Homemade fertilizer
 

I live in an area were it is hard to get good quality orchid fertilizer locally. Is there anything that i can use to supplement the things my orchids need. Like how you can plant a banana peel under a rose bush for the potassium. Obviously i would never plant a banana peel under an orchid for fear of rotting but you get the idea. My main concerns are phals and dendrobiums.:scratchhead:

Eggshell and animal bones (chicken or fish) are rich in Calcium and Potassium. Simply dry them and crush then you can sprinkle a few of the powder to orchid roots.

My grandmother told me that water from rinsing rice or meat is good for plants. I have been using rice water for a while and I can say my chids are healthier and greener. Some say it contains vitamin B-1.

That's all I can write on top of my head.

Has anyone tried to use bat guano I have a huge supply of that.

there is some concoction of epsom salts coca cola and beer that supposedly works....epsom salts is good for greening up but i dont know about the coke and beer...maybe you mix the salts and coke and drink the beer???

there must be someone out there that has successfully used common houseplant fertilizers, diluted appropriately for orchids, however.
I am not so sure what the concern about urea based fertilizer is since at least 1 very prominent orchid fertilizer admits to using some.
Nick

I have a hydroponic Epsom salt all purpose fertilizer. Should i try that? The coca cola and bear actually make sense. They would both have the phosphoric acid that orchids need, the coke would add extra carbon dioxide and beer isn't actually carbonated it is nitrated (depending on brand) so some bear bubbles are nitrogen not carbon dioxide.

Urea is a type of nitrogen but i don't know why some think it is bad for orchids. I think it is just a myth that has woven into orchid society through years of personal preferences getting mixed with actually orchid culture fact.

I may be wrong though so don't be to mean when correcting me.

Any fertilizer with micronutrients would be better than anything you throw together. At least the fertilizer container will give you the proportions and you have no guess work involved.

Wouldn't that be better than the guesstimate on your part?

Brooke

I definitely wouldn't test this on a favorite orchid or anything like that. I am going to test it on a cheap wal-mart phal or something like that.

Epsom salts is good for magnesium, vitamin b complex (capsule form) is good for rooting, and molasses is very high in potassium and carbohydrates....and it has a decent amount of magnesium, iron, and calcium. I use all three of these regularly, in conjunction with my fertilizers. Winter time is the best time t0o use the molasses....if you get it from a health food store, it has up to 500mg of potassium per serving.