Orchids are a family of plants that are very popular in gardening for their beautiful flowers, although they have the unfortunate reputation of being very difficult plants to care for. Although it is true that some members of this family require very specific care, most of the orchids that you can buy in specialized stores are plants that require fairly basic levels of care. But even in these cases, fertilizer is a key point in almost all of them. These plants need a suitable and correctly applied fertilizer to develop well and survive for a long time.
if you want to learn how to make compost for homemade orchidsjoin us in this EcologíaVerde article.
Type of fertilizer for orchids – how is it?
The fertilizers for orchids they seek to supply the plant with all the chemical elements that it would find in its natural habitat but which, instead, are not present in a common plant substrate or garden soil.
The most important of them are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, vital elements for the formation of plant structures and tissues. Calcium, magnesium and sulfur are also very important. All these elements must be present in the fertilizer for orchids, although always in adequate amounts, since an excess of them can be as harmful as their absence.
How to make fertilizer for homemade and natural orchids
You can save a lot of money on chemical fertilizer, while reusing, if you take advantage of some of the waste products that are generated at home to provide some extra nutrients to your orchids. These are some of the best homemade products that we recommend if you want to learn how to make fertilizer for homemade and natural orchids.
egg shells
The empty shells of the eggs you use can be a rich supply of calcium that your orchids will certainly appreciate. In order to take advantage of them, you need to wash them completely and let them dry overnight.
Then, with the help of a mortar, crush the shells until they are finely crushed, in a powder texture. sprinkle eggshells on the substrateand the water itself will be the one that makes the dust penetrate into the substrate when you water.
cooking water
you can use the cooking water for potatoes or rice to provide extra calcium, potassium and vitamin B to your plants, but only if you have cooked them without salt. It is vital that you pay close attention to this point, because no matter how little salt you have used in cooking, if you take some and use it with your orchids you will severely damage them and you can even kill them. Save the cooking water of your potatoes and rice only when you have cooked them without any added salt, and water them every two weeks with it.
Cow milk
It also can provide calcium to orchids through cow’s milk. If the milk is diluted in water, with 20% milk and 80% water, the orchids can be watered with it every 15 days.
epsom salts
A small spoonful of these salts diluted in 2 liters of water provides the plant with an extra magnesium that it will appreciate. You can water them every 15 days, although it is necessary that the salts used do not contain flavoring agents.
used tea bags
Green tea bags or other types of tea, ideally organic, that have already been used in infusions can be dried to give your orchid, or other plants, additional nutrients. Once dry, open the bag and spread its remains around the base of the plant. This form of subscription can be applied 1 time a month.
When and how to use orchid fertilizer
Orchids are somewhat delicate plants as far as the supply of nutrients is concerned. An excess of some nutrients will be as detrimental to the plant as a shortage of them, so special care must be taken to respect the fertilization periods specified here.
When it comes to liquid fertilizersenough with incorporate them into the irrigation water of the plant. With the solid fertilizersInstead, the simplest thing is to spread them around the top of substrate and let it be the irrigation water itself that makes the elements penetrate to the depth of the roots. Also, it’s best not to use more than two of the above inputs at a time. If you see that your orchid seems to dry out or weaken, wash the pot to remove accumulated elements and reduce the dose of fertilizer.
Now that you know how to make compost for orchids, we also recommend you learn here How to make substrate for orchids.
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