyone tried using baking soda as fungicide or bacteriacide? is this a good alternative for using chemical base fungicide? what does it do? what's the upside and downside? and the dosage per gallon... THANKS!!!

I don't know how your orchids would react to baking soda, but here's some info on baking soda.

Sodium bicarbonate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pardon my ignorance, but why ask about beer, baking soda, etc., etc....?

Is it to verify what you've heard?

nah im just curious on the alternatives... hahaha... and prolly if baking soda and chemical base fungicide reacts the same then ill just use baking soda instead

I HAVENT ADD MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE YET! LOL! and aspirin!!!

All I can say is, I'd be careful of utilizing exotic types of salts. It can cause problems with the roots.

the antibiotic and antifungal effects of baking soda come from raising the pH of the area where it is applied. this can have a negative effect on acid-loving plants, such as orchids.

new Christmas recipes... :-))))

I would think that baking soda would force the pH too high for the well-being of the plant, and all that sodium can't be good, either.

Probably can work well as herbicide at the right concentration.

<I would think that baking soda would force the pH too high for the well-being of the plant, and all that sodium can't be good, either.>

I definitely agree with Ray on this one.

CL

:rofl:

Love it!!!

with out a doubt Ray

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.

Probably a smoothie of bird droppings, decomposing leaves, some insects with rain water would be the natural fertilizer...

I am going to the kitchen and grab my blender now!

You're kidding, right?

The minerals absorbed by plants are ALL chemical ions, whether they be "natural" or "purified", or "synthetic", the ions in solution that are absorbed are the same.

As I stated I'm not a professional like you are. Nor do I sell fertilizers. To each his or her own. Have fun with all your additives. I'll continue to go au naturale.
Always great threads and info.

I have used baking soda, oil, dish soap and water on my vegetable garden.

It helps with fungus, bugs and blight.

I have never tried it on my orchids though, but if you use cinnamon, dish soap and water you can create the same effect but its been proven safe for orchids (lots of people use it as a bug killer and fungicide).

All the constant rain last summer led to lots of powdery mildew on all of my 13 rose bushes, baking soda mixed with water and dish soap took care of all of it very quickly in one application and it didn't come back, roses look good. Desperation drove me to experiment on my roses, but I'm not brave enough to try it on any indoor plants or orchids. No clue but just a guess that something that effective might be a bit harsh for small containered plants in my home. I generally use cinnamon on my orchids.

What about beer? Does it really work? The only time I every used it with orchids was after a hard day of watering. :biggrin:

Tastes like :chicken.

Susan

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.

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.

Good post undergrounder. I use the fish and seaweed
concoction because after using it on a few of my orchids I noticed that it does not leave a salt residue on the pots. Basically, I just am wary of using the fertilizers that look like they came from some mine. Hey! The bottom line is my plants are happy. By the way I have MSU and Grow More in my arsenal. My point at the beginning of this thread was not so much the fertilizer issue it's the use of the various "witches brews" that growers use, stuff like Listerine,409,backing soda, hydrogen peroxide etc. Heck, I was on one site where an individual was urinating on his plants for the urea content. I imagine if I had the time to experiment I might play around with them. Just no chemical genes running through my veins. Happy Growing.

i hope no ones arguing... okay ill cut the asking about recipes on orchids! LOL! its just that i heard one of the growers in here got sick and was paralized due to inhaling fungicide... coz she frequently does the mixture..

For sure, there are so many snake oil products out there, especially for hydroponics! So many additives and chemicals and very little known about them.

for humans is better to get nutrients and vitamins through food rather than synthetic supplements.

there are numerous studies available that show that.

taking vitamin pills is good but taking vitamins by eating produce, meats, fruits is better

Try quantum orchid..get from repotme.com

Inocucor Garden Solution is actually a much broader-spectrum probiotic than Quantum Orchid, as it contains many more species of beneficial microbes.

There is no reason to believe that baking soda will do anything other than damage your plants. The sodium alone could kill them.

Baking soda deplete the pH level

What ever you do ... don't purchase your Orchids from Brookside Orchids..they arrive with crown rot..sure they r nice at first...like cut flowers,but in time they die off and you have to nurse them back...

Joseph, I am not sure how your post connects with the topic at hand. That said, I have dealt with Brookside for years with no problems. Hopefully you have contacted them and found a satisfactory resolution to your problem.

My bad..I was just making a statement..my other staments is basically baking soda reduces the pH level in the growing medium for Orchids. I guess I have to learn to open a new topic on this forum..
casino47125@gmail.com
Joe

Is it the conditions that occur during shipping? A dark box - no air-circulation, plant packed with wet or soggy roots inside the box for a few days or more.

When the plants arrive, regardless of how it looks - I just have my own habit of unpotting and Mancozeb'ing the whole plant - and then a repot into my own growing media of choice (into a clean sterilised pot).

Yes..lack of air..very soggy... shipped withe wrong growing medium.. especially with oncidiopsis and oncidium..Vanda in basket can't go wrong..but try a Vanda in gravel medium for Max air but have to water everother day.

---------- Post added at 04:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:56 PM ----------

Brookside ships with NZ or sphagnum moss and or a mix with bark

Definitely - shipping in quite wet media - and with the plant stuck inside the box for a while (from several hours up to days) - can be a problem. The experienced shippers tend to avoid soggy roots. Slightly moist (damp) but not soggy. Actually - I think that even slightly damp for quite a while inside a box isn't fantastic. That's why I Mancozeb my incoming plants (and repot) - just in case. But - in any case - I grow most of my orchids in scoria anyway - so it gives me a chance to both repot and inspect the roots and do a fungicide pre-treatment etc.

Yes Exactly..use hydrogen peroxide to kill fungus..
Csino joe

Hydrogen peroxide is problematical around roots - it attacks the tiny hairs on growing root tips. For fungal problems in the medium or on roots, a fungicide is much better for the plant - repotting into fresh medium is the best, of course.

Yes ..repotting is the best..but do a lite spray of hydrogen peroxide on the crown..if no bubbles no issue..then rinse with filtered water..report with the medium of the specific Orchids..
Joseph Siddron

Brookside Orchids
 

Yes I did..thank you.

---------- Post added at 07:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:45 AM ----------

I will continue to use Brookside Orchids for past success..I just had an issue with the untimely manner in which they responded to my email regarding my oncidiopsis Nellie isler Swiss beauty..

Wouldn't it raise the pH?